Rakabudiswa: 07.02.2024
At 4 p.m. everyone from PeruHop met. I met another couple who come from Germany but now live in Switzerland. We then went into the desert with our guide. It makes you want to walk through the sand, although it is tiring, especially when it goes uphill. Then we came to a place where there seemed to be 300 beach buggies. We then got an orange speedster. Our driver made a competent impression. There were seven of us plus the driver and the couple from Switzerland was with us. The start was very jerky and then the oil filter simply broke, which is why we got some oil. He then tried to get a replacement filter and had to close the hole. It took a while and I thought to myself, "It's a bit of bad luck," but after 15 minutes it really started and we would be rewarded with an awesome ride over the dunes and mountains. You definitely had to hold on tight. Then we went to the first spot and were able to take a few photos. The tough thing is that the photos and videos can never capture the entire landscape. For a while I didn't take many photos on vacation because I thought I wouldn't be able to enjoy the moment. And I think it's bad when people drive to the Eiffel Tower, take what feels like 3 photos and then drive off again. Now I already have a lot of photos and I still try to save images in my mind.
Then we went to the next spot and he took out the sandboards. I didn't actually plan on riding it because I thought I'd be stupid or have an accident, but I have to say it was a very cool experience, even though the last descent in particular was very steep. He gave us a quick introduction and then waxed our board. And then I was allowed to go down first. And as already written: It's really fun. You have to hold on tight, keep your arms on the board, spread your legs and shift your weight backwards. We lay on our stomachs on the board. Standing was forbidden. Others also had real snowboards or skis. We're down three small slopes. I ended up losing the board on the second slope and yes, it can be very dangerous. In the evening, others told me that a woman in another group rolled over several times and had to go to the hospital. Luckily, I only found out about it in the evening. At the beginning I just wanted to book the beach tour and I think I read that when booking because I was really unsure, also because of the backpack and valuables that you lose on the way, but I'm glad that sandboarding was included was there and I got over myself.
Then we went to another spot where we took the beach buggy straight up to the top. This time it was a little higher. Our guide told us, just the same as before. And I think with others it's always relaxed, but when you're lying with your face a few centimeters above the sand and you're already at speed, it's something different. Anyway, we then went down three more slopes and the communication with our driver was sometimes a bit ambiguous. And with this slope he said that if we do this one, we have to do the next two too, so a point of no return, which gave some people a little stomach ache. And I have to say, the last slope was so steep that you couldn't even see exactly how the slope went. But in the end everyone made it through unscathed. We were also a cool group and I also think it's good that we were a small group. Others had larger cars with sometimes 15-20 people. When we got to the bottom we could see a group going down on skis and snowboards. Some of them fell a few times, but they definitely looked cool too. Then he drove us to a nice spot for the sunset. And then back to the entrance to the desert area. As already written, it was another unique experience, after which it felt like there was sand all over my body and in every crack. Even while driving you got all the sand on your face, even though you had a cloth around your face. Afterwards I sat on the lake for a moment and enjoyed the view.