Last night in Ica

Since we were able to finish the second house yesterday, we were allowed to sleep in today. Some of us were out until 10 AM... it was nice to get some rest. The morning was just a lazy time for reflection and light conversation with Pepe. Our plans to visit downtown again would have to be postponed until tomorrow as we made plans to get some dessert adveture in before we left the area. We got an opportunity to visit an oasis in Huacachina. It use to be the site of a natural spring but with the expansion of Ica, the water table has dropped and now the water is pumped in by the government in order to keep the attraction and economy of Huancachina going. Just outside of Ica, in the dunes, there is an oasis pueblo that has a few hostels, restaurants, and their biggest attraction - dune buggy tours. We visited our friend Christina (ex-patriot living in Peru) who runs Dessert Adventures with her husband (http://www.desertadventure.net/www.softywebs.com/clientes/sb/index.html). She arragned a tour for us and promised to have lunch ready for us when we returned.


The dunes ride was exhillarating. As soon as you get over the first dunes you can see why I call this area the Sahara of Peru. Then after riding over a few more dunes you realize that you cannot see civilization or anyting else, other than the sand dunes. The driver was an accomplished dune rider and he was able to whip us around pretty good. He took us down some suicide drops and spun us around walls in the natural sand valleys.

But the ride is only part of the adventure. We were introduced to the sport (and art) of sand boarding. The concept and equipment is the same as snow boarding, but the experience is very different. Tim stepped up to be the first, either from youthful naivete or just plain excitment. We were told to ride the board on our bellies and given instruciton how to stay on the board. Sounded simple and away we went... Wow, what a thrill to go screaming down the dunes laying on top of a 12 inch wide board. Of course for those of us that actually did scream during the descent, we were treated to the wonderful taste of Huancachina sand. Fortunately we did not have any wipeouts and Jimmy got a couple shots of us going down the dunes.

In the evening we were able to invite Betty and family out for dinner. We visited a local Chicken chain (Norky's) and enjoyed a great meal and conversation. It is hard to believe we have already spent a full week in Peru and that tomorrow we begin our trek back to Sacramento. It is great to see three generations of Peruvian women (Betty, her three daughters and her granddaughter) and the hope they have for their futures. I am glad to have met them and hope our relationships through the locals will have an impact in advancing the kingdom in Ica Peru.
I will try and have Pepe log a little something tomorrow morning before we leave for Lima. We have a 1 Pm bus ride to Lima and a 1 Am flight to LAX.
God Bless,
Rodain