June 16, 2014
Scam Alert: While researching on Huacachina, we found that you can visit Islas Ballestas which is the cheap man's tour of Galápagos Islands. We decided to book the tour when we arrived as we were still unsure of what activities to do.The previous night, we struck a conversation with our taxi driver on things to do in Huacachina. He said he knows someone that can get us a deal on Islas Ballestas. He dropped us off at the Banana's Adventure hostel and waited for us at the tour agency, a short walk away.
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| Aeroservicios Santos bands with the taxi driver to scam tourists |
In the end, the price of the tour was 55 soles per person ($22 CDN), 5 soles more than other tours, which our taxi driver happily pocketed (we did some brief research on prices prior to this, expecting better local deals). It was late in the evening and the bus comes very early in the morning, so we decided to go with the tour, knowing full well we got scammed.
Bad experience #1: The next morning, our driver was late in picking us up.
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| Despite the scam, we tried to enjoy ourselves |
Islas Ballestas is about an hour's drive away from Huacachina.
Upon arrival, we were greeted with a man feeding giant pelicans. You can pay him to feed them yourself. Entrance to the park is 10 soles ($4 CDN), which was not included in our tour package.
Bad experience #2: Our speed boat's propeller broke and we were stranded in the ocean, until another speed boat came to our rescue with a spare part. So much for the fast engine. We lost over 15 minutes stranded in the ocean.
Paracas Candelabra, the mystery of how these prehistoric geoglyph got there still remains unknown.
We reversed into a cave full of seals, as we drove off, our speed boat smoked them with our exhaust. Their life span shortened by a few years.
200 HP engines my ass. Never trust powerpoint presentations, especially if you haven't looked at the reviews of the tour agency.
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| Matt approves of scamming tourists, it helps the local economy |
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| The little van that could |
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| Martin just wanted to try this drink |
Tour of Banana's Adventure Hostel
A nice swimming pool in the middle of the hostel
Even I don't trust my roommates, needing to chain my backpack to my bed.
We came back in time for the Germany vs Portugal round robin World Cup game, where Germany won 4-0!
That's me being a big German fan
Enjoying a Backus Ice Cerveza, the same brewery (Backus and Johnston Brewery) that brews Cusqueña.
We visited the #1 restaurant on Trip Advisor, La Casa de Bamboo
I decided to go on a budget and order the daily menu.
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| 17 soles = $6.80 CDN |
Just plain pasta, nothing special.
The best part of the 3 course meal: brownies and ice cream
Here's a little background on Huacachina. It is an oasis surrounded by large sand dunes, popular with dunes buggy rides and sandboarding.
Time for some dune buggy and sandboarding.
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| If I knew about the skis, I would have done that instead |
During the evening, we took a dune buggy to our camp site for desert camping! This was one of my favourite nights for obvious reasons. The hostellers dubbed it the shit-faced tour and that's exactly what it was.
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| Always be prepared with your own sleeping bag and air mattress |
My sad attempt at capturing the starry night while tipsy.
This was our food, for 7 people!
Pisco, is local to Peru and Chile. I call it the vodka of Peru, which is technically incorrect as it comes from grapes. At about 40% alcohol content, we cleared this giant bottle pretty good.
The kernel for the corn in Peru are massive, known as choclo. It's not my favourite as it's very chewy and wasn't as sweet.
June 17, 2014
The tour concluded with breakfast back at Desert Nights Hostel, with a generous supply of bread.
June 17 - 21: Arequipa - Colca Canyon
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