Ica & Huacachina, a break to enjoy the oasis and taste some wine and Pisco
Before going to Huacachina we stopped one last time in Lima. An 8 hour bus ride by night from Huaraz. No problem for Matt but Maider didn’t enjoy the ride at all. Not because of the seats, they were super comfy, but because of the way the driver sprinted down the mountain roads. Maider was too afraid to fall asleep and it finally took us 7 hours instead of 8 to get to Lima… Pretty sure we will never get used to these crazy bus drivers.
In Lima we booked a nice quiet guest house in the Miraflores district.
Despite the fatigue, we go and walk around the city one last time. First stop at Cafe Haiti for breakfast. This restaurant is very famous in Lima, politicians and intellectuals used to come in this place established in 1962. After that, a last walk along the coast, unfortunately there is still this grey mist all around, looks like we will never see the sun in Lima. Which is typical this time of year.
For our last lunch in Lima we decide to go over budget and get ourselves a great meal. We went to Punto Azul well known for it’s Ceviche and we were delighted! The Ceviche was amazing and Maider decided to try a typical Peruvian desert : el suspiro a la limena. It’s a sort of caramel flavored cream topped with soft meringue. And she absolutely loved it!
It’s our bellies full and well rested that we leave Lima.
The following morning we took the bus to Ica, located about 4 hours South from Lima. The journey took us a little over 5 hours in the end because of some obscure problem on the highway. From what we understood the bus was “missing a piece” … not sure what that meant exactly. But again we had super comfy seats and we even each had our own screen with a large selection of movies. There was even a hostess who offered us drinks and snacks, even better than some airlines!
Ica is mainly known for two different things: it’s desert dunes, the Huacachina desert. But also for it’s wine and Pisco production. The hot and sunny climat in Ica is perfect to grow big and sugary grapes.
Because of these two reasons we decided to spend two and a half days to chill in this region.
Huacachina oasis, an oasis in the desert
We decided to sleep directly at the Huacachina oasis instead of staying in Ica.
Huacachina is a small town built around the oasis and the scenery around is beautiful with all the dunes and palm trees.
After the typical Andean city of Huaraz, Huacachina really is the typical touristic city. There are only hotels, restaurants and guys trying to sell you a tour in the dunes. No more 4 soles menus ($1), here nothing bellow 20 soles ($6).
We decided to book a hostel with outdoor swimming pool to fully enjoy our stay!
When we arrive at out hostel we learn that the next day is a holiday in Peru. It is the San Pedro and San Pablo day (San Pablo being the fishermen’s Saint) and that the city will be packed. That is why the lady at the front desk recommends that we do the buggy tour when we arrive instead of the next day (buggy tour is by far the most prominent business in Huacachina).
Just enough time to change clothes and we hop in a buggy towards the dunes.
The tour starts at 4pm and lasts about 2 hours. About 10 other buggys start at the same time and drive blazing through the dunes.
A few stops to do some sandboarding and already one and a half hour has gone by.
Time to sit and watch the beautiful sunset.
Overall a nice experience even if it feels a little bit too touristy for us and we really don’t like seeing all the garbage just lying around in the dunes. And we didn’t even mention how the buggys are simply polluting and destroying the dunes. Unfortunately it stays the best way to discover these amazing dunes.
Ica – discovering a few bodegas and tasting some wine
We can find a lot of different bodegas along the pisco route. Some still handcrafted whereas others have full industrial methods to make wine and Pisco.
For our first full day in Huacachina we took advantage of the swimming pool before going on a private tour to visit 3 different bodegas. The woman at the front desk was right, hundreds and hundreds of people were pouring in the city for the holiday so it’s with great pleasure that we escaped the city for a little bit.
As we were saying above, some bodegas still hand make their Pisco and wines using the traditional method.
What is the traditional method?
First they extract the juice from the grapes by walking on the grapes bear foot and letting the liquid simply flow in a different container by gravity. After that they use ceramic vases for fermentation. Indeed in Ica there aren’t any trees or forest (remember we are in a desert area) so you can forget about oak trees. That is the reason why they use ceramic vases instead of oak barrels as we do in Europe for example. Finally to make Pisco they use a wood heated alambic for distillation and extract the alcohol from the fermented grape juice.
Bodega El Catador
Our first visit takes place at the El Catador bodega, established in 1856.
This bodega produces Pisco of course but also 3 different types of wine. We have a private guide who explains the production method and shows us some vines, even if most of them are a little further than where the Bodega actually is.
After explaining the entire process it’s time to taste! The wine made here is very very sweet. Feels almost more like grape juice than the wine we are used to and we both love it! Especially Maider and her sweet tooth!
Bodega Nietto
This second bodega is located right next to the first one. Here we only get to taste the wines and Pisco. Again the wine is very sweet, this time we get to taste a Pisco creme. Apparently the creme has a special ingredient that help men in bed… We will not confirm nor deny… Unfortunately we cannot buy a (or several) bottle as our back packs are already full.
Bodega El Lazo
This one is the oldest Bodega in the region, established in 1809. Visiting the last Bodega is really worth it. The decor is a little crazy. You will find plenty of those ceramic vases containing the wine and the Pisco but also a few stuffed animals, old paintings and objects and finally a big screen showing Micheal Jackson video clips!
Here we try wines and Pisco straight out of the ceramic vases thanks to a bamboo stick. Great overall experience! Definitely recommend it.
We really enjoyed our tour in these bodegas and get back to our hostel pretty happy…
To end the day we decide to climb the dunes ourselves and enjoy one last sunset.
The climb is steep and very hard on the legs, but up top we have a great view.
We spend about an hour enjoying the view and the sunset before heading back down.
For our last day in Huacachina we stayed by the pool, watched the France Argentina world cup game (France won for those who might ask)!!! And of course worked a little on the blog since our bus to Arequipa leaves only at 8pm.