Ica

On Monday and Tuesday we stayed around Lima. We went to Miraflores again and made two trips to the bus station to get our tickets for our trip to Ica and Paracas. Yesterday (Tuesday)we went with Willy to try to get a Turkey for Christmas. It was a special market set up just for Christmas and one guy told us they sell over a million Turkeys each season. However, the biggest Turkey they had was 22lbs and the family needed 27lbs. Simply not big enough! So we left without a turkey and willy said he would return while we were gone to check for a bigger one.
One thing we've been doing ALOT of is walking, which is obviously good for our health, the environment, lung capacity for Ayacuccho, etc. We have talked about how the distances we've been walking here make us think twice about the places we drive to around campus. We complain about having to park in the farthest garage and get in a car to go to Pokey O's or Burger House when here, we walk those distances many times over. We decided to try to walk more when we return to be more conscious about our health and intentional about protecting our environment.
This morning (Wednesday)we left on a bus at 3:45 AM. We got to get VIP seats so it was very comfortable and we slept most of the drive to Ica where we arrived at about 9am. Our guide was waiting for us at the bus station with a sign. We went to the car and found out the driver was actually Brandon's tour guide from when he visited Ica with his Dad! We went from there to our hotel to drop off our stuff and clean up quickly as we decided to start the tour early in order to have the evening free. The hotel, Villa Jazmin, that is included with our tour is very nice. It has a pool, ceiling fan, and even hot water!
From the hotel we went to two wineries. Here we saw the traditional way wine and pisco are made. However, the guide told us that this is basically for tourists now and for the festivals because contracts with other countries require wine to be made with more modern, sanitary methods now. We got to taste some wines and pisco. Well, when I say we I mean Rachel basically took small tastes and gave the rest to Brandon. (Not my cup of tea...or should I say, not my cup of pisco!)
The next stop was the home of a "very famous male witch." This was a little scary but also fascinating too. And on the way we stopped and saw a few main points of the city.
Next stop: Huacchina! This city is basically an oasis amidst miles of desert and sand dunes. It consists of a small lagoon with some shops and restaurants around it. But the main attraction, and the next item on our agenda, was sand buggie and sand boarding tours. After a short look around Huaccachina we boarded a 9 seater sand buggie with a couple from Lima and a couple from Columbia and headed out onto the dunes. It was so fun sliding around and going over big hills. It was slightly scary at first but the buggie was very stable and felt secure and there were tracks set out that the driver (mostly) followed so that huge hills didnt come up unexpectedly.
At the top of an extremely steep dune that we were all scared the driver would go down, he stopped and got out our boards and waxed them. He showed us how to do it (laying on the stomach with elbows in tight and legs balancing the back of the board) and off we went! The guys so graciously let the girls take the first jump. Once we got going it was not as frightening as it may seem and was extremely exhilerating and exciting. We went over three pretty big hills, where the driver would pick us up at the bottom and take us to the next one, before arriving at the mammoth of them all. Believe it or not, scaredy cat Rachel went first! Good thing Brandon was able to translate the special instructions to keep the elbows in particulary tight because it was bumpy at the bottom. It was great to be able to conquer the initial fear because the outcome was an amazing experience.
After all of that we were very ready to get back to the hotel and wash/rest up. We grabbed a bite in the city center and are now just relaxing at the beautiful hotel. Tomorrow it is off to Paracas! Expect a post tomorrow night or Friday about our experiences there. Chau! Mucho amor amigos!