Ahhh... sunshine and oasis

The past 2 days have been such a welcome rest, and I've been able to recharge my solar batteries.  Our hotel is beautiful, and the room and bathroom are as big as the past one was small.  The balcony has a little table and chairs, that we've enjoyed for the sunshine and to hang out our laundry to dry (tacky Americanos!).  There are 2(!) pools here - one heated and one cool.  The cool one was very refreshing on a sunny afternoon.

Ica is huge city compared to Paracas, and it was interesting to wander around the town square, seeing all the mototaxis (3 wheeled contraptions that seem to just be horns with motor and driver attached).  Our main reason to come here was to go to the oasis that is Huacachina and see the sand dunes.  Amazing!

The dune buggy ride was hair raising and gave me a headache with all the bumps and hard landings, but ultimately we really enjoyed ourselves.  The dunes were immense and so beautiful.  Steve enjoyed "sandboarding" on his belly, while Lisa wisely abstained (so as not to get "sand in every orifice").

Our trusty steed

We spent the next afternoon at a winery (I know, hard to believe for us) and thoroughly enjoyed our down time.  The tour was interesting, as we had no idea that Peru made wine, but grapes have been planted here since 1540!  The winery, Tacama, has been in the same family now since 1889.  The tasting we did in the cool cellar was really neat, with tasting different wines with different cheeses, fruits and pecans.  We then had a leisurely lunch on a sunny patio with a bottle of wine. (note the recurring "sunny" theme?)

Now we're off to the dreaded 12 hour bus ride to Arequipa...