ICA..LAS DUNAS!

CAUTION: LONG POST-----Well well well, it has been an EXTREMELY long weekend/week that is for sure. But it was extremely long with all of the traveling and fun that I did! Starting on Friday my family and me decided to go camping on the beach again :). We had a lot of fun with swimming in the ocean, going out, and wake-boarding! Sadly we couldn't stay till sunday because I was leaving for my trip to ICA on sunday! When sunday came our tour bus ( was a two story bus) was leaving at 7:30 am. and so my dad dropped me off at the station a little before! Once we got on the bus I was very impressed with how nice it was! We had nice big comfy/reclining chairs, pillows and blankets, air conditioning, free breakfasts and dinners, and a TV that played movies for us the whole way! I can honestly say I was very content :) The bus took around 3-4 hours until we finally arrived at our hotel resort! It was called Las Dunas ! We went and got our keys and Whitney, Allie, and me all shared a really nice room!   After we all got settled in we went out to Central Ica and took lunch out there! After lunch we went back to the hotel and Marta found us a guide that said she would take us to the area where the dunes were so that we could go "sand"boarding... :) After sand boarding she said she would take us to a pisco/vinery! We decided to go and change and get ready for our adventure! We got in her bus and she took us to where we needed to go. Once we arrived we payed 50S for all of the equipment, a ride out on the cart, and an hour sand boarding! I was terrified to go into this big go-cart looking contraption. But once I did, it was so much fun. It felt like we were going on a roller coaster up and down the sand mountains really fast. We had interesting seat-belts so that we would not fly out and if they were not there, it was definitely a possibility. These carts were flying everywhere around the sand and it was a very beautiful site to see all of the mountains of sand around us. Once we arrived at our stop where we would start to sand board, we were all covered in sand and eating a little bit of it as well. The guides kindly took a bunch of  pictures for us on top of the mountain before we were given our boards. My board was red, it had 4 velcro straps on it and that was all that we needed :) I was one of the last ones to go down the hill, and I was terrified that my board was just going to PLUNGE into the sand at the bottom because of how steep this hill was. The stance was to have both of your elbows inside the board while holding onto the straps. After I did that you had to spread your legs and keep them off of the sand so that you were not constantly "braking". I flew down the hill and made it all the way to the bottom with no sand in my face or anything! It was amazing and very fun. Then we climbed the next hill and proceeded to go down another hill that was smaller then the first. I decided that I wanted to stand up and "snow board" down this one.

To my amazement I did not fall once!!--until the end. I made it all the way down the hill some how and had a blast! Finally we all went down one last hill, this one was my least favorite because I sat on my board for this one. You had to sit with your feet on the board, hands extended out and close to the ground to brake. I did not seem to catch this memo of "braking" because I kept my hands out to the sides of me no where near the ground. I suffered at the end and went over what felt like a HUGE ramp, and landed pretty hard. I survived and was not hurt but had a little pain from the landing. Once we all finished going down the hills we were covered in sand and we all looked really dirty! We got back into our buggy and had a fun ride back over lots of cliffs and hills. When we returned our guide from the hotel took us to this amazing vineyard. We got a tour of the area and an explanation of how everything was made and picked. After the tour we all got to try little shots of wine, pisco, and creams. At the end some of purchased some wines and creams to bring back to the states for our friends and families to try! Despues the vineyard we went back to the hotel y all went straight to change into our swimsuits. We immediately jumped into the pool to rinse off our sand! We ended up playing a very heated game of pool basketball and after decided we needed some rest because the next day (Monday) was our trip to Las Islas. We had to be up and ready by 6 because our transportation was leaving at 6:30. We all got up early and went to eat breakfast which consisted of FRESH fruits, FRESH fruit drinks, breads, cheeses, hams, eggs, and jellies! It was a filling breakfast and we needed it for the energy. The guide took us to Las Islas (islands) around 50 minutes away from our hotel. Once we arrived we were given some time to shop around and look at the little souvenir shops. Paracas was the little name on all of the souvenirs and such and here I bought a hat finally! We also went and looked around the sand at puppies and a man that was friending lots of pelicans. They were following  him around and he was feeding them fish. They were so adorable and some people went to take pictures next to them. Finally it was our turn to get onto the big speed boat. When we did we all had to wear bright orange lifejackets and then we started on our way. We drove, they said, for 2 hours out to the islands where all of the seals were, and stopped a few places along the way for cool pictures and stories about the area. It was chilly on the boat ride but we managed to make it through, and eventually did not notice because of the wind and sun. When we arrived to the islands, it was a jaw-dropping site...There were big rocks coming out of the water, with arches and holes and different levels, it was amazing!! We went around the islands and saw TONS of seals and baby seal pups, crabs, birds everywhere, and jellyfish! 

They were the biggest jellyfish I have ever seen in my life, and they were a kind of orange color with LONG long tentacles. When I said birds were everywhere, it is not an exaggeration. They were constantly flying and there had to be millions and millions just sitting on all of the rocks and flying around. The sky was full of them and yes, people did get bird poop on them :X !! I was lucky and did not but others, not so lucky. On the way back we got to see one of the NAZCA LINES!! It was so neat because I never thought I would ever get the chance to see them! The others you have to take a plane ride to go and see but we were lucky enough to see this one from the boat!! :) After we got back we returned to our hotel and decided to go out to eat at an Italian Restaurant. We ate and shopped a little around the area and then returned to spend the rest of the night around the hotel. At one point, I wish I could remember what day and when, we went to a chocolate factory :) It was very cool and I of course bought some chocolates for myself! When Tuesday rolled around we all got lunch and lounged around by the pool until it was time to return home on our CRUZ DE SUR bus. It was an exceptional trip and I had loads of fun. :) Can not wait to see what the AMAZON has to offer this friday--TOMORROW :) Nos Vemos!