It is finally the freak'n weekend and I could not be more excited. One would not have known from my face because I was definitely not smiling at our 5:30am report time. We were up bright and early to catch a bus to Ica, a city about four hours south of Lima surrounded by rolling dunes. The day had a slow start because most of us were sleeping till we arrived at our hotel about 10:30am. However the day quickly picked up as we got to our first adventure.
Our first stop was to the desert dunes that surround Ica. We were all separated into groups of twelve and then placed onto dune buggies. Next the buggies drove us for a wild ride through the desert over massive dunes and sand mountains, a bumpy but awesome ride. I swear I was going to fall out at some point but the adrenaline rush from the speed was so exhilarating I did not even care. After about ten minutes of speeding up and down the dunes we stopped for a photo opportunity overlooking the small oasis town. I could see for miles in front of me over the towns and hills, while behind me was endless sand. The fun wasn't over yet because we packed up the buggies and drove even higher. This time when we got out they gave us sleds and snowboards which we used to slide down dunes at least a hundred feet to the bottom at high speeds. Needless to say it was awesome. By that time it was mid day and the sun was burning. Some of us were already turning red but for me the hardest part was walking in the sand with my sandals. It was hard because after each step the top sand would encase my foot superheating it till it was burning. After two runs we headed back with a couple more dune jumps in the buggie and ending with a relaxing hour exploring the little town near the oasis. It was unfortunate that at this time I noticed my Peruvian phone had gone missing. I didn't let it get me down too much as I still had my Iphone and I knew the phones were cheap, but still, a setback is a setback.
Our next stop for the day was lunch and a tour of the Bodegas Winery. Nothing new to report with lunch except I tried Chicha Morada, a sweet juice made from purple corn. Nothing hit the spot better than that during lunch and they even chilled it for us. The winery was right next door and I found it very interesting to learn how the grape based spirit, Pisco, was made. We have all come to associate Pisco with headaches and a little too much fun. We got to see the giant tubs in which they place and squish the grapes, the vats where the juice is fermented, and the distillery that removes the extra water from the concoxtion to concentrate it. To my disappointment I was not able to find any grapes to eat but our tour ended with a lovely tasting of their wine and Pisco. Now so far on this trip I haven't particularly enjoyed Pisco but the tasting went a lot better that our first night here when Monica invited us to try Pisco Sours. The guide informed us that the proper way to drink Pisco is by sniffing and inhaling the air above it, ingesting it, swishing it around your teeth, swallowing it, and then exhaling. You would be amazed but it actually does help, plus it made my mouth numb so it was harder to taste after the first couple sips. At the end of the day I left with a bottle of red wine, a bottle of rose, and one heck of a headache.
Our last program before the hotel was a short tour of the city. Ica as it turns out is the Salem of Peru. It was founded on the concepts of magic and are many urban legends about the witches that lived in the area. We started out going to the palm tree with seven heads. It is said to be bewitched because the palm bends itself in and out of the ground multiple times so that there are essentially seven different tops. Next we stopped at the witches statue. Attached to a tree was a golden colored statue of a bruja (witch) flying over a courtyard. To her left was a symbol of good magic and to her right a simple of bad magic. The guide told us that if you hug the tree and make a wish and you are in the witches favor it could become true. Finally we stopped at the local catholic church. An immense open walled building that held a couple hundred seats. It was the site of many processions around traditional holidays.
By this point of our day I was ready for a nap having been up since 4:30am. I could hardly get to my bed on the fifth floor of our hotel and once I got in, it was game over. I was awoken by my roommate Carson asking if I wanted to get dinner and get ready for our last activity of the day Karaoke at a local restaurant. Overall the night ended smashingly with everyone joking around and dancing to one another's poorly harmonized singing. I personally killed my voice on "Kissed by a Rose" by Seal and "No Scrubs" by TLC. Even Monica our teacher was having a great time dancing with everyone and it was not till about 1am when things started to die down enough for me to be ready to go home.
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