Peru Part 4 - the journey back to Lima

I had about 4 days to get back to Lima from Copacabana in Bolivia. So I caught three buses back to back (about 22 hours all up) and passed through the popular tourist spots of Puno, Arequipa (I'd been to both of those places a few weeks prior), Nazca (I wasn't too interested in seeing the Nazca lines) and chose to stop at Ica for my last couple of days. Ica is surrounded by desert - the classic sand dune type desert that you learned about in primary school. Massive, rolling dunes that go on forever in all directions with no sign of life or water whatsoever. Except for Huacachina - the oasis in the middle of the desert. Synonymous with sand deserts is the dream of a tropical oasis that is so often just a mirage in the eyes of a poor lost man in the Sahara. But Huacachina is a real oasis - I stayed a couple of nights there just to prove it wasn't!

Huacachina is an oasis formed by a natural spring, and is a popular resort town for Peruvians in the summer, and for backpackers at any time of the year. Unfortunately you can't swim in the lake like you once could due to pollution, but most of the cheap hostels and hotels have a swimming pool to relax by.

There wasn't much to do there after you had walked around the lake, except relax or take a dune buggy / sandboarding tour. Both were extremely rewarding. The dune buggy tour was doubly great because I bumped into Pete from England again (who I had been on the ill-fated Salar de Uyuni tour with a couple of weeks earlier) - its a small world when your travelling on the gringo trail in South America!

The dune buggy tour was amazing - within minutes of hopping in (and with no safety precautions or warnings) we were absolutely flying up, down, over and around the biggest sand dunes I've ever seen in my life - it was pure exhiliaration, with a hint of danger, as the buggy wasn't the safest looking vehicle I'd been in recently. But it certainly tackled the dunes with aplomb and was faster and more thrilling than any rollercoaster I've been on in my life.

Then we would attempt to sandboard down some dunes (with plenty of stacks on everyone's behalf), and luxuriously be driven back to the top to do it all over again. Even though it took days to get the sand out of all the crevices in my body, it was great fun.

The wax on the base of the sandboards was essential and made for a fast first ride, then progressively slower each consecutive ride until you almost got bogged, even on a steep dune. Then you'd get the driver to "wax 'er up again" and hold on for the fun first ride.

After the oasis I stayed a night in Ica with a local Peruvian in his very humble, basic home. He lived with his mother in a 2 room house with many other families within the same building. There was no running water in his home, nor a toilet, and I slept on the concrete floor. All the families shared a non-flushing toilet and a sink down around the back. His mother ran a small cafeteria inside the immigration department of Ica and she cooked us a beautiful lunch two days in a row. Milton was very generous and took pride in showing me around his town, to his friends birthday party, his English school, and the nearby bodegas (wineries) where the national drink pisco is produced. Since I was at end of my trip and I still had a few gifts from Australia in my backpack, I gave Milton everything as well as some clothes and books that I no longer needed that I think he appreciated. I even gave him a Wiseacre cd and shirt as he played the trumpet - I bet it's a bit different to the type of music he is used to here though!

So another overnight bus and then straight to the airport in Lima for a few hours sleep and the redeye flight back to Buenos Aires, which marked the end of an amazing trip in Peru and Bolivia. I couldn't wait for a nice comfortable bed and a hot shower though!

Bolivia Part 5 - Copacabana and Isla del Sol

After some ups and downs in Bolivia over the past few weeks, it was time to move on back to Peru, but not before a stop on the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca for a day or two. I was looking forward to a nice bed and shower after dossing on the floor of the flat of a couple of French girls I met in Peru who were working in La Paz. While it was great to hang out with some people who knew La Paz well, and save some money for a night or two, unfortunately there was problems their shower and toilet, and one night I didn't have their phone number or key and waited outside in the cold with no shoes for a few hours... So when I arrived in Copacabana (in Bolivia, not the famous beach in Rio!) I checked into the Hotel Mirador (Spanish for lookout) and had this fantastic view of the lake, for just $AU9 a night!

The view from my hotel window.

The Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca is far prettier than the Peruvian side. Copacabana is a quaint little fishing-type village that makes you feel like you are by the side of the ocean somewhere in Mediterranean. But much cheaper - a 4 course dinner cost about $AU2.50! There was even a singer/guitarrist playing in the restaurant, but most people were watching over his shoulder to the tv where the Copa America soccer was being shown.

Isla del Sol

Crystal clear water - but damn cold!

The next day I caught the world's slowest boat to Isa del Sol (Island of the sun), where according to Inca legend, the first Inca was born. There was a few interesting ruins and some spectacular scenery - the water was crystal clear and looked so appealing, apart from the fact that it was absolutely freezing. It was a nice day to spend walking around the island and soaking in the rays and the beauty of Bolivia on my last day in the country. I'll let the pics tell the story:

The ruins on Isla del Sol where legend says the Inca empire began.

Looking back from Isla del Sol to the Bolivian mainland and the Andes mountains.

A small fishing port - check out the size of the reed sailing boat on the beach!

My last sunset in Bolivia - a beauty!