Oasis in a Desert of Beauty by Alyssa Maunders
Alyssa Maunders
And so begins my first attempt at a self dialogue. It has been some time since I kept a journal, at least several years since I have last travelled. It is at a bar in the restaurant of the hostel I am staying in that I write this first segment. I have a very bad cup of coffee, instant is what abounds here in Peru, and a chocolate chip cliff bar at my side. I have just spent my first night in the renowned Oasis of Ica, Huacachina. It is a very unique little town about 5 min away from the busy city it is surrounded by massive sand dunes and at its center a not so natural lake. The lake looks to be about 5 feet deep in the 
middle but that does not deter tourists from paying 10 soles an hour to peddle around the water only to reach the other side in 5 min. Despite the strange effect that the little lake has on the excited tourists, it has a really nice ambiance. It is surrounded by restaurants and bars and stands of Peruvian goods. The sun is what really makes this place feel special. It has been about three days since I saw the sun. Coming from New Mexico that is quite some time to be without its rays.
The UnTourist
Before Huacachina I was staying in the not so tourist destination of Breña Lima. It wasn’t until I got into a taxi in Lima that I realized I was not headed for a vacation destination. I chose to use couch surfing in Lima and did not thoroughly investigate my location. Miraflores and Barranco are the places to be if you are visiting Lima, in case you want to know. Despite my unease at being taken to this rather hole in the wall part of the city I was greeted at midnight by my host and shown my little apartment across the street.
At this point, I had already overcome several fears since leaving the U.S. Such as flying, getting a safe cab and speaking Spanish to my driver. It is apparently quite common for tourists to be mugged upon arrival in Lima and I was frightened that this would be my fate. I did ask the driver before we left the airport in a weaker tone than intended , ” are you a safe cab? I am supposed to take a safe taxi”… He assured me he was, laughing a little and showing me a badge. However, in that moment , I really didn’t know how clever the “unsafe” cab drivers were and to what extent they might go to fool me into getting in the car.
To Live and Learn
All in all, Lima was a learning experience. I did have a chance to see more of it than I would have if I had stayed in the touristy part. A friend of my host showed me around the city a bit on the days when my host was at work. I learned that she lived in a poor part of the city and we went there to feed her dog one day. It was quite a journey to her part of town and we took the public buses, quite cheap for a one way ticket. The buses in Lima are unlike anything I have ever seen. They are full to the brim and actually bursting with people at every turn. There are just so many people in Lima , all condensed and running around. And EVERYONE works. The young and the old, Women with babies in hand. Needless to say, it was quite a site for my naive eyes.
Oasis of Dancing
Cut back to Huacachina. A sunny place full of friendly faces and many many tourists. It also happens to be the party destination for many people and yes, I did partake in a late night dance-athon with plenty to drink and many techno renditions of current songs from the states.
I quickly made friends with my neighbors and was invited to lunch with them the next day. Then they left and I made friends with some Israeli boys fresh out of the army and we hiked up the sand dune for a proper picture of the small oasis. They made me my first decent cup of coffee atop the dune. It was strong and sweet. They had made sure to prepare for their trip by packing a small camp stove with ground coffee from home.
Hostel Living
It was at this hostel called Corola del Sur that I met Jason who just completed his first year of travel. He saved for 5 years so that he could travel the world for 3 and here I am itching to call my parents after 72 hours. His story was inspiring to me that he could spend so much time alone. I pride myself on being able to converse with strangers and it can be easy to make friends in the environment of a hostel. People come and go and it’s easy to begin a conversation: hey, you traveling alone? No? Oh how many people? Where you from? Where you going? And it usually takes off from there. However, it is just as easy to find yourself very alone yet surrounded by people. It’s difficult if these people have already decided on their friend groups for the day. You must establish yourself quickly in this setting and I refuse to be alone all the time. If I want company I will find it.
3 Days and 3 Nights
After three days, many different friends later, and a load of fresh laundry, I leave for a place no one has heard of: jihuay. Near another place no one has heard of (except the bus driver, thank god), Chala.
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