Ica, Huacachina, y vino

After Nazca, I moved on to Ica, where there are two main things to do: go to the nearby town of Huacachina and take bodega tours.

Huacachina is popular because it has the only natural desert oasis in the Americas. In the middle of the dunes, there is a natural lagoon (supposedly it has healing properties, but then again, that claim is made for many places in South America). The lagoon's water level has been receding in recent years because locals are pumping out ground water, so what you see isn't as magnificent as it once was. But still, it's pretty amazing. How come the dunes don't slurp up the water?

The activities here are sandboarding and riding in a dune buggy. I did neither because I had planned on going to the bodegas afterwards, and 1: didn't think about all the sand I would have been carrying with me and 2: those sandboards were the ricketiest things I've ever seen. And while falling and hurting yourself is really funny when with friends, it's not quite so amusing when you're on your own and have to travel with all of your shit, twisted ankles and all. Oh, there's a third reason: unlike snowboarding, where, when you're done with a run, you take a chairlift back to the top, here you have to unstrap and climb up with your board in the trillion degree sand. So, who's up for a wine tour?!

Shabby boards

After Huacahina I hired a local taxi driver to 'chofer' me around to two bodegas: Hacienda Tacama Bodega and Bodega El Catador, before bringing me back to Ica to catch my bus to Pisco.

I wouldn't know the difference bewteen these wines, except that liz introduced me to Tacama while in Arequipa. It's one of the oldest and best bodegas in Peru. Unfortunately, there was a horrendous earthquake near Ica in 2007 which had done considerable damage to Ica and it's surrounding area. It's richter number is still disputed: it varies from 7.8 to 8.1, and the whole thing was/is a political scandal (surprise, surprise) because money donated to the area from international organizations hasn't been seen by locals, who are still struggling to re-build. Unbeknownst to me and my driver (which I am suspicious of, I think he knew, but wanted the fare) Tacama official tours have been postponed until reconstruction is completed. So while I didn't get to see the whole operation, I did get to peek around, and taste their wines, the most important part.

It looks dry, doesn't it? Well, it was.

The second bodega was an artisanal bodega which specializes in sweet wines and pisco. Pisco is an alcohol, like vodka, but made with grapes, and Peruvians love their Pisco. On this tour, I got to see the antiquated ways they processed their wine (which didn't seem sanitary, but then again it's alcohol) and tasted all sorts of sweet wines (which I don't like), piscos, and a Peruvian version of Bailey's, with Pisco, spices, and milk. My stomach is turning thinking about that trago.

I'm sitting on a huge press, which functions when people turn the giant wooden handle on the enourmous screw in the background. It gets the last of the juices from the grape skins.

Instead of wooden barrels, they used clay pots. So resourceful.