Oasis Huancachina was 700 or 800 kilometers ago but all those kilometers run together. After passing through the selva and back over the Andes to the coast I was looking for a place where I would not stick out because it is tiring to be the focus of attention. I did not want to hear about Pishtacos, be called gringo, be stared at or explain myself. And I wanted to speak English with a native speaker. I needed a tourist destination where I was just another tourist to be fed
beers (just hide the bike). Oasis Huancachina seemed to fit the bill. A unique and famous little oasis around a pond surrounded by huge dunes with hotels and restaurants. However, I did not anticipate Peruvians having a long weekend or celebrating Halloween . . . I rolled into the oasis and hostals were booked solid. I found accommodation in a dorm attached to a bar/restaurant/pool and made myself comfortable talking with some locals at the bar and even got to speak a little English with a Kiwi. The night promised to be a good party but I had ridden 190km the day before and that was just one out of four days of riding - in short I was beat. I tried to stay lively and wait for things to start but Peruvians like the rest of Latin America do not go out until midnight or so and I was cashed. Well, about the time I decide to turn in the techno salsa gets turned up. The dorm room formerly to myself gets two more Limenos in the oasis for the party . . . I did not sleep a wink and the place was rockin' til dawn as people peeled off and passed out. The next day I wandered in a sleepless stoned daze over to another hostal that promised to be quieter with wifi to get some recovery time and write.
The second hostal was quieter and the oasis itself was quieter as everyone returned to work leaving it to the genuine tourists. Tourist spots are places of entertainment where you wander from overpriced lunch to dune buggy tour to sand board rental - they all strike me as pretty much the same. The same souvenir shoppes, the same t-shirts, the same board walk, the same kiosks, the same types of restaurants, ice cream - a place where people can safely wander drunk in zip off pants and safari hats and not get hit by a bus.
Over sized cameras dangle that would make Flavor Flav proud but what are they going to photograph that they could not see at any other tourist destination? The unfamiliar familiarity of vacation destinations. But then that is what I was looking for - an unchallenging environment where I did not have to think about anything.
At the next hostal I stayed in a dorm room with Kokoro who is a Japanese cyclist traveling around the world for the past 4.5 years. He has written on his bags the names of the countries he has passed through and it is an impressive list - my trip would require the side of one bag. He is on the final leg of his journey after Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and North America! We were there for the same reasons but he was looking to speak Japanese and did not want to be called chino. We did not ride together but spent the next week together between Oasis Huancachina and Nasca. He is carrying almost double my load but that includes an impressive kitchen and I enjoyed his Japanese cooking. I have met a number of Japanese cyclists traveling for years and wondered why are there so many Japanese cyclists? Koko told me that it recently became a popular thing to do for post-college males after a friend of his wrote a book about his travels around the world that became a best seller in Japan.
After a couple days we were both ready to leave the unreal reality of Oasis Huancachina. Meanwhile, tourists wandered looking vaguely lost and Peruvians lay on the shady grass eating picnic lunch circulating a beer while the children play in the pond.
Oasis Huancachina was 700 or 800 kilometers ago but all those kilometers run together. After passing through the selva and back over the Andes to the coast I was looking for a place where I would not stick out because it is tiring to be the focus of attention. I did not want to hear about Pishtacos, be called gringo, be stared at or explain myself. And I wanted to speak English with a native speaker. I needed a tourist destination where I was just another tourist to be fed 
beers (just hide the bike). Oasis Huancachina seemed to fit the bill. A unique and famous little oasis around a pond surrounded by huge dunes with hotels and restaurants. However, I did not anticipate Peruvians having a long weekend or celebrating Halloween . . . I rolled into the oasis and hostals were booked solid. I found accommodation in a dorm attached to a bar/restaurant/pool and made myself comfortable talking with some locals at the bar and even got to speak a little English with a Kiwi. The night promised to be a good party but I had ridden 190km the day before and that was just one out of four days of riding - in short I was beat. I tried to stay lively and wait for things to start but Peruvians like the rest of Latin America do not go out until midnight or so and I was cashed. Well, about the time I decide to turn in the techno salsa gets turned up. The dorm room formerly to myself gets two more Limenos in the oasis for the party . . . I did not sleep a wink and the place was rockin' til dawn as people peeled off and passed out. The next day I wandered in a sleepless stoned daze over to another hostal that promised to be quieter with wifi to get some recovery time and write.
The second hostal was quieter and the oasis itself was quieter as everyone returned to work leaving it to the genuine tourists. Tourist spots are places of entertainment where you wander from overpriced lunch to dune buggy tour to sand board rental - they all strike me as pretty much the same. The same souvenir shoppes, the same t-shirts, the same board walk, the same kiosks, the same types of restaurants, ice cream - a place where people can safely wander drunk in zip off pants and safari hats and not get hit by a bus. 
Over sized cameras dangle that would make Flavor Flav proud but what are they going to photograph that they could not see at any other tourist destination? The unfamiliar familiarity of vacation destinations. But then that is what I was looking for - an unchallenging environment where I did not have to think about anything. 
At the next hostal I stayed in a dorm room with Kokoro who is a Japanese cyclist traveling around the world for the past 4.5 years. He has written on his bags the names of the countries he has passed through and it is an impressive list - my trip would require the side of one bag. He is on the final leg of his journey after Asia, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and North America! We were there for the same reasons but he was looking to speak Japanese and did not want to be called chino. We did not ride together but spent the next week together between Oasis Huancachina and Nasca. He is carrying almost double my load but that includes an impressive kitchen and I enjoyed his Japanese cooking. I have met a number of Japanese cyclists traveling for years and wondered why are there so many Japanese cyclists? Koko told me that it recently became a popular thing to do for post-college males after a friend of his wrote a book about his travels around the world that became a best seller in Japan.
After a couple days we were both ready to leave the unreal reality of Oasis Huancachina. Meanwhile, tourists wandered looking vaguely lost and Peruvians lay on the shady grass eating picnic lunch circulating a beer while the children play in the pond.
looks like you have come upon some very nice places...hopefully you are sitting on the beach enjoying an american thanksgiving...you have soooo much to be thankful for with the sublime trip you are in the midst of...peace and happy thanksgiving from us in colorado...phillip
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