Slide Away

From Lima we continued down the Pan-American to Ica, and then detoured off slightly to the amazing Huacachina which is, a real life proper Oasis nestled in the desert.

We were here 13 years ago with my brother Ed, who joined our world tour for a few weeks. I have fantastic memories of this place: sandboarding, dune buggying, a parrot pecking Ed's ear, a lovely hostel pool, and the removal of my braids after 2 months and the resulting microphone head - fun times!

Things hadn't changed a lot since then (at least not on the hair front!) - not much room for expansion with the dunes constantly encroaching - although things were definitely a little plusher, and our hostel had been significantly upgraded. This time around we made do with a sandy parking lot, but within an hour we were loaded on a buggy and razzing up and down some crazy slopes at break neck (literally) speeds. We stopped for sand boarding, which was a lot more forgiving than the lava boarding tours we used to run in Nicaragua. Last time we recommended to stand, and Jo got told off for lying down and going at crazy speeds. This time it was belly only, but yet again Jo managed to out-board pretty well everyone (and has the scar to prove it!) . (Definitely) Maybe they should add it to the Olympics!

We rarely do tours this time around but this was so much fun. I'm sure it hasn't really changed from last time, but I think we'd forgotten how good it was and it was long before smartphones & Go-Pros existed - how did anyone remember things in the past?!

We blagged ourselves a shower by bribing the security guard at some posh swimming pool place, and then nailed a street burger cooked by a fascinating chap who spent 20 years working in kitchens in Italy. Needless to say it was a good burger.

The following morning we headed out early and drove the few hours to Nazca, where they have the amazing shapes etched into the desert. Last time around we did the whole caboodle with the little plane, so this time we were happy just climbing a tower by the roadside and seeing a couple of the pictures. If you don't know about this place, Google it - no-one really knows why they drew hundreds of these pictographs (whales, monkeys, even supposedly an alien) as well as geometrical shapes in the desert floor by just repeated tracing of the same route, but it's a pretty awesome legacy they left behind.Read more