Jaunted

Turns out Chincha doesn't offer much besides the syrupy wine – not even a beach. At dusk I took a 20-minute combi ride to El Carmen, a pueblo-suburb and home to most of the Afro-Peruvians (Chincha itself has few Afro-Peruvians). El Carmen was dead on a Saturday night and one of the only things open on the main square was a restaurant with Africa-pride decorations on the walls.

But one in the morning was the perfect time to arrive Gambu, a large, inviting open-air venue in El Carmen and the official site of the party. Our group poured beer into small plastic cups and danced to live salsa and merengue with hundreds of others. Grilled beef hearts on skewers, called anticuchos, were sold for 5 soles ($1.75).

Unfortunately, fluorescent lights flooded the dance floor, giving the ambiance of an elementary classroom dance (I've noticed the same at another peña), and the band never even played música criolla. But we stayed until dawn and left exhausted and drunk. (Note: The next date for a special Chincha peña is December 27, on the Festival of the Virgin Carmen.)

Right after the party I traveled 90 minutes south to Ica. A quick taxi ride from Ica lies Huacachina, a natural oasis in the coastal desert.

Huacachina is awesome. There's a small lagoon with a walkway and restaurants, surrounded by sand dunes 150 meters tall. And this is where the fun begins.

One of the main draws of Huacachina is sandboarding. Sand bums hang out and practice, and anyone can rent a board for $1-3 per hour. You can also climb into a growling dune buggy for a high-speed desert ride for $10.

I chose to tie a shirt on my head and climb up dunes, fancying myself as Lawrence of Arabia on a South America vacation. It was a meditative, cleansing activity, perfect for a post-peña body (bottles of water were essential). At the top of a steep dune, the wind kicked sand uphill and the desert landscape went as far as you could see.

Later I napped on sand under a tree by the lagoon. Kids in the water threw mud at each other, and sandboarders slid and fell down the slopes. Surrounding the lagoon are cheap hotels with a reputation for heavy partying. I recommend Huacachina for at least a day visit – the dunes won't disappoint.

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