Paracas

Once I finished my classes in Lima, I decided to head south to Paracas. It was an easy three-hour ride in the best bus seats I've ever experienced: comfortable and spacious, and there was a curtain separating you from the person next to you. My plan was to sleep the whole time, but I couldn't stop staring out the window as the landscape changed from city to desert, and when I say desert, I mean sand dunes, limited vegetation, full-on desert.

When you read about Paracas online, all the blogs suggest you spend a maximum of three days. I figured it would be okay if I went for a week because I had work to do, and sitting on the beach for a bit would be a nice brain break. However, upon arrival, I realized why the suggested time was so short. Paracas is a small and isolated town. Aside from eating or going to the beach, there's only a few activities that you can do and most people do everything in one day.

One of these activities is a boat ride out to see the Islas Ballestas, or the "poor man's Galapagos" according to the travel agencies. The islands are home to all sorts of marine life like Humboldt penguins, sea lions, and lots of birds.

I expect the wildlife in the Galapagos to be amazing, but having not been there myself, this tour was still exciting. It was my first time seeing penguins in the wild, and the rock formations were quite interesting.

The other popular activity was to take dune buggies through the Reserva Nacional de Paracas. Typically, a bunch of people sign up to go, but on the day I went, I was the only person. This meant it was me and the guide driving through the reserve on a private tour.

The reserve is on a peninsula and is a sea of sand dunes. It's definitely not a place I would want to run out of gas in. The guide brought me around to several of the beaches, like Playa Roja, a red sand beach. Also, because it was just me, I think he took me to some other places they usually run out of time for. I had never driven anything like a buggy, so there was a bit of an adjustment with the pedals and steering, but once I got it, I was off. By the end of the tour, I was zooming around. If you go fast enough, it feels a bit like a rollercoaster once you crest the dune.

The hostel I was staying in had great outdoor areas, so it was really easy to meet people. I also kept running into people I had met in Lima, which was nice for meals because I don't think I ate alone once. During the day, I would get work done or read in the hammocks, and at night, I would hang out with my new friends. The best part of the hostel is that it is right on the beach, so I could walk out the back door and sit under an umbrella in the chairs they set up.

Overnight Trip: Huacachina

Going to Huacachina was probably the most spontaneous thing I've ever done. I met a group of people one day whom I really liked spending time with. They were going to Huacachina the next day and asked me that night if I wanted to come with them. There was no reason for me to say no, so the next morning, I bought a seat on the bus and a room in the same hostel as them, and off we went.

Huacachina is a desert oasis centered around a small lake. If I thought Paracas was isolated, this was something else. I felt like I was on a movie set when we arrived because everywhere you look is just sand dune. Typically, people pass through to go sandboarding or to ride buggies. My 24 hours in Huacachina only consisted of walking around the town and hanging out with my new friends, but I can say it was probably the most fun I've had in a while. This was the first group I felt I really clicked with, and I wished we could keep traveling together, but making friends abroad always leaves you with a bittersweet feeling. You have small pockets of perfection, and then you go your separate ways to hopefully meet new people to share great moments with.

Even though it was more complicated than I thought to get back to Paracas, I have zero regrets about going. I think now that I've done this once, I know it's possible to do it again, and I won't be so Type A if I get the chance to go on another spontaneous trip.