I'm not in Peru anymore but I never got this posted before I left! So here it is now :)
Did you know that the coastal part of Peru is basically a desert? I sure didnt before I got here...but then I discovered pictures of Huacachina and decided I had to go! And it just happened to be conveniently located close to the Nazca Lines. So, because all of my group has traveled onward or is already back in the US, I set out on my own.
Friday I caught a bus that took me about six and half hours overnight (which was a short ride compared to the 15+ that I'm used to traveling to get anywhere!) from Lima to Nazca. I arrived at 4:30 Saturday morning and was met by the guide at the bus station. Nazca Lines here I come! Never before have I been in a plane so small. I didn't find it scary...but I soon found it nauseating. When a large plane makes a turn, you don't feel it, when this little puddle jumper made a turn you felt it! No worries! I didn't get sick but thank goodness it was only a 30 minute ride! The Nazca Lines to this day are still a mystery, only theories exist to explain why the Nazca people created them. Here are some pictures I snapped while trying not to grab the white plastic bag in front of me...
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| The Astronaut! |
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| The hummingbird! |
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| Can you see the monkey?! |
After the flight that I survived with only a headache, I caught a bus to Ica to make my way to the oasis of Huacachina!
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| Huacachina where I stayed! |
In Huacachina, I hadn't planned on participating in the Dune Buggy/Sand Boarding excursions that are offered because I was by myself and really just going to check it out. BUT, they had a tour going out an hour after I arrived so I jumped on board! And I'm so glad I did! It was awesome! The Dune Buggy was basically a rollercoaster on sand and for the sand boarding just imagine a sand dune about the heighth of a football field in length and flying down it at what feels like a vertical drop on nothing but a wooden board...crazy. One of those things where you are scared but then you do it and you are so glad you did!
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| Welcome to the sand dunes! |
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See the dot at the bottom of the hill that is a person?...
That tells you how tall this was!
Terrifying but so fun! |
On Sunday, I went on a tour to the Ballestas Islands (aka "The Poor Man's Galapagos" because it has a lot of biodiversity but is a lot cheaper than going to the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador) in Paracas. I have never seen so many birds in my life! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves..
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| The Ballesta Islands, Paracas, Peru |
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| PENGUINS! :) |
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| Sea Lions! |
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| See all the black? That would be birds.. |
At my hostel, I met people from Australia, France, Italy, Switzerland, England, Russia, and my roommate was from Austria. I had a great time but its certainly a different experience traveling completely solo! No complaints though it was an awesome trip!
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