Winter Weekender or Unexpected International Film Festival

Now I know we're all still buzzing from the Djokovic-Nadal US Open final so I will try to keep this entry interesting. Let's start things off with a picture.

Yes, that is me and Albert Einstein on an aquatic adventure together. That guy is hilarious, what a character.

This week I planned to take Friday off and catch a bus down to Ica, a wine-producing town about 5 hours south of Lima. I suggested this trip to Ashley, my sharp, attractive, and overall highly skilled friend from GEA (you're reading this, right Ashley?? Sorry fellas, she's spoken for.), and being the excellent sport that she is, she decided to join this excursion. After going to Ica, we wanted to see Huacachina, and then finish things off in Paracas before returning to Lima. Little did we know what we were getting ourselves in to (cue sinister music and Vincent Price doing something equally sinister, from beyond the grave ooooOOOOO!).

We met up on Friday morning and grabbed a cab to the Soyuz bus station. Soyuz, besides having a curious and unattractive name, also offers frequent departures to Ica. Since the tickets only cost us about $11, it was the natural choice. We boarded the 9:15 to Ica and were on our way. The bus was similar to any charter bus you have seen before, so of course there were televisions. And you better believe they had movies. We started things out with "Breakdown" starring Kurt Russell as a rough and tumble husband who must rescue his kidnapped wife from a trucker in the desert. In Spanish. We then saw "The Rebound," Catherine Zeta-Jones' romantic comedy about something romantic and comedic, also in Spanish. The logical next movie was, logically, a Bollywood flick, however this was only subtitled in Spanish. I can't tell you what the name was, but I saw lots of songs, dancing, and forbidden romancing. We finished with special effects-heavy and entertainment-light "10,000 B.C." Feel free to see it in any language, it doesn't help. Since we are talking movies I will just go ahead and give the lineup for the return trip. We began the ride with action, but this time we watched a Spanish-dubbed Chinese martial arts film. Because our trip back was shorter (to be explained later) we only had time for one additional film, so we concluded our film festival with Jackie Chan's lighthearted romantic-comedy spy thriller, "The Spy Next Door." I knew we were in for some surprises this weekend, but I never expected such an international cinematic sampling. It was definitely an eclectic mix and certainly an appreciated diversion since the scenery was barren desert the entire way.

Once we arrived in Ica we grabbed a quick lunch (Roky's, not to be confused with Norky's) before exploring the Plaza de Armas. Every medium size or larger town has a Plaza de Armas, and Ica's was modest but well kept. Unfortunately, this region of Peru was hit by a massive earthquake in 2007, and much of the damage is visible today. One of the largest churches in Ica still has large cracks in its main tower, and you can see rubble from fallen structures all over the place. Because Ica didn't have much else to see, we hailed a cab to take us to a local winery. I know that I told you that the trip was through the desert, but Ica benefits from being located in a fertile valley with a perfect climate for growing certain types of grapes. So Ashley and I headed out to the Bodega El Catador to sample their wines and Piscos. After a ten minute cab ride we arrived at a small restaurant and bar underneath a large tent (the kind you might enjoy at a wedding reception). We were the only customers there, so we were given personal attention as we sampled a variety of wines and four different Piscos. The wines were solid (though all semi-sweet or sweet since that varietal of grape is best suited to the Ica climate) and the Piscos strong, and best of all everything was really cheap. I'm talking $5.50 for a bottle of wine and $12 for a bottle of Pisco. The most interesting product they sold was a bottled Pisco cocktail made from Pisco, milk, and pureed figs. It struck me as Peru's version of a mudslide, and it actually tasted similar as well. We stayed there a few hours enjoying our wine, a few Pisco sours, and their delicious cancha (Peruvian corn nuts) and then headed back to Ica to get a taxi for Huacachina.

It was dark when we arrived in the desert Oasis of Huacachina, so we couldn't really enjoy the scenery. Because the town is so small we searched for our hotel on foot. When a local heard we were looking for La Casa de Arena, he hailed his friend driving a dune buggy to give us a ride. Easily the best taxi ride I've had thus far. Once we checked in we grabbed a dinner and a few drinks then headed back to the hotel to crash. It was dark and we were getting tired, but then I checked my watch. 8:05pm. Hmmm, that was earlier than I expected. To avoid waking up at 5am with nothing to do, we headed back out to a bar in town and had some Cusquena beer and ice cream. After another stop at a bar next to our hotel with a very friendly bartender we decided to call it a night. Yeah it was probably only 9:30 at that point, but Huacachina is a very small, very sleepy little town. The only industry is tourism so if there aren't a lot of travelers around, there isn't a whole lot to do. That's ok, we had to wake up rather early on Saturday to embark on our sand dune adventure. After eating a delicious omelet the next morning (with two cups of a French press organic shade-grown Amazonian coffee, their words not mine), Ashley and I hopped in Sonrisas' (yes that is his name and it means "smiles") dune buggy to motor around the dunes and board down the smoothest ones. Did we sign a waiver or release of liability? Technically no, but I feel like it had to be extra safe since they weren't even worried about lawsuits. About 15 seconds into the dune buggying, I quickly revised my appraisal of this activity. We were flying across the flatter areas, bombing down the drop offs, and driving up dunes that seemed way too steep for our modest buggy. The landscape was stunning and reminded me of desert scenes you see in movies: sand dunes as far as the eye can see, absolute lack of plant life, killer mummies and Sand People. This place had it all. When Sonrisas found a smooth and tall dune he would stop and whip out the sandboards. These were essentially wooden snowboards which you could either strap to your feet or lie on on your stomach. I tried both methods but enjoyed the face-first stomach method a lot more because you can get going a lot faster. We started on three modest dunes, and Ashley, our three other companions, and I all had a grand time sliding down the dunes. Sonrisas, being an experienced dune adventure leader, saved the best for last of course. El Catedral. I don't know how tall it was, but it felt gigantic. I don't know how steep it was, but I don't think I could have walked down it without falling. He said that you get up to 75mph on it, and you're not allowed to go down snowboard style because it's too dangerous. Hmmm, probably a good thing I have health insurance. We each got to go down two times, and while the second time was slightly more comfortable, these were some thrilling rides. I mean, it was no "Breakdown," but the natural beauty of the dunes made up for that. Capping off our duning adventure was a stop above the Huacachina lagoon (featured on the back of the 50 Nuevos Soles bill) for some picture taking. Pictures taken and dunes descended, we made our way back to Ica to catch a bus for Pisco and Paracas.

A brief bus and taxi ride later, we found ourselves in the Pisco Plaza de Armas. Pisco is the namesake of Peru's national spirit and also a necessary intermediate destination for travelers headed for the fishing village of Paracas. Pisco was bustling, but it was also still devastated by the 2007 quake. Ashley and I walked around a little bit and saw ruined streets, tons of holes in the sidewalks, and many caving buildings. The most interesting sight was an open air food and general goods market, but after we perused that we grabbed a taxi for Paracas. Paracas is much smaller than Pisco, but unlike Huacachina the residents seem to subsist not only on tourism but on fishing. The abundance of fish helps not only the Paracan fisherman, but also the Islas Ballestas, our primary reason for visiting. These islands are a national bird preserve filled with Peruvian Boobies, Pelicans, Cormorants, Sea Lions (not a bird), and Penguins. Before we could enjoy that, Ashley and I checked into El Refugio del Pirata and caught the sunset while enjoying Chicharon de Calamar, Picante de Mixto, and some beer by the beach. We then headed back to the rooftop terrace of our hotel and tossed back a few more drinks before weariness began to take over. We were about to crash when I checked the time. 8:37pm. What the crap?! I don't understand why we ended up trying to finish our nights so early, but Huacachina and Paracas seem to have that effect. So we watched "The Breakup," romantic comedy number 53 for the weekend and called it a night. And no, I have no clue why Jennifer Anniston ever got with Vince Vaughn in the first place, but I missed the first part.

Bright and early the nest morning, we commandeered a vessel to take us on a tour of the Islas Ballestas. And by "commandeered a vessel," I mean we asked the hostel receptionist to please help us get on a boat to the islands. A thirty minute boat ride later we were circling the rocky Islas Ballestas. Not only are they beautiful rock formations with arches, caves, and steep cliffs, they also have lots of birds. Lots and lots of birds. 50,000+ birds. The highlight for me was the penguins (or penguinos if you want the Spanish nomenclature). Apparently Humboldt Penguins enjoy the Islas Ballestas as much as the Peruvian Booby, and all of these protected birds come here to delight in the abundance of seafood. I actually misspoke. The highlight for me was not getting bombed because there were a lot of airborne birds above a lot of tourists with virtual targets on their heads. Several other passengers were hit, but Ashley and I made it out unscathed. After the two hour tour, we grabbed a quick snack, boarded a taxi back to the Panamericana, hopped on a Soyuz, and started our journey back to Lima.

This was my first real trip outside of Lima, and it took me 13 weeks to to do it. Do I regret not traveling sooner? Absolutely not. Exploring the Lima cultural and food scene and feeling like a true resident of the city has been an awesome experience, and I don't think I could have achieved these had I traveled more. I would like to get out a few more times on the weekends (in addition to a two week trip in October), but Lima feels like home (at least away from home) and it's nice to relax here as well. Plus, you just can't good quality wigs or reliable roof dogs once you leave the big city.

Housekeeping: there are more photos in the Flickr account (and Facebook if you still use that ol' clunker).