Mum it’s like Mario Kart

Today is the day Middle man has been dreaming of since I told him we were going sand boarding in some dunes. He was so young when we did it last In Namibia but he still loves looking at the pictures and talking about it. He was 3! And boy blue about 7months!

But first we had a trip I was dearly looking forward to… a boat trip to the Ballestas islands, otherwise known as poor man’s Galapagos. It was a cold foggy morning but the sea was calm when we set off at 7. Even before we left dock we saw a sea lion playing in the harbour. Boy blue excitedly tried to capture it but of course missed it terribly 😂

As we left the harbour we head to look at a strange marking on the cliffs… no one really knows how old it is or why it’s there. Some say it’s an angel or god. Others say a local cactus which has hallucinogenic properties, which you might need to undertake such a piece of art work. Personally I like the idea that it is a sign for landing space ships. 😂😂😂 you decide.

Next stop was the islands and wild life spotting! Compared to our whale watching trip in Sri Lanka it was a bonanza! We saw penguins, vultures and so many different species of birds that I can’t remember. Our captain was particularly excited by one with red legs which are hardly ever seen. On the way back we saw more sea lions that posed nicely on a bouy for boy blue to take a photo of and also a pod of dolphins. It was 2 hours well spent! And the morning wasn’t even over yet!

Next stop was the national reserve headland… a whole headland made of salt…. One of the strangest landscapes I have seen. A strange mixture of yellow and red nothingness on first glance. It has echos of our travels in Namibia but more compact. We saw beaches, rock (salt) formations and cliffs. Although the boys favourite part was literally eating the ground. 😱

Next stop Huacachina, from the bazar to the crazy. As soon as we got off the bus we were divided up into groups and sent off to find our buggy drivers. Ours Brandon only looked a few years older than BBBoy, already nervous and now getting more apprehensive I double checked the boys seat belts. (Not that they probably would have done much 🫣)

What insued next can only be described as completely bonkers. It was like the craziest game of Mario Kart meets Mad Max on steroids. We skidded, jumped and raced over the most stunning sand dunes. It was an adrenaline rush for sure… the two youngest boys absolutely loving every second. As completely bonkers as it was our driver could certainly drive not once did he loose control, which is kinda hard to say when at times we had no wheels on the ground or were drifting sideways around the dunes banks. I wish I could have got more footage but honestly it was hard enough to keep myself looking in one direction never mind hold and aim a camera!

As we skidded to the top of the biggest dune yet I was incredibly relieved that we stopped and didn’t drive down… that was until our guide climbed out and handed us a waxed board. It was time for sandboarding! I told hubby to go first to take photos… also part of me didn’t want it to be me to go first. But after the first run for all of us, we all had a blast…. Squeezing every last ride out before we head out to watch the sunset.