Sand Boarding Huacachina

Huacachina, Peru just made it onto my list of Top 10 Places to Go. Miles and miles of fine, white sand spread across the south coast of Peru. Nestled within the desert dunes, lies a natural oasis that was long ago visited by the Peruvian elite for the water's medicinal properties. While the teeny tiny town of Huacachina initially sprung up because of the oasis, within the last ten years it has become a tourist sandbox.

Dubious at first to visit such a "touristy" site, we headed an hour south of Pisco for a weekend visit. Yet, I suppose places become popular for a reason, and the majestic fabled dunes were more than worth the high tourist prices.

Traveling in a large group of 14 Pisco Sin Fronteras volunteers, we arrived Saturday afternoon after work just in time for sunset. Dropping our bags in our dorm room, we raced out to the hostel's "backyard" and to the base of one of the mountain high dunes. Our feet sunk deep into the sand as we trudged up the hill, racing the earth's rotation in order to catch the bright oranges and reds painted across the sky. When we crested the top of the hill, the view was absolutely breathtaking. I have never seen anything like it my life. The hills spread on for miles, brushed perfectly smoothed by the wind. It was beyond surreal.

Sunday morning we spent by the pool waiting for the sun to cool off enough to even touch it. The sun beat down hotter than I've experienced in Latin America thus far, reminding us that we were in fact in a desolate desert. Yet by late afternoon we were signed up for sand boarding and a ride in a sand buggy. All 14 of us climbed in the giant 4-wheel drive roller coaster cage, clamped our seat belts on for the first time since arriving in Latin America, and headed off away from civilization and towards the horizon. Up down up down up down we rode over the dunes screaming hysterically in excitement as we careened through the desert.

Our driver pulled over at the top of a dune, put the buggy in park, and distributed wooden boards with black shoe straps that look like they were made by a 10 year old about to do something stupid. it's really easy, he says as he passes out bits of chopped up candle to everyone to wax the bottom of the board for speed. After watching a couple volunteers who routinely snowboard roll awkwardly down the dune, we all decided that it would be better t change our sand boarding plans to sand sledding instead. We grabbed onto the foot holds, slung our bodies on top and pushed off the dune, sliding down steep cliffs that were more than scary.

Traipsing through the thick sand was by far one of the most incredible, beautiful, and surreal experiences I have ever had. The more I travel and see, the more I realize how many hidden treasures there are in this world; tucked away near dirty, ugly towns of Pisco and Ica, is a natural and beautiful playground.