Hotel Villa de Valverde Ica

... a fall toward the bottom. Im glad it was toward the bottom at least. It was a hard fall and I have sand scratches on my face to show for it. The rest of the time I just slid down the dunes and it was great fun and got a few good pictures out of it.<br><br>Then when I got back I could not believe how much sand I accumulated in my clothes, in my ears, nose, hair, face, etc. I think the pictures of my face show a lot of sand. All in all a cheap adventure even if I did pay full price.<br>

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... the nearest 15 storey sand dune to hurtle down and fill every crevass of their body with fine dust, whilst trying desparately not to break their legs. <br><br>Most hotels in Huacachina have a swimming pool, and ours was no different, only it had a funny tinge of green to it and most people seemed to be avoiding it like the plague. Maybe we`d save the swimming for later at the risk of developing some bacteria water ...

... several kilograms of sand in my pants as I rode, nay, slid down on all fours. Renee meanwhile was continuing her on-going battle with gravity, with gravity taking the initial lead. We both made it bottom only to be driven to a larger, even more impressive dune. Some estimates put this sanddune as being taller than Everest, however standing at the top we can both attest it was several metres lower than the mountain. This time we did slightly better ...

... of dirt roads and scuzzy hotels.<br><br>After leaving Pucusana, we headed back out onto the Panamerican, naively assuming that because we were not that far south of Lima and it we has previously seen quite a few petrol stops that there would be one in good time. But the road took us back out into the desert and the 'Zona Neblina' which I don't even need to look up as is obviously fog! for about 100 miles before reaching the next petrol station (bike range being on ...

... dune´s worth of sand. More important than the sandboarding though, was the landscape. I´ve never been anywhere like it. It was incredible, and at some points seemed downright otherworldly. When I think of a desert I think of mostly flat, with some cacti, shurbs, and then some poisonous scorpions and snakes thrown in for good measure. This had none of that. It was just dune after dune after dune, and when you were in a valley between them, you couldn´t hear anything. And I mean ...

... out a vegetarian omelet, despite the fact that Claire had in fact ordered a vegetarian sandwich. That´s what happens when through misplaced confidence you opt to shun the conventional notepad in favour of your erroneously trusted, and in fact as it turns out, utterly useless memory. The waiter sped off. Several minutes passed. Señor Memory of a Sieve then returned with this gem of information - the chef could not make a vegetarian sandwich. Hang on - he made me a ...

... the back) and in spite of the perpetual banking one way and then another, I don't get sick. Soon enough, we are landing and I takxi back to town and head for Huacacina. The overflight was not cheap at $60, but to me, it was definitely worth it.<br><br>In the middle of the coastal desert surrounded by colossal dunes is a brown, murky lagoon, and on this lagoon is the backpackers' paradise of Huacacina - if only I went in for such Eden's. The town is little ...

... downstairs from our dorm in the morning I was startled to see a towering sand dune behind the hotel, effectively in its back garden. Amazing scenery. Plus the weather is amazing too.<br><br>At 4pm we gathered outside the hotel ready for our dune buggy to arrive. Soon it did. It was a large custom-built vehicle, with space for eleven passengers plus the driver (i.e. four rows of three). The tires were sizeable. Each seat had a belt that came over both shoulders ...

... rode back to the hotel. <br><br>Our next stop was Huacachina, the oasis in the middle of the dunes. Our tour guide, who had the personality of chalk, told us about the myth of Huacachina and gave us a whopping 20 minutes to enjoy the lagoon. The water was pretty gross-looking so, instead of putting our feet in, we decided to rent a paddle boat for the majority of that time and float around. <br><br>We then got a ride to our hotel in Paracas ...