Oasis and wax

After doing nothing for the past five days I finally was able to leave Lima in search of adventure. Which was for me to be found in a city called Huacachina (Wah-kah-cheena), where not only is this touristy town an oasis, they trust you to go out on the dunes.

I stayed at a HI Hostel (HI Desert Nights) for the first time since San Francisco. It was a decent enough place, with some fine vegetarian options for food. The first night though, I ended up sleeping through. Literally falling asleep on my bed at 4:00pm and not waking up until 9pm. Good start. So I watched documentaries and happily fell back asleep.

The next day I headed to the dunes through my hostel for 35 soles. After volcano boarding, I felt like this could either be just as cool or better. I am happy to report it is just as cool. I know it’s strange to spend money to have someone ship you down a giant sand dune, but in all fairness it was a lot of fun. They put you in these open air dune buggies to get you to the dunes. And the driver has a little too much fun taking you down some roller coaster esque dunes.

When you arrive at the tip of the dune and look down, the steepness is lost on you because it all blurs into one giant slide. And most of the time looked nearly vertical. But sooner or later you find your board waxed and you are getting ready to go headfirst down a dune. And the best part? The silence.

When you go down you are so afraid of sand flying up into your mouth you are silently screaming on the inside. So as you hear someone go down, all you catch is the dull hum of the sand flying in the air. All you hear is the sand and wind you are generating whip up behind you. At the bottom you find yourself cheering that you made it, and look at the prize. The hill you just flew down.

Now that it’s time to state it. I was always the furthest. I am going to take special pride in that.

After our three attempts, which became more and more steep as we went, our driver decided to take us to the setting sun. We flew to the west and the ten of us stood and watched as the sun left the building.

The strangest thing to me about Huacachina is how the town ends in a pile of sand. Literally as you walk from one end to the other, the town disappears into the sand. As if it is reclaiming what it felt to be rightfully theirs. And I for one am just glad they didn’t claim me.