Huacachina

One of the things that’s been on our bucket list for a while is to visit a desert.  So when we heard that Peru had not just a desert but also the only natural oasis in South America, we knew that we had to check it out.  It also helped that Huacachima is relatively reachable from Lima (4 hours drive).  On a side note, as I edit this post, it’s a chilly -37 Celsius with windchill at home.  The desert’s looking real good right about now.

Welcome to Huacachina, the South American Oasis. It was naturally occurring, but now, daily fill ups from a nearby water tank are required to keep it from disappearing.

The Dune Buggy parking lot. And over in the right hand corner, the water tower that supplies water to the oasis.

Not all dune buggies are created equal. Choosing the right dune buggy is important, especially when it comes to safety.

How clean and maintained does the engine look? Yes, that’s a sock over the radiator.

A five point harness. Super safe and nearly impossible to get in or out of on your own!

A little photo-op with our dune buggy.

Heading out into the wide open sands.

Beautiful and a little eerie. No life as far as the eye can see.

What else is there to do around all of these sand dunes? How about try a little sand-boarding!

For safety reasons, it was strongly suggested to go down on our stomachs, but Jimmy was determined to tackle the dunes snowboarder style.

Sand-boarding success!!