Huacachina

So this past week was really great!

Monday we went about classes as per usual, my friend Lauren found out that she got an awesome job in D.C. as a teacher so we had a few beers to celebrate that night

Tuesday, I went into Lima to get my biopsy results for my ulcer, and everything is looking A Okay. I am really learning my way around Lima. I got there all on my own! Tuesday afternoon, I taught class and then three of us (Me, Ellie, and David) headed for Lima to catch a bus to Huacachina (which is in the Region of Ica) it's about 5 hours away. Huacachina is a small touristy city made up huge sand dunes surrounding an water hole oasis. We went on the bus line Cruz del Sur and I must say it was a pretty smooth ride besides one obvious issue. They showed a horror movie on the bus. Me and Ellie were absolutely freaking out, we both hate horror movies but these damn Peruvians love them some gory movies. I was absolutely dying during the entire film...if any of you all have seen the movie "Frozen"...I don't suggest you watch it. People get stuck on a chairlift in a ski resort and get eaten alive by wolves. Not something you want to watch in your free time. Anyhow, we managed to get to Huacachina safely, without being eaten alive by wolves and we found a shit hostel. Our bathroom stenched of weed, and was flooded. Me and Ellie stayed in one hostel and David had to stay in the nicer one because there weren't enough rooms. The next morning, we went to the nice hostel where we all met up with Chris, Gladys, and Valentin.

Wednesday we all ate breakfast at a place called "Bananas" which made a mean omelette. We then went to the sand dunes and relaxed, got some sun, and took in the view. For lunch, we ate at the restaurant in our hostel. At four o'clock it was time for our sunset sand dune buggy tour which was freaking awesome. We got on a crazy dune buggy and went up and down the steepest hills. There were two guys our age from Holland in our buggy as well, they were really fun! We stopped at some really big cliffs and got out our "sand boards" which are basically like a snow board, just used on sand dunes. The first one we slid down on our stomachs-so flippin' fast-more adreniline rushing than a roller coaster. The second and so on we stood up on the boards...which I wasn't so talented at. I did however, make it successfully down one dune, that's something to be proud of. The afternoon was great and there was a phenomenal sunset. The views were spectacular and the dune buggy, sensational.

That night, we went out for drinks at a place that offered happy hour. After that, we went to a pizza place for dinner which was a very "romantic" place, however, our group of six hooligans basically cleared the place out. We're a loud and inappropriate bunch. After that, we smoked some shisha at a hookah place nearby and played jenga. Everyone got the La turista which wasn't so good, so we all went to bed pretty early.
*Just so you know, I did not consume beverages or smoke shisha due to my condition

The next morning, we ate at bananas again, took a walk around the oasis and bought some souveniers. We caught the bus at 2pm and finally got home after all of the traffic at 8:45pm. It was a long travel day but totally worth it. Plus, there were no horror movies this bus ride, so thats a positive. We all had a great time. Tomorrow is the 20th anniversary of Huaycan so I'm really excited to see the festivities! Will write soon!