Peru Adventures – Ica (and Huacachina)

Ica threw us into the desert part of Peru. It was also my introduction to how I don’t cope well in 30 degrees heat. I get very cranky and I’m constantly aware of how sweaty I feel. That may also have been related to me being sick during this leg of the trip. But we soldiered on, determined to soak in as much as we can, including spending a night in Huacachina, a neat little oasis just next to Ica.

After an uncomfortable bus ride from Cusco to Ica, where I was still feeling sick from the final days of the trek, we arrived in Ica. The hostel we stayed at was Ica Wasi Hospedaje. We had a great stay here. The owners were lovely and chatty, and helped me explain my cough related sickness at the pharmacy. A few days on meds and I was back to normal. I was so grateful.

I will now again talk (complain) about how hot it was. It was humid all the time, sleeping was hard. Even with no blankets and minimal layers, it’s still too hot. Purifying tap water meant drinking clean, warm water. What I’m trying to say is, I like warm weather, not hot weather.

We took mototaxis everywhere in Ica. Boy are they fun/scary. But walking around in the heat was just too much for us. We went to the regional museum of Ica, where they had a mini version of the Nazca Lines out back which was neat, as we weren’t able to see the real ones.

Later on, we checked out local shops and cafes. It was also recommended to us to try a Pisco Sour, a well known-Peruvian cocktail. Again, I don’t really drink, I have never really liked the taste of alcohol. It looked really nice, but I could only drink half, and I didn’t think much of it. I’m sure someone else would have loved it.

Huacachina was a blast. The hostel we stayed at was Banana’s Adventure. I got the same vibe from the hostel we stayed at in Cusco. It was very social, youth-oriented and as a bonus, had great food. We also walked around the whole town and had a blast.

We went for a dune buggy ride along the nearby sand dunes. It was a lot of fun, and we even got to try sandboarding down the dunes. We went through Nazca Flights as they offered touring around Ica. The price was 65 soles ($28 NZD), but it didn’t include the entry fee of 3.5 soles. It’s definitely worth it for a run afternoon of zooming around the sand dunes.

Can you see how much I was sweating in the above photo? We just couldn’t escape the heat.

That evening (when it was cooler and we felt much more social), we hung out in the hostel talking with some other travellers.

Next stop, Paracas.

Angela.