The Taxi stopped for sand buggy and sand boarding tour with special price just before our hostel. Special price we now know includes his tip, so we've taken that as a life lesson.
Banana Adventures Hostel has a pool, bar, kitchen, hammocks with rooms surrounding it - rooms Ikea would have been proud of, but with next to no rain, they didn't need much. It also opens to the oasis. Various lodgers from UK, Canada and America were lazing around when we arrived. Also Toothie the dog - you'll see why in the photos.
With Christmas the next day, we set Christmas present limits of max 20 Soles (£5) and went hunting around the oasis.
Bought a bottle of Ica wine and headed up into the dunes. They are enormous and start right at the back of the oasis buildings. When you get to the top and look back, the continue for miles. Great sunset for Mands and I, less so for our compact camera.
We had a BBQ for dinner that night and chin wag with the others. When we headed for bed it was another 5 hours of party that turned into the hotspot of the oasis!
Christmas morning was phone call and Skype time. Wifi and Skype is amazing! Every hostel has had it and everyone in the hostel was on their phones and tablets calling away.
We swapped presents popcorn, wrist band and Inka Cola for me and shell earrings and Peru iPhone carry bag for Mands.
We joined our dessert dune buggy group for a 2 hour experience. This buggy was even more Mad Max than Billy's sun glasses. It's a 8 seater specially build dune eating machine. Seat builds fitting of the Dakar rally. At stages near vertical ascents and drops with sand flying everywhere!
We were given sand boards (basic 7-plyboards with plastic coatings covered with a bit of wax) and headed for some practice slopes. We were the best in the group, but it really goes much slower then on snow unless you gun dead straight. Mands did put in he best sand board ride much to the applause if the Koreans.
Practice over and we headed to the big dunes, 4 of them, each bigger, steeper and faster than the other. Kicki said not to sand board but try lying flat with hands towards to nose of the board, body pointing down and legs in the air behind you. He first guy went like a rocket! Bugger standing, this is where the adrenaline happens. I've got a video of Mands, that I'll get up to appreciate the size, gradient and speed. It was awesome! Bigger, better, faster, more!
Christmas dinner was also on at the hostel and Turkey with apple source was devoured - yes apple.
More chin wagging, Christmas songs on the guitar, llama songs, "I've just started a new business", pirate jokes and that was a wrap.
P.S. Paul Thompson would have been in his element with jokes and this audience.
The next day it's off to Nazca Lines.
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