Wild Wild West

I woke up this morning in an Oasis in the desert and now I have found myself in a city in shambles. The last few days have shown me the crazy contrast of life in South America. To go from Arequipa, a beautiful little city with landscaped plazas and gorgeous vistas, to the Oasis at Huacachina, my idea of the South American Sahara, to Pisco, a town destroyed by an earthquake two years ago and trying to rebuild what it once was.

My last few hours in Arequipa were spectacular. I met up again with my canyon guide and he took me to a district just outside of the city called Sacacha. It was a quaint little neighborhood with a huge tower that overlooks the city and the mountains that surround it. We got there just at sunset to see El Misti at it's best. The sunsets in South America are a pretty incredible second best for me, the first being in Turkey. It was the perfect goodbye to a city that I loved exploring.

The overnight bus to Ica was phenominal. Better than any bus ride I've taken, as I was able to sleep the entire way. I got a semi-cama seat on the top floor meaning my seatback laid almost all the way down and there was plenty of leg room to stretch out. I must have been asleep within ten minutes of boarding and didn't wake up until we arrived at our destination the following morning. The perfect way to travel.

I arrived in Ica and caught a $1 cab to the oasis at Huacachina and saw the enormous mountains of sand that were once deep under the ocean. Huacachina was meant to be a resort for Peru's elite, but somehow became a weekend getaway for Peruvians and a necessary stopover for international backpackers looking for dune buggy adventures. The town, if you can call it that, is just a lagoon surrounded by huge palm trees and hotels and hostels galore. There is really nothing else there, except for the sand, of course.

I checked in to the Casa del Arena (house of sand) hostel and was immediately pleased to see a nice, clean pool for me to relax next to. In the midday heat, I took a dip while I waited for the desert floor to cool down a bit in the afternoon. I hiked for a half hour up one of the mountains and saw the surrounding citys from the top...and then had my first, and only, attempt at sandboarding back down. It's a lot like snowboarding, but impossible to carve, so you just end up flying straight down the mountain hoping to stay upright. I have to admit, I wasn't that bad. I only ended up going down once, as the sun was setting and I forgot my headlamp, but I made it down with only falling once into the soft sand. Makes me think that I might want to try snowboarding when I actually get to see winter a year or so from now.

I've said over and over that one of the best things about travel is the people that you meet and the things that you learn from them. After leaving Arequipa, I got thrown into the mix and now realize that not all people speak english. In fact, I really haven't encountered anyone that speaks english in the last four days. I had this happen when I lived in Spain years ago, and I was so happy to have it again...meeting someone that doesn't speak your language, and you don't speak theirs, and neither of you speak spanish very well, so you're forced to form a bond based on mediocre language skills and charades. That's basically what I did during my entire stay at the oasis, and it was an incredible learning experience. The practice has definitely come in handy now that I have moved on to a new location.

So in my three days in Huacachina, I had a lot of sun, pool, sand and wineries. Yes, there are wineries in the desert. One of the french guys and I took a wine tour my second day there and enjoyed the vinos and piscos. Pisco is like a grape brandy that is only made in this region of Peru. Very strong, and very high alcohol content. It pretty much tastes like tequila...and burns just as bad going down. Needless to say, after three bodegas, I was ready to be done. I opted for the wineries rather than dune buggies, and although it wasn't much compared to my favorite Californian wines, I'm glad I had the chance to test them out.

I was supposed to leave the oasis yesterday afternoon, I had my bags packed and everything, but somehow moving just didn't seem like the best option, so I stuck it out there one more night. This morning I awoke bright and early, had some breakfast and said some goodbyes, and then hopped on the bus to Pisco, just an hour and a half north of Ica. I arrived before noon to find what's left of this town after the earthquake in 2007. The only thing I could think of in my cab ride from the bus station is that I have somehow arrived in the Wild West. Most of the roads are dirt and there is a dust cloud everywhere you look. A lot of the buildings are half destroyed and there is debris everywhere. I can hear chickens clucking as I type this and there are ferral dogs in the streets. I really can't believe the contrast with the last few places I have been.

It's not all bad though. My hostel is nice and the people seem incredibly friendly. I took a walk over to the Plaza del Armas and you can see the progess they have made at trying to rebuild their city. There are a couple of streets where the brick has been re-laid and there is a nice little market with loads of Sunday strollers just enjoying the nice day with their ice creams. It's just a town that got hit really hard, and there are people that refuse to give up on it.

I've been hearing throughout my trip here that there is a company called Pisco Sin Fronteras that allows people to volunteer here on all sorts of projects. I haven't looked too hard for it at this point since it is Sunday and I know they are closed. Apparently tomorrow morning I can get up early and take a cab over and help out if I please. I've heard stories of people coming here and volunteering for months because they loved it so much. I hope that I can find that same passion for it and make the best of my last few days in Peru.