Out the left window...
...and the right
We stopped once for breakfast (chicken and rice) and then again for lunch (a sauteed seafood concoction -- not very good for being so close to the ocean) and continued on. We were about 45 minutes from our destination when our bus caught on fire. Yes, on fire. We were watching a film and all of a sudden the bus pulls over and we all look out to see what happened. And then we saw smoke.
Now, I'm not overdramatic. And since we'd already had two flat bus tires on our journey, I just assumed that this was another one -- with a bit of a smoking wheel due to the speed at which we were traveling. The Peruvian woman in front of us thought differently and was quite adamant that we all disembark. Ahorita.
It was a good thing we did. The fire under the bus was right next to the stairs to disembark, so we all had to jump through a good deal of smoke and heat. We watched in awe as the driver and his assistants threw water on the flames and tried to figure out what to do next. We were in the middle of NOWHERE.
Eventually, another bus headed for Ica stopped and they ushered me and Hum onto it. Apparently the rest of the bus was going straight to Lima. So, we settled in for the rest of the trip and made it to Ica by about 7pm. Got off the bus and didn't have a clue as to where to go.
I'd read in the German guy's (the one at the bottom of the canyon) guidebook that the area of Huacachina was cool, as the hotels surround a big lagoon. So, we got in a taxi and headed over. We checked out the hotels -- most weren't impressive for the price -- and asked the driver to take us back to the main part of Ica. Humberto had been to Ica once or twice and remembered that there was a REALLY fancy hotel called The Dunes and asked the driver to take us there. The wait to get through the gates with security was ridiculous and when we finally made it to the front desk we were greeted with barely a "hello" and a price list (450 soles/night!!). So we asked to see a room, which seemed to be too much effort for the staff to handle. After a little back and forth ("No, I will not give you my passport until I see the room"), a staff member grudgingly took us for a hike through the grounds to the available room. The grounds seemed nice, but it was dark, so we couldn't see much. And the walk took FOREVER. I couldn't believe how far away this room was and, when we finally go there, it was about as basic as it gets. Sure, it was fine, but this was supposedly a 4-star hotel. Not impressed.
So, we left. We drove about 200 feet down the road when this cute little hotel popped up in front of us called Casa Sur. We went in and asked about availability. They had a room, the staff was nice, there was a beautiful pool, wifi, breakfast and a great restaurant (we had 2 awesome meals there). And at the splurge of 150 soles/night we decided it was worth it. We stayed for 4 days.
Hum in our pool
The next day we made our way to the main square, found a laundry service in the mall (our clothes were starting to walk on their own) and looked into booking a tour to Nazca to take a flight over the Nazca Lines. It's been a long-time wish of mine to see them, but we couldn't get a flight. Well, we were initally told that we could (more than once by different agencies), but then when they actually tried to book one for us, there was none available. Lesson learned on this one. The next time we try to go to Nazca we book the flight a few weeks in advance.
So, instead we booked a tour to Las Islas Ballestas and Paracas for the next day. We awoke early and were picked up by Tony (who already had another couple in the car) and made the hourlong drive to the coast. I slept for some of it (the 80s music Tony was blasting lulled me into a stupor) and awoke just as we pulled up to the docks. We got in line with the rest of the tourists waiting to take a boat to the islands. And then we waited. And waited. And then we were told that the water was too rough to go and to come back tomorrow. Great.
So we headed to Paracas instead. Sand dunes everywhere and ending at cliffs that just dropped down to the sea. Rock formations that leave your mouth hanging open in awe and, down on the beach, seashells and stones so beautiful that I had to take a few back with me. We stopped for lunch at a cluster of restaurants on the shore and dined on the sandwiches we brought instead. We napped on the beach for an hour or so and watched the brave souls who waded into the chilly water. One girl ran in and stepped on a sea urchin -- she came out limping and crying, as it's prickly spines stung her feet. There wasn't a whole lot we could have done to help her, but we came over and offered some kind words (and I gave her a few oils to smell to relax her while her friends tried to remove some of the spines). Neither of us were successful.
Back to the hotel for some pool time and sleep. We got up early again the next morning and went back to Islas Ballestas (with the same couple and a large Peruvian family as well -- in a bigger car with a different guide). This time we got on a boat and motored off to see the islands!
You don't get off the boat. These islands are filled with hundreds of thousands of birds, penguins and a bunch of sea lions. The rocks are white because of the bird shit -- which, apparently, is a popular fertilizer and collecting it is a highly profitable (but dangerous) business. The sea lions were funny. They just found a sunny cropping of rocks and draped themselves all over them. They didn't seem that active (but I wouldn't be either if I had a a bunch of rocks to lounge on in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Well, the smell of bird shit might deter me a bit.
We got back to the mainland and ate some more sandwiches for lunch (trying to save a little $$ here). The grocery stores in all of the cities we visited were much more impressive than the ones in Cusco. Cusco has the basics: bread, fruit, vegetables, cheese (but not much variety), Piqueo Snax, toilet paper, but not much else. It can get a little frustrating when you crave variety. The grocery stores in Aeriquipa and Ica had so much more selection that it was easy to buy food for the next day and actually enjoy it! We ate so well on this trip just from supermarkets that Hum had himself a little tummy by the end of the journey!
The next day we got on a 5-hour bus to Lima. They run every 10 minutes or so from Ica, so it was easy to just wake up when we were ready, pack, say goodbye to our lovely hotel and make our way to the terminal. The ride was easy and we made it to Lima by mid afternoon, went online at the terminal and found a hotel. We "splurged" again for something a little nicer as we only had 2 days here and would then be parting ways for a while, as Hum was taking a job up north in Piura for a couple of weeks.
Lima is cool. This was my second time here and I liked it just as much as the first time. We hung out in Barranco, a cute, bohemian neighborhood near Miraflores (another cute but more expensive neighborhood) and ate Middle Eastern food and lounged in a cool bar afterwards. Crashed back at the hotel, woke up late the next day, and found me a travel agency so I could book a cheap flight back to Cusco the next day and then spent the rest of the afternoon hanging by the rooftop pool (it was chilly, but I got in this time) in the hotel.
The boy is addicted to pools
Hum and his boss drove me to the airport the next morning before making the day-long drive up to Piura and, after a 2-hour delay (I was flying Peruvian Airlines, so this is expected), I made it home by about 2:30 in the afternoon. Whew. What a trip!
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