Say Yes to Bikes

As the sun finally peaks out of the overcast sky, it dawns on me that I might not be able to do this.  And by ‘this’, I meant the nearly 50 km bike ride through la Reserva Nacional de Paracus in Paracus, Perú my flatmate Camille and I had just began.  People warned us that it would be difficult and that we might get lost, but I really don’t think the reality of the situation set in until the sun finally came out and I realized just how hot and tired we were going to be by the end and how we were definitely going to miss the final of the World Cup (apparently the game wasn’t that good anyways, so I guess we were lucky).

Let me explain; I have come to Perú for two months, from the middle of June 2014 until the middle of August 2015 to do research at la Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería in Lima.  The professor is investigating methods of disinfecting water using nano-particles.  So for the past 5 weeks, I have been in Lima and traveling around some of the country, in order to try doing research for the first time as well as having the opportunity to travel and be introduced to the culture of Perú.

Huacachina's Lagoon

So last weekend Camille and I decided to travel to Ica and Paracus in southern Perú.  Restricted by our work schedules and the bus schedules to get us to there we left really early saturday morning and came back really late sunday night.  Our first stop was Ica.  Ica is best known in the traveling community of Perú for Huacachina, which is a small desert oasis town 15 minutes outside of Ica - you have to take a taxi which will drive you over the sand dune and to this little town situated around a lake.  Huacachina acts as the hub for all desert 

View from Huacachina's Sand Dune

sports where you can buy the dune buggie/sand boarding tour that we were looking for.  So we got to Huacachina around 1 p.m. and ate lunch and then walked up this giant dune beside Huacachina to get a view of Huacachina, Ica and beyond.  If you are going to Huacachina, hike up the dune! It takes roughly an hour (but good be done in less) and you get a really cool view.

Best part about Ica?  Its HOT and SUNNY!  Sadly the only thing missing from potentially the best and most unique summer of my life is the sun as Lima is generally chilly and cloudy.  This makes sense as it is currently winter here (I do get some strange looks when I wear my sandals out here - most people wear so many winter jackets it is ridiculous).  So this sun was a welcome feature of our travels.  So we had our little shorts and tank tops on and around 4 pm. we went on our dune tour.

Sand Boarding

Dune Buggie

So when I heard that to do sand boarding a dune buggie drove you out to the desert, stopped and waited then drove you back - I was grossly misinformed.  I suppose technically that is what happened, but actually - the dune buggie ride is TERRIFYING.  Its like a roller coaster - controlled by a driver (and let me tell you ours was insane).  Dune buggies can do anything (like go straight down the huge dunes).  Going through the desert on a dune buggie was one of the strangest experiences for me because I have never feared for my life and had so much fun at the same time; I couldn’t let go of the bar on the side of the vehicle or stop laughing.

Saying that though, its definitely worth it.  Sand boarding is awesome.  It is way harder then you would expect.  *It is harder to balance on the sand then it is on snow for example - but really fun to try.  Plus when you get tired of standing up (or falling down) you can treat the board like a sled and ride down either sitting or on your stomach.  Plus we got to do it as the sun was setting which meant we saw an extremely beautiful sunset as we were coming back.  Bring a jacket though - it gets chilly.  Sandboarding - besides going to Machu Picchu - was the one thing I told myself I had to try while I was in Perú.

When we got back, we took the bus to Paracus and stayed overnight at the Kokopelli Hostel there.  We got there kind of late and were thankful when a woman (who worked at a different hostel) showed us some of the way.  Paracus is a neat place, and relatively safe, but it’s quiet.  The woman who found us claimed her tours of Paracus would be cheaper then if we booked at Kokopelli so after checking in we went back there.  Her bus tours were cheaper - but bikes were not.  Luckily we negotiated 5 soles off of the price so it ended up being worth our while going (barely).

As for the hostel, I really enjoyed staying at Kokopelli.  It was a really nice set up - right on the beach, cool bar, hammocks, snack bar, pool and football.  It was chill without being boring.  Saying that there was a birthday of a girl who was traveling and had worked at the hostel for a couple of weeks and came back because she loved it so much - so everyone was happy and celebrating.  But they had an awesome live band.

So we woke up at 7 am to get our boat tour of las Islas Ballestas.  This small group of islands are off the coast of Paracus where you can see penguins, seals, pelicans and other birds.  It was really cool!  Unfortunately it was gray and cold on the water but seeing the penguins and seals really made my day.  You also get to see this feature of the Paracus national park called la Candelabra which is similar to what you would see for the Nazca lines.   The idea is that it barely ever rains in this area of Perú so these designs in the sand stay there forever.  I have been told by some people that seeing the lines isn’t worth it - so it was cool to see this instead.

So back to the bike ride:  It was still cloudy when we got back from the boat tour and left with our bikes, so I was wearing a sweatshirt and jacket and was just warm enough  - but soon realized that I was going to be WAY too hot.  Actually all the signs were pointing against us - it was hot and sunny, it was far, there was only one place at the end to stop for food, the roads were not that good - but still we did it.  And I would do it again no questions asked.  Why?  Because of the experience I had; I will never forget the views, the wind blowing in my hair, feeling the desert heat - you can not get that from a bus! At one point we just finished this 8 km stretch between the scenic viewpoints and it was around 1 pm (peak sun time).  I was hot, tired and the road had been terrible.  So as we were biking down this hill, it was suddenly easier and cooler, and you could look out and see the beautiful desert landscape abutting the red sand beaches with cliffs in the background.  I didn’t know places like this existed, let alone were here in Perú.

View of the 8 km stretch

 

We finally finished most of the ride - and stopped for lunch (there are some wonderful seafood restaurants there) with a view of the water.  And then biked back.  We then went back to Kokopelli and watched the sunset, Pilsen in hand, on the beach.  Paracus and Ica were incredible and I am sure you can see how my new policy now is to say yes to bikes.

Travel Details

Transportation:

Bus from Lima to Ica/Oltursa/~50 S/7:30 am - 12 pm/
Bus from Ica to Paracus/Cruz del Sol/20 S/7-8:30 pm (late - should be an hour)/
Bus from Paracus to Lima/Oltursa/~50 S/8 -11:30 pm/
Taxi from Ica to Huacachina/6 S/

Lodging:

Kokopelli Hostel/43 S/

Tours:

Huacachina Dune Tour/Hostel Arena/40 S (15 S more for a board upgrade)/4 p.m./
Islas Ballestas & National Park Entrance Fee/15S + 2S Tax/
Islas Ballestas Tour/Emotion Tour Peru/30 S/8 a.m./
Paracas National Park Bike Rental/Emotion Tour Peru/30 S/10:30 p.m./

Tips:

• When traveling in Peru, bring your passport even if you are not flying.  The bus company asked to see mine and I didn’t have it (thought I was being safe).  Luckily they let me on with my Maryland drivers license and a copy - but it will be easier if you bring it
• Bring the little white piece of paper called the Andean Immigration Card which basically proves to hostels that you have not been in the country for over 90 days.  The Kokopelli Paracus charged me and my friend 10 S more because we didn’t have this and couldn’t prove we had not been traveling too long.
• The prices increased in these touristy areas (say 30 S for a meal)

Travel Buddy!