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Before The TripSan Salvador and LimaHuacachina and ArequipaCanyon Country
 
watchdogtimerSouthern PeruHuacachina and Arequipa
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May 6 2007, 01:51 AM1 comment
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Arequipa, Peru


 
Getting out of Lima felt pretty good. Too much bustle. There´s this little tourist trap down the road called Huacachina. Population: 200. Stray dogs: 50. Dune Buggies: One for every tourist. The town is wrapped around this natural oasis, with sand dune mountains on all sides. Of course, the denizens managed to make it a business. And as tourists, we didn´t want to let our hosts down. After a lazy morning (the morning of the 4th) we found ourselves strapping into this 9 person buggy and ready for this crazy local, Antonio, to flip us around on the dunes. The desert coast of Peru is truly something to see for yourself. Leaving eyesight of the oasis, all we could see was sand (w/ the occasional glimpse of a town in the distance). Boarding on sand is fun, but can´t compare to the snow, sorry. Perhaps it was inferior equipment, though. We were renting $1.50 boards that required a fresh waxing every 100 yds or so. Long runs (not that I could complete any) were out of the question. Some folks, after finding the stand up routine slow or difficult, resorted to using their boards as sleds, barrelling headfirst to the bottom of these giant dunes and it looked like everyone of them should have died (no injuries accounted for, whew).

Next up was the night bus. For these really long rides, South America prefers to have you depart after dinner and arrive around breakfast. After fearing for my life a couple times, I suggest avoiding these whenever possible. The swerves these guys take and the passes that they maneuver, not to mention these guys can´t be alert, wracked my nerves whenever I wasn´t fitfully sleeping.

Anyway, we made it alive in Arequipa, the 2nd largest Peruvian town, and had today to explore. However, if you want outdoor adventure in this town you gotta travel far away. So that´s what we´re doing bright and early. This is all the time we´ll actually spend in the city. Blair and I discovered some great food here, which has proved difficult until today. Oddly, that was probably the highlight of the day. After passable food for the duration of the trip, it feels amazing to eat a flavorful, local meal.

River, you´ll love this: I dined on alpaca tonight, an Arequipeno cuisine. It was damn good. Alright, time to explore the canyons tomorrow.

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aloha

Written by jondstillman  21 months ago


hey man, glad you made it. you must be siked to be hanging w/ blair. are these comments public? well, didn't want it to seem like noone was reading about your adventure. sandboarding? awww, sick (to paraphrase you). happy travels, say hi to blair. -jon

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