As someone who has not surfed or snow boarded, the chance to do just that in the middle of the desert was too good to pass by. At a rest stop at an oasis on the four day drive south from Lima, we saw the enormous dunes of the Nazca desert, and were tempted by the young entrepreneurs who had pulled out a selection of surf boards, at a place that felt a world away from the nearest wave.
Armed with our boards and a plastic bag full of wax, we headed up the steep dune. It was mid-day and the sand was hot to the touch, even on the soles of our feet. The march up the hill must have taken half an hour, and by the top I had sweated so much that I don’t know if the wax was surplus to requirements!
Once at the top our small group was instructed to wax our boards (a intricate process of splitting the bag of wax and wiping it all over the board) and away we went!
I tried to stand on the board at first, and failed miserably, almost before I started. I soon took the advice of our guide, who suggested we should just lie on our bellies and enjoy the ride.
This technique, although supremely ungraceful, meant that I could stay on the board as it careered down the slope, gaining speed very rapidly! I waited till the last moment before rolling off (I didn’t fancy hitting the waters of the oasis at very high speed) and eventually came to a stop, covered in sand and apparently with a giant grin on my face.
It was short (especially the downhill part) but hugely exciting, and I would recommend it to anyone who gets the chance to try it. One word of warning though – I was picking out sand from everywhere (and I mean everywhere!) for days after this adventure.
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That looks like awesome fun! Thanks for the information and great pictures – I had heard about this type of surfing but didn't know where it was!
Give it a go if you can Shannon, it's an adrenaline rush but a very safe one. Not so much surfing as hanging on though…
Well inspite of the sand everywhere it sounds like you are very glad you did it. I am not too fond of sand, so I would probably have to pass on this adventure. But kudos to you who does not snowboard or surf for at least attempting to sand surf.
I have many wonderful memories from my few days spent in Huacachina. Sand-boarding is definitely fun, as is the dune buggy ride around the desert, but I think for me, what took the cake was just the expanse of the desert. I was lucky enough to have gone into the desert just before sunset and the glow the sun cast over the desert sand was unbelievable!
That sounds awesome Connie. We were only passing through, and I would love to have spent longer there. Next time… so much to see!