Sand, sand everywhere!

Exhilarating
Paracas National Reserve
Ica
Cold chips

Paracas National Reserve is the oldest marine reserve in Peru, and incorporates a variety of marine habitats and tropical desert. The reserve is home to many species of wildlife, particularly birds which are largely concentrated at the water's edge. One of the main attractions, La Catedral sea-arch, was destroyed during an earthquake in 2007. Now it is a sea-stack, but still quite pretty. We camped overnight on one of the beaches in the park; it's real soothing falling asleep, and waking, to the sound of crashing waves.

Went on a boat trip to see the Ballestas Islands (affectionately referred to as 'poor man's Galapagos') and enroute we saw El Candelabra, a well-known prehistoric geoglyph, that is cut into the face of the peninsula. The design is about two feet deep, and is large enough to be seen twelve miles at sea.

The Ballestas Islands are a sanctuary for marine birds such as the guanay guano bird, blue-footed booby, terns, and pelicans. We also saw Humboldt penguins and sea lions. Our guide told us that we had seen over a quarter of a million birds, and I didn't for one second doubt it, as the islands were teeming with birds.

Huacachina is a small village built around a natural oasis in the desert. The dunes look as what I imagine the Sahara desert to be like. Our reason for stopping here was to spend a night out under the stars in the desert, try our hand at sand-boarding and take dune buggy rides on sand dunes that stretch several hundred feet high.

Our trip got slightly delayed when Rogan had a wee tip in Ithaca. He lifted a parked minivan off its wheels and did a bit of damage to it while turning a corner. We were all sitting outside the hostel watching the incident unfold as if in slow motion, a collective "Noooooooo...." escaped the lips of pretty much all of us watching. Unfortunately it meant that Rogan and Kirsten had to stay behind to sort insurance details. Still, the rest of us set off in two V8 dune buggies and we soon forgot all about everything other than sand, speed and laughter.

The V8 dune buggy ride was amazing. Zipping along the dunes at, what felt like, crazy speeds was exhilarating. How they don't tip over is beyond me, the drivers seem to have no fear at all. I was in the back seat of the buggy and it felt just like being in a rollercoaster - being throw all about the place and lifting out of your seat. I would have gladly spent an entire day zooming about the dunes, but we had to reach our camp for the night by dark.

The sand-boarding was also great fun. Basically for non-professionals (i.e. tourists) you lie down on a sandboard, tuck your elbows in, lift your head and legs and careen down terrifying steep dunes. Your aim is to stay on the board, thus avoiding sand burns, and try and travel the furthest distance on reaching the flat bottom. One of my last runs was the best and I went flying past everyone at the end, was delighted with my effort as usually it was Vanessa who went tearing by like a shooting bullet. Thankfully the only injury I have to report is bruised hipbones.

We reached our camp, a sheltered base of a sand dune, after the sun had set. All our sleeping bags were there, so we sat and chilled while our drivers made a fire. One of the buggies returned to town to get our dinner. A few of us trundled up the side of one of the dunes to take a look at the glittering lights of Ica town. We even could see the fireworks display in honour of it being May Day. An hour later the rumble of a V8 signified dinner had arrived, and it also brought the great surprise of both Kirsten and Rogan. Dinner consisted of cold chicken breast (that had a distinctly fishy flavour!), cold chips and salad. Sounds horrendous I know, but it wasn't too bad - but then I was ravenous, plus it could have been the accompanying 7 litre container of Pisco sour that helped with the memory altering.

A few of the group went climbing up the dune in the dark and did more sand-boarding. Rogan, a keen snowboarder, showed us all how it should be done and strapped in and went down standing up. It's super impressive looking for sure, but doesn't even reach a fraction of the speed that you can get on your belly.

Tony, Geoff, Vanessa and myself headed up another sand dune, trying to get away from the glow of Ica's lights. We trundled for ages as the dune was exceptionally steep and the sand was incredibly soft. Finally we reached the top and spent a good hour simply star gazing. We were rewarded for our efforts with two very clear shooting stars. An amazing sight.

Fears of been too cold in our sleeping bags were quickly abandoned as the wind wasn't too bad in our sheltered area. We awoke early and were not greeted to a beautiful sunrise as it was a very misty morning. The haze quickly burnt off though and we headed back to Huacachina for breakfast. We begged the drivers for one more sand board attempt and were duly obliged. Incredible!! I really, really, really enjoyed myself here; even though I know I'll be finding sand everywhere for the next few weeks. Francois created a wee video of our sandboarding efforts, you can watch it here.

My sandboarding escapade has crept into my top five activities to date.