July 21st. HaPpY Birthday Dad!
Leaving the windswept calm of Paracas behind, we took the back road into Ica, skirting the city’s edge through some of the poorest, dustiest shanty neighbourhoods we’ve seen yet. Crumbling shacks lined the roadside, a stark contrast between Peru’s natural beauty and the deep inequality its people live with daily. Eventually, giving way to the sprawl of Ica—a chaotic city buzzing with traffic, street vendors, and loud honking horns. It was an assault on the senses after Paracas. Threading our way through the outskirts, finally arriving at the surreal sight of Huacachina.
Built around a small, greenish lagoon surrounded by towering dunes, Huacachina is Peru’s version of a desert playground. Palms ring the oasis, and every street is lined with hostels, tour agencies, and restaurants ready to cater to a constant stream of backpackers and thrill seekers. It’s beautiful in its own way—but also loud, dusty, and undeniably driven by tourism. From the moment we parked, we were approached by people trying to sell us dune tours, sand boarding, and everything in between.
From Desert Stillness to Dune-Fueled Chaos
Luky to find a place to park the truck, we then set off on foot to explore and see if we could score a good deal on a side-by-side dune ride. We managed to negotiate a one-hour ride into the desert for 300 soles—not bad. Our vehicle was clearly well-used, the shocks were pretty much shot, and the ride was anything but smooth. Still, the adrenaline made up for it. The driver took us roaring over steep dunes and plunging down the other side, no real route in sight—just raw, chaotic fun. With so many vehicles out there and zero visibility over rises and blind corners, it felt a bit like a free-for-all. Somehow we didn’t crash into anyone, though it felt like sheer luck at times.
We stopped on top of a dune to sandboard, and all three of us took turns sliding down. The desert light was soft and golden, and while the views were incredible, the area was sadly marred by garbage—plastic bottles, food wrappers, and more scattered among the dunes.
sunset dune hike
Back in town, with just a bit of daylight left, Tim, Jax, and I raced up the massive dune behind our truck to catch the sunset. The sand was soft and super fine—we sank with every step. The climb was punishing, taking a full 25 minutes of lung-burning effort, but we made it just in time to watch the sun dip below the horizon. We stayed a while at the top, catching our breath and snapping a few photos, then threw ourselves down the dune, running and jumping like kids. The sand swallowed our feet with every bounding stride. Tim slid the whole way down on a disk, Jax ran halfway then hopped on the disk for the rest. It was pure, silly joy.
Onward to Nazca
Dinner was a burger in town before we retreated to the truck for the night. As fun as Huacachina was, we weren’t loving the chaos.
9am the next morning we hit the road, following our direction South and onward to Nazca, where we will take a scenic flight over the famous Nazca Lines…