The end of a good thing.

I'M DONE WITH SCHOOL!!!!!

I don't know how to feel. Someone please tell me.

I only have 12 more days in the wonderful country of Peru and I'm about to go back to my normal life. On the one hand I'm ready to get home to my friends, family and Mr. Douglas but on the other I can't imagine walking out my front door and seeing Norman. Its kind of depressing, no offense. I love Norman and all, but I'm having mixed feelings here.

Well, we'll all find out soon how I'll react to being back in the states. I'm leaving tonight for a week of traveling. Trujillo-->Chiclayo-->Cajamarca-->Huaraz. By the time I get home, probably Friday or Saturday, I'll only have 4 days left!! Those days will be packed full of last minute traveling, shopping, and saying goodbyes (although I've already had to say a few. Everyone in the house is traveling too!)

Time is flying by...an end to a distinct period in my life is coming and I don't know how I feel about it. I'll just have to accept it, because want it or not, I'm leaving Peru soon. Either way, I'm so glad that I chose to study abroad and that I chose Lima. Its one of the best decisions I ever made.

Thank you Peru!!

P.S. I still have sooo much I want to blog about. Even if nobody reads this thing, its been my travel journal and I need to finish it out. Never have I made it through an entire trip journaling, but this time I will!! So look forward to a bunch of random blogs after I return to the states.

Copa Mundial 2010

GGOOOOAAAAAAAAALLL!!

The 2010 soccer World Cup might be in South Africa this year, but I'm watching it in Peru, and thus have the wonderful opportunity to hear the games being commentated en Español. I may be biased and true I haven't heard games commentated in any other language but English and Spanish, but I stand firm in my opinion that the same fútbol game watched in Spanish is more exciting, more action packed and just plain more interesting than a soccer game watched in English.

Unfortunately, Peru's soccer team wasn't good enough to make it to the world cup, but that hasn't stopped Peru from going World Cup crazy!!

In the Plaza de Armas, Fifa Fan Fest has set up a huge screen TV that plays all the games. Huge groups gather to watch and there is a emcee of sorts. ATV, a peruvian station, plays all the games on the television and since I find myself watching all of them, I always see when they break to the Plaza during commercials. So, naturally, I had to go check it out. This is one of the first games, US v. UK...

Pre-game entertainment in the crowds...

And the game has begun!

Fans intently watching

Casa Rio Grande has also been going fútbol crazy. The most fanatic by far is Carlo, my new Italian roommate. He loves soccer, and even though Italy is out, it hasn't stopped him from rushing home everyday to watch the games. Its really fun to hear him start spouting out Italian when something exciting happens. Luz, one of my Taiwanese roommates recently returned from Buenos Aires, where she watched one of the games on the big screen in the Plaza there. She came home with loads of Messi gear and yesterday when Argentina played Mexico, she was all decked out, cheering away. The same story with Caroline, who just returned from Brasil. Serena is always excited to watch soccer as well.

So then there is me. I've never really been a soccer fan. Its rarely on non-cable television in the states. But I've found myself really really enjoying the World Cup.

A) someone in my house is always downstairs watching the game, cheering or yelling.

B) Its in Spanish, so its automatically got an air of importance and excitement.

C) Andrew loves soccer so its nice to talk to him about the games.

D) Soccer is actually very interesting, and exciting.

E) Soccer players are not bad too shabby looking ;) and finally

F.) Its finals and the World Cup is simply the perfect opportunity to procrastinate

+you know how I love all things international and competitions

But also, just in general, I think I'm really starting to enjoy soccer and I plan to continue watching it after the World Cup is over (I may be jumping on the bandwagon, but I don't plan on jumping off any time soon). I'm slowing learning all the rules and its a really interesting and fun sport to watch. I started being interested in soccer the first time I was really exposed to the "football culture" last summer in Barcelona, when they won Champions League. It was amazing to see the way the streets celebrated and the way the whole city came to life. Soccer is truly a world sport, and although I may be a little late on the uptake, I'm becoming a fan. I'm already starting to prepare for my life as an ex-pat. First step, become a football fan.

P.S. Kn'aan Waving Flags is a badass song. They've created multiple different language versions. My favorite being the Spanish one. Check it out! ( I dare you to tell me it's not a catchy tune...)

(P.P.S. Check out the Coca Cola plug at minute 1:22)

Amazon!!

I itch, a lot, all over.

Last weekend, I spent 3 days and 2 nights in the Amazon jungle, 200 yards from the Amazon river. It was one of the amazing weekends of my life.

The weekend started early, at 3:30 in the morning to be exact, when our taxi took us to the airport. After realizing we had miscalculated our departure time, and waiting a few hours to board our plane, we arrived in Iquitos at 7 in the morning. What a change from cold and overcast Lima. Iquitos was hot, and very very very humid.

Our lodge for the weekend

It was obvious that almost the entire plane had been filled with tourists. Our lodge, Cumaceba lodge, picked us up from the small airfield and transported us to the dock, where we boarded a speedboat that took us over an hour down the Amazon to our lodge. While leaving the river in which Iquitos lies, you could see a distinct change in the color of the water. Where the running water of the Amazon ran against the more stagnant waters of the river, you could tell that the river was black, while the Amazon was brown. Francisco, our tour guide, told us that Iquitos' water was so polluted from its inhabitants that it was unswimmable and undrinkable, although the population does both.

Belen Market Area

Dock--saying goodbye to Iquitos and off to the selva

Flying along the Amazon in our speedboat was amazing. It was hard to tell if the river was meandering or not, it seemed we were always going in a straight line. Once we got to the lodge, the first thing we saw were monkeys!! They were hanging out high in the trees that surround our lodge. A long raised and roofed walkway led up to the main hut, and along the way, we encountered a fruit bat and numerous tarantulas hanging out on the inner part of the thatched roof.

The Amazon

Welcome to Cumaceba Lodge

Then, to my surprise, we came across 4 of the cutest littlest puppies ever! I had so much fun playing with them all weekend. They are all girls and just over 2 months old. Side note* did you know that sometimes mama dogs eat too much food just to throw it up so their puppies can eat it?? How gross. Even though they looked so precious eating it lol.

Babies with Mama

Sooo cute...and eating vomit!

After our main greeting and renting rubber boots, we set off on a little walk through our backyard, the amazonian rainforest. Francisco pointed out different "flora and fauna" <--my new favorite term and I had my first encounter with the mosquitos of Iquitos.

Learning about the flora and fauna

One of my favorite pictures

They use this plant as red paint

Mushrooms

Green

After lunch we took a boat to a local animal refuge of sorts. Its one family's house, but they take in and take care of orphaned or sick animals, including all different sorts of monkeys, ant eaters, birds, and snakes. The monkeys ran to greet us by jumping all over our heads and attempting to bite us. I love them! Even though everytime one got on me i would slightly freak out, i was so sad when they would lunge from me to someone else. The bittersweet moments when i would feel their tail un-cling from around my arm, so fleeting, and I knew they were gone. Thus was my untold monkey romance :(

Toucan

Mama Sloth

I think this one's Pepe (the troublemaker)

Baby

My new friend

One the way back to the lodge, we stopped for a short time to try and sight the pink dolphins that live in the Amazon. After a little luck, went to some calmer water and all jumped into the river! So refreshing! It was crazy, swimming in the Amazon River. Anyone knows, I’m not the best swimmer, so it had extra meaning to me!

Tread that water!

That night we took a canoe ride on the lagoon in the backyard of our lodge. The "frog concert" as Francisco refered to it was very beautiful. There is one frog who literally moos like a cow. From all around you can hear the sounds of dozens of different types of frogs. We had flashlights, and I searched intently for a little froggy. I spotted one, but Francisco, being the true bad ass tour guide Amazon man that he is caught one. The tiniest little frog I've ever seen. Bright green and practically see through. We passed it around a little, but in the end it suited itself on the tip of my thumb nail (thats only about how big it was). Its little body was so cool on my thumb and slightly sticky, like a suction cup. I named him Fred.

The lagoon in the daylight

What wonderful sleep one gets in the Amazon. Its not too cold, but not to hot to agitate. The sounds of the running water, blowing breeze, and frog symphony can lure anyone into sweet soft sleep. Not that I ever did before, but I'll definitely think twice before I make fun of someone using those "sounds of the rainforest" sleep CDs.

Sunset lighting up the sky

So beautiful!

The next morning, right after sunrise, we found ourselves back on the lagoon birdwatching. I got a pretty good look at the Hoatzin--a very unique bird of the amazon. Its so different from other birds, it has its own family and suborder in the scientific order of classifying species. According to google, and I quote (lol) " The Hoatzin is arguably the most enigmatic living bird in regard to its phylogenetic relationships. No satisfying evolutionary hypothesis has been proposed..." It also has claws under its wings to climb trees and emits a very foul smell, giving them their nickname, the stinkbird.

The Hoatzin

After lunch, we went on a 1 1/2 walk through the forest to meet the Yagua tribe. I still am not sure how to feel about this. While I was very interested in meeting an indigenous tribe, especially after my Amazonian Ethnography class, this was definitely not how I had imagined it going.

As soon as we got to the tribe's central hut (where they receive guests) they showed us three traditional dances. I only participated in one, and only because a woman came over and grabbed my hand to dance. She did not look or smile at me and when the dance was over, she dropped my hand and walked away. From that point, i just felt like some sort of intruder. They must think we are rich fat english speaking tourists, wanting to impose in their lives and marvel at the way they live. I was very uncomfortable.

Dancing

Our tour guide had suggested that we bring some snacks for the kids. All I had was two packages of crackers and some cereal in a ziplock bag. As soon as I opened the crackers, the children, men and women were all surrounding me, putting their hands in my face, demanding part of a cracker. The same for the cereal and also for the ziplock bag I had brought it in. Of course I gave it to them, without thinking twice. And wished I would have brought a lot more baggies for them.

Kids getting their sugar high

Then they got out the blow gun and everyone got a turn to try on the headdress and blow the blow gun. Meanwhile, everyone stood next to the products, that they would sell to us (bracelets, necklaces, maskes, bags, etc.) I learned in my Ethnography class that many indigenous tribes depend on the money they make from tourism to better their lives and be able to by modern products that would better their lives in the jungle. So i was fine with buying their products, even though I wasn't too interested in them. I felt that they could use the money. I got a few maskes for the men in my life and a bag. The entire time we had been browsing their work, the people would come up to you, saying prices for their products (it was the only castellano they could speak) and I always felt bad telling them no thank you. One women had continually asked for my digital watch in exchange for a necklace. I refused. But after a while and right when we were about to leave, she asked again and I thought, "What kind of horrible person would I be if I didn't give this woman my watch." So I traded it for a necklace. The same deal people were trading floss, crackers, and plastic bags for necklaces-where i had been giving mine away. Its ok, I felt like I had done a good thing. Either she was thinking, "I'm so glad this nice lady traded her watch for my necklace" or "HA, i just ripped that naive tourist off!" Either way, I'll never know.

Blow Gun

The whole experience: marching into their camp, watching as the women quickly covered themselves up, the three rushed native dances, the blow gun session, and the bartering and haggling. The icing on the cake, as we left their area, we saw more Yagua women and children, dressed in modern clothing, wearing shirts and pants and shoes, waving us goodbye. Their fellow tribesmen had just been putting on an act for us. I would have much preferred seeing them in their natural setting, maybe seeing how they hunt or gather food, prepare the food or how they sleep. I didn't need to see the stereotypical and apparently dead traditions that the "rich tourist" expects to see when visiting a tribe. I wanted to see it like it is.

After that experience, we took a boat back to the lodge. This night, Serena and I had an appointment with a local Chaman, to participate in the traditional and spiritual ritual of Ayahuasca. For this, we weren't allowed to eat dinner. Instead, we relaxed and reflected for about 3 hours in our lovely hammocks. The Ayahuasca ceremony was nothing short of life changing. I truly will return from my Peruvian experience a changed person, more open, more at ease with myself and more confident in who I am and what I want from myself in this life.

Peaceful evening

Sadly, Sunday brought the last few hours of our time in the Amazon jungle. After a breakfast of eggs and toast, we headed out on a canoe to fish for pirhanas. The group was considerably smaller, as some had chosen to venture to monkey island instead.

Soledad y Carlos--our new friends fishing

Fishing is gross. The way they come flopping out of the water, when some of them would flop off the line and underneath the grates of the boat, and the way their gills would stretch so wide gasping for the water they would not find. Everytime someone caught a fish on their line, (our poles were sticks with strings attached) the fish on the line would swing around the small area of the boat until the winning fisherman was able to grab hold of the line and eventually the fish. Everytime some caught a fish on their line, I would jump up to avoid being near it. It was sad. But eventually I got over it for the most part. I even caught a few fish. My first one was very small, and died before we could get it off the line to set it free. My second one was a pretty good sized piranha (which we were able to eat later) and the third was a too small piranha, which we set free.

Scared of my own fish

Circle of life, right??

Fishing was fun and riding back to the lodge in our small boat was nice as well. There was no top and the boat was almost level to the water. I was able to dangle my feet over the edge and take in my last views of the amazon.

Heading back :(

After lunch we headed back to Iquitos. We had a few hours in the city proper before we had to head to the airport to return to Sweet Home Lima. Serena and I visited a few artesian shops, shared some food, and had popsicles and juice from local amazonian fruits.

Yummy juice

Our wait in the super humid, hot and sticky airport was horrible. But not as horrible as our 1 1/2 flight back to Lima, in which we traveled through a storm and hit some of the scariest turbulence I've ever experienced.

Back to Lima finally. Unpacked. Showered. Counted my bites--118 but I'm sure there is more.

The Amazon was amazing. I'm so lucky to have been able to travel so extensively in Peru. And now my time left here is closing in rapidly. I have one more trip planned before i head back to the States: 4 cities in 7 or so days. One last hoorah in Peru!!

Andrew's Visit

Only 33 days left in Lima, and I have no idea how to feel. On the one hand, I'm going to be so sad to leave. I really wish I could have another semester here. Living in Lima has been absolutely amazing. I love the culture and the life style. My favorite thing to do is to go up to the roof and just soak in the view from my house. I love being just another person in this huge mega city. I love walking to bus stops and being able to get anywhere by means of public transportation. I love haggling with the taxi drivers and mostly when I see tourists walking around Lima with their big backpacks and travel guides out, I secretly relish in the fact that I'm not a tourist in Lima. I live here!!

On the other hand, I'm excited to see my family and friends again, and even excited to start classes back at OU. I have learned so much during this semester, from all my classes, but they have all been pretty easy. Not that that’s a bad thing, but I miss having homework. Maybe this feeling comes from the fact that all my housemates have homework so sometimes I find myself bored. Anyway, all my classes are pretty much wrapped up, but I my finals are spread out over two weeks. So instead of having 2 extra weeks to travel Peru, I have to stay close by, even though none of my finals require very much studying. Don't get me wrong, there’s plenty to do in Lima. I think it’s just the bitterness that I don't have time to go to Puno or Arequipa that’s affecting this attitude. BUT, between now and July 20, I have plenty of things to see and do..starting with the Amazonian rainforest this weekend!

So as usual, an impending trip has motivated me to update my blog. Like every travel journal I've ever kept, the tail end of the trip is never recorded. I always get too caught up in what’s going on to take the time to record what’s happening.

Andrew came to visit last month for 10 days. Ten days chalk full of Peruvian adventures, both inside and outside of Lima. Not only did I want to show him all the highlights of my new city, but I also wanted to show him more of the country in general. We made two big trips, one to Cusco, to see Machu Picchu, and another along the Southern coast, to see Huacachina (the only oasis in Latin America) and the Islas Ballestas, so he could get a good feel of both the sierra and the costa.

Cusco-Machu Picchu

YES!!

I finally did it. I went to see Machu Picchu. It was breathtaking, amazing, everything I thought it would be, but somehow much more. Cusco itself was well worth the visit. The city has so much culture and historical importance. After taking Andean Ethnography, and learning so much about Cusco--the center of the Incan empire and what the Incas thought, the center of the world, I couldn't wait to explore it. Arriving in the city at 7 o'clock in the morning, our day was spent cramming as much cusco in as we could get. We got an amazing breakfast, including a cup of coca tea to help us acclimate to the high altitude and then we set off on foot. Not much remains of the Incan buildings, however, the Spanish plundered stones from Incan buildings as the bases of their new structures, leaving Cusco will a not so subtle Incan style. All the streets were cobblestone and very narrow.

A typical Cusco street

While in Cusco, we decided to buy our bus tickets and entrance tickets for Machu Picchu. Walking to the ticket offices was a great way to see the sites. We stopped along the way at various churches and markets. The main cathedral in the plaza de armas was breathtaking. The churches in Cusco were built with as much grandeur as the Spanish could produce. It was believed that the more awe inspiring and gorgeous the churches were, the easier the Andean peoples would convert to Catholicism. My favorite part about the main cathedral was their rendering of the last supper, which includes Jesus eating a cuy (guinea pig) and drinking chicha (fermented corn drink).

Plaza de Armas

Another great site was Qoricancha--the Incan Sun Temple. The most important building in Inca times, the Qoricancha was where the Inca would praise their god, the sun. The Spanish conquerors, of course, completely destroyed the temple. Pizarro, then gave the structure to his brother, who upon his death donated it to the Dominican order, where they built a convent. Considerable amounts of the original structure remain and the contrast between the Incan and Spanish architecture is stunning. Its crazy to see this building, a mix of two different cultures. The strong juxtaposition really speaks for the history of the city.

Qoricancha--the Sun Temple

View from the inside

We also visited the Inca museum, and about 5 other churches. Probably one of my favorite parts of the day was when we went to find Hatunrumiyoc, the famous 12-sided stone that is built into one of the old Incan walls. As Andrew and I wondered the street, tired from our full day of exploring, looking for this random stone in a wall of stones, we run across some random man standing next to the wall. He looks at us, realizes we're tourists and says, just like that, so bored and apathetic "this is the famous stone". It was pretty funny. Andrew and I were taken off guard by his announcement. He didn't seem to work for anybody, just felt like pointing the stone out to passers by. So blunt. Needless to say, we both felt sort of silly posing next to the stone for photos.

Main entrance of the Inca Museum

"This is the famous stone"

We walked around the city from 7-4, and then had to catch transportation to Aguas Calientes, the small town at the base of Machu Picchu. Since the floods in February devastated the area and destroyed the railroad that connects Cusco to Aguas Calientes, it was a little harder to get where we wanted to be. We found a collectivo, basically an 11 person van that drove people from Cusco to Piscacucho and started on our 3 hours journey to where the train tracks started. I was so afraid we would miss the train, due to shoddy road conditions, but we finally made it. Piscacucho is the point at which the tracks have been rebuilt. By the time out train departed at 7:45 we were about ready to crash (having been up since 5 am to catch our flight). The train took about at one hour and once we arrived Aguas calientes, our hostel was waiting for us with showers and beds and crackers we bought from a bodega.

Being the hard-core travelers that we are, we got up at 4:30 to get in line for the busses. Only the first 400 people to get to Machu Picchu are able to climb Huayna Picchu, where an aerial view of the citadel will amaze and astound. The line was about 300 people long when we got there at 5:00. We waited, and shivered, and waited and yawned, but it paid off. We were signed up for the 7 o clock trek up Huayna Picchu. However, once we stood before the ruins of Machu Picchu, and gazed at its grandeur, we couldn't pass up the chance just to sit in the morning calm and wait for the sun to rise over the mountains. We decided not to hike Huayna Picchu, but it was still worth the early rise to see the sunrise over Machu Picchu

Most breathtaking sunrise I've ever witnessed

Andrew and I couldn't get enough of the ruins. We took a short hike to the see the Incan drawbridge, a truly innovative defense mechanism and walked all around the citadel. Its actually really huge, from the pictures I've seen, I never imagined it to be that extensive.

The drawbridge--All the Incans had to do was withdraw the logs stretching across the expanse and nobody could access Machu Picchu

Also, the buildings were well preserved and the function and architectural genius of the Incans never ceased to amaze. The rocks with holes bored in them to hold up roofs and the 2 story buildings, the water fountains and agricultural terraces--everything had its own form and function.

Terraces for agriculture + llamas

Buildings

We stayed at Machu Picchu for over 5 hours. My favorite part being when we sat on the edge of the mountain and attempted to contemplate what we had just explored. There are few occasions in life when the surreal-ness of a situation can overwhelm you. This was one of those occasions.

View of Machu Picchu from the entrance

The rest of the day was spent resting. I explored the small small town, sent postcards, and visited the market. Andrew drank beer and watched the Champions League final. Aguas Calientes is really a one-horse town. The entire city seems to exist of touristy shops and restaurants, with cliché restaurants and high high prices. For dinner we ventured around the opposite side of the river. This is where we discovered the Peruvians who live in Aguas calientes, those who make their living off of tourism live. We at a truly "local" restaurant, where I'm pretty sure it seemed strange to the owner that we had ventured out this way. I was glad to find something not touristy and so was Andrew, although not Andrew's stomach. We believe the soup was the culprit. Poor Andrew suffered horrible stomach problems for the next few days.

Aguas Calientes

Getting back to Cusco is a whole other story. After we got off the train in Piscacucho, a bus was arranged for all passengers to Ollanytaytambo. I was looking forward to exploring the sacred valley, which has just as many amazing and well-preserved Incan ruins. However, Andrew wasn't feeling up to it. We took a breather after we got off the train and decided not to take the bus to Ollanytaytambo and just find another collectivo direct to Cusco. Well, we seemed to have waited too long. By the time we got to the car corral, all the transportation had left. A taxi driver tried to sucker us into riding with him back to Cusco, for 70 soles. Considering we only paid 11 each to get there we decided to wait. However, we managed to talk him down to 15 soles each, and along the way he picked up two more passengers to make it a full car.

Poor baby :(

Andrew felt like total poop, and I felt horrible seeing him suffer. His pain was prolonged however, by about an 1 1/2 hours, when were we delayed by a huge procession in Urubamba. Celebrating their patron saint, the city streets were inundated with bands, dancers, banners, and actors. After trying to find some sort of route around the city, the taxi driver finally quit. Andrew and I were able to get out of taxi and venture around the city. The procession was amazing. Such a random and amazing happenstance. I never would have been able to see this if not for our delay in leaving the train station. We didn't get to see any more ruins, but this was much more interesting and meaningful. See the photos below.

They sell these masks at the markets too, they scare me a little

It was really hot and their uniforms look really heavy.

Cutest part of the whole parade...little boys dressed up like hairy monsters

Mid-swirl

Once we finally made it to Cusco, Andrew crashed. With a high fever and upset stomach, he called it a night around 3 o'clock. I went and got him medicine and food. Now this is where I get the bad rep. I took care of him! I did. But then I went out and explored Cusco for about 3-4 more hours. It was our last night, and while we had seen pretty much everything the first day, was I just expected to sit in the dark next to my sleeping boyfriend all night? I came back around 7 and made him take his medicine and eat a few crackers.

We made it back to Lima with no problems and back to my house. The next few days we explored Lima some more. Got all sorts of Peruvian cuisine (ceviche, arroz con mariscos, papa rellena, lomo saltado), went to an amazing museum (Museo Larco Herrero), Miraflores and Barranco at night, and the Plaza de Armas again and everything else I could think of. By Wednesday night we were "officially done" with Lima. We took off on our next trip Thursday afternoon and didn't think Andrew would have time to see the city again before his flight back to Oklahoma.

Just one beautiful view of the outside of the museo

Pisco/Ica/Huacachina

Thursday afternoon (after class, father) we headed out to Pisco--namesake of Peruvians national liquor. The city is quite small and still severely damaged from a 2007 earthquake that rocked the whole southern region. We arrived after dark and toured the small city center. An eagle-eyed tour guide spotted us from across the square and came over to harass us. His prices were higher than those of our hostel, so we decided against using his services. He then went on to tell us that he works for our hostel and he can arrange it all for us. We told him we'd return. After calling our hostel and confirming that their price was still cheaper, I decided we had to do the honorable thing and go back and tell him no thank you. What was I thinking!?!? It was just weird and awkward and he kept trying to tell us that he and the hostel were the same people and blah blah blah. So...we just sort of walked away from him. How awkward did we feel when he came to pick us up in the morning for our tour!

The Islas Ballestas were amazing. I wasn't all that excited to see some birds and sea lions, but that was before I realized how completely amazing it is to see them in their natural habitat, and not in a horrible zoo. We saw all sorts of wildlife, a number of different species of birds, penguins, sea lions, starfish, etc. And all in huge numbers. The Islas Ballestas were one of the main guano harvesting areas in the late 1800 when the guano boom was the only thing keeping the Peruvian economy afloat, and barely at that. Much of Peru's aristocracy comes from guano money...poop money, ha!

Birds Galore!

Beautiful view

Penguinos

Lobos del Mar

After breakfast and las islas we headed on towards Ica. What a surprise this city was. I knew it was the capital of the region, but boy was it bustling. The entire city ran on yellow tico taxis and mototaxis. The streets seemed more busy than those of Lima, and it was fun to venture around a little. We didn't have much time to waste, as we wanted to get to Huacachina with plenty of daylight to spare.

Downtown Ica

Huacachina

Huacachina, our mini paradise, is only a 10 minute taxi drive from Ica. The city is so small, you can walk around the whole perimeter within 10 minutes. We started off by renting a boat and rowing around the oasis. I got to be made fun of for my rowing abilities, or lack there of, and we snuck up on a crane!

~Its 5 o'clock at the Oasis~

Our beautiful crane friend

Row that boat!

After the boat ride, we ran into a man running dune buggys. What a crazy ride. Andrew and I sat front row center, right next to Marco, the driver. The dunes were crazy, so much sand everywhere you looked. The dunes go super fast and seem to defy gravity. I definately had my fair share of screaming my head off!

Us screaming our heads off!

A dunebuggy

After a crazy ride, we tried our hand at sandboarding. I felt like a pro, you know I climbed the highest sand dune in the world and then surfed down it lol. It was sort of funny to see all the people surfing, Marco didn't give anyone any sort of direction. We all resorted to going down on our stomaches. Exhilarating, but the sand was harsh blowing in our eyes and mouths. We finished our dune buggy experience by watching the sun set over the dunes and getting a beautiful twilight view of the oasis.

Andrew attempting to sandboard, lol

Beautiful sunset

We finally made it back to Lima and headed straight over to Miraflores so Andrew could see it in the daylight. We had tried a couple times to get to the coast before sundown but it hadn't worked out. I'm glad Andrew got to see everything he wanted to while in Lima. We walked around Miraflores, did some last minute gift shopping, and ate some great Lomo Saltado for supper.

The cliffs at Miraflores

Miraflores

I was sad to see him go, but it was wonderful that he was able to come visit me and I could show him all my favorite things about Lima. Its great to share with him in person the life I've been living and talking to him about for the past 3 months.

Me and Andrew