Latin America On a Steel Horse: Huacachina, Nazca Lines and Dune Buggy / Sandboarding

Huacachina, literally a desert oasis

Arrived in Huacachina after what turned out to be a really nice ride from Paracas. I was a bit concerned as it started out very hot, my legs were surprisingly tired from the slack line and it looked like pure desert from Paracas to Huacachina. I took an extra 3 liters of water just in case. I did not need them. The roads were good, the air cooled and it actually started sprinkling on my way into Huacachina.

Huacachina

Huacachina is literally a desert oasis. It is a small lake surrounded by small hotels and restaurants. It was popular in the 1940’s, but went out of favor. It re-surged as some enterprising individuals marketed it to tourists for dune buggy riding and sand boarding adventures.

Huacachina from above enroute to Nazca Lines from Ica

Nazca Lines

If you are nearby, I think it is a must to see the Nazca Lines, which I think you also need to see them from the air. I took a flight out of Ica (near Huacachina). I can’t help but think of the Nazca Lines as archeology’s version of crop circles.

This plane looked/felt safe. I was reading that safety has not been the top priority among airline companies flyiing Nazca. Some airlines with crashes have simply closed and opened under a different name.

The hummingbird. One of the easier to figures to see. Not easy to get pictures of these.

From the plane, vast desert is the majority of what you see. There are some well irrigated crop lands. It tells you that with some sophisticated irrigation or cheap desalination, this area could be productive. It also makes me wonder what it was like during the period the Nazca Lines were created. Were they created during a time in which water was more available for crop land? Is the desert a recent phenomenon? I think that one of the reasons that I think this is due to the fact that I think it would be extremely difficult to live out in the desert. Yet, I have found that people do manage to subsist out in the desert. There are people living there who probably require no support from other communities in order to survive.

From the plane: vast desert.

Dune Buggy / Sandboarding

I really enjoyed this activity. It starts with a ride on a dune buggy through the dunes. This is a blast. You go over some ridges and are looking straight down. The guy beside me was screaming like child the whole ride. Then we stopped and gave a try at sand boarding. I started to get a hang of it. For the last hills, we road like a sled as these were pretty steep.