Hello Everyone!
Just arrived in Arequipa, a city known for its outdoor activities. Here is the lowest Canyon in the world! I last left off at the Islas Ballestas. The islands were…smelly. Thousands of animals covered the islands. The islands had rolling hills on the tops and jagged sharp edges near the water. Thousands of birds flew and chilled everywhere, covering the island in their shit, which made it white and smelly. We saw hundreds of sea lions. The best part was when we drove into a cove and our captain shut off the engines so we can hear the roar of the mighty seal lion! There at the hostel, we met a few other travelers heading to the same places we were so we joined up. They are 4 french Canadians, one Parisian, and one German. Together we went to Ica and from there took a 10 min. taxi to a lagoon called Huacachina. You drive out of civilization into the the freaking desert then out of nowhere, a lagoon appears, surrounded by trees and about 200 buildings (maybe less). Huacachina is known for the sand dunes. We were surrounded by these massive dunes. We wasted no time. We rented a sand board and headed straight up the dune. Walking up was one of the most difficult things I have done. So exhausting! And midway up, a sandstorm kicked in, so that was cool. Sand boarding is really tough since there is a lot more friction against the board with the sand.
That night we partied hard, met other travelers, and had a good time at the bar they have at the hostel. The next day we hung out around the pool since we were all exhausted from getting up super early from the past few days and waited until our dune buggy tour. I cannot explain how beautiful this was. We were gliding through the dunes. It was like a unlimited roller coaster and the dunes go on for ever. The best part was the last dune as it was the highest one out there. We got to the top just in time to watch for the sunset… how romantic. But really, it was awesome. That night, we also partied pretty hard and I lost my friends but was talking to new ones. I went out looking for them and found another bar and met some other travelers. Two cousins from Lima and Buenos Aires. Together, we drank and talked about traveling in South America and family. We decided to walk back to the hostel when we ran into a Peruvian who said he was going to a club to meet up some traveling girls. The four of us, plus the Parisian jumped into a cab. The club was insane. I was, without a doubt, the only American in there. I was getting the stares pretty hardcore…from the ladies. We met the other girls, who were Irish and British. My dad has a Peruvian patient. He told my dad to tell me, when you go to a club and want to dance with a girl, you have to ask the guys she is with even if they are not her boyfriend. So, across the room, i see this fine little number. I stroll over with my blushed out cheeks and walk straight up to this huge muscular dude. I asked if i can dance with the girl, he looks at her, she looks at him, she takes my hand and we dance. I like the way Peruvians dance. It is not like Puerto Rico where it is dry humping, it is actual dancing. I sweat my ass off but then we all decided to leave and i parted ways with my Paola to never speak or hear from her again. As we went to another club, a Peruvian who was talking to one of the Brits got so jealous of us other men. He followed us in a taxi and cut us off, got out of his cab and started pounding on the hood! Our taxi driver was so pissed he got out and pushed him. A brawl was about to break out but the police were there in front of the club and forced that psycho to leave. The owner of the club was outside and watched all of this so he let us right in and got us drinks. I didn’t get home until 6am, slept for an hour only to get on a bus to go to Nazca. }
Nazca is a small shitty town but they have the lines. I used my NYC bargaining skills to get the price from 80 to 55 per person for a 30 min flight over the lines, transpo included to/from airport. No biggie. The lines were so cool. They don’t know who created them or why. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, i suggest looking it up. We hung out for a little in Nazca but took an overnight bus to Arequipa which is where I am now. About to do some outdoor trekking so I can see this beautiful geography. Much love to everyone!
Hasta Luego,
Robert
