This is my last post for our visit with Casey and Kyle. They leave tomorrow for Lima, and we’re headed to the very isolated desert through Thursday. (Note: I’m writing this ahead of time. So if you check my blog every day as you should, I’ll be back from the desert on Friday, which is your tomorrow.)
Anyway…
Saturday, March 21
Saturday was a travel day from Puerto Moldonado to Lima, and then from Lima to Ica and the Huacachina Oasis. We had some problems with the bus tickets that I booked, and once we arrive our hotel (Casa de Arena) was noisy and run down. Kind of a bummer day for me, but we made it.
Sunday, March 22
We started the morning off with an awesome breakfast from Desert Adventures. Real coffee. Real orange juice. It was great.
Second, we switched hotels to Hosteria Suiza. So much nicer. Quiet… Most guide books insinuate that this hotel is inconveniently out of the way. In reality, it’s on the far side of the lagoon, which is about a 2 minute walk from the other side of the lagoon. That small distance though puts you away from the party hostels… a very good thing. I’m getting tired of backpackers.
Next we booked our bus tickets our dune buggy/sand boarding tour with Huacachinero. I just went along for the ride in the buggy, which was awesome in and of itself. The rest of the crew threw themselves down the dunes on sandboards. Everyone got back to the hotel covered in sand. Some of us worse than others, ahem, meaning Scott who had decided to lay down on the top of a dune to watch the sunset.
Back at the hotel, we met up with a local guide known as “Desert Man”, aka Roberto Penny Cabrera. We were looking for a 6-7 hour tour of the surrounding desert to look at marine fossils. Scott and I ended up booking a 3 day, 2 night tour with him on a whim. Honestly, this guy is a gem. And we have the time. Unfortunately, Casey and Kyle are headed back to Lima, and could not be convinced even when Roberto called Casey “shiny”.
I agree with this American Airways magazine’s article saying Roberto’s passion about “fossil hunting”is addictive. (Here is a New York Time’s article about him as well.) He promises to awake our inner explorer child. I like to think of him as a desert shaman, because he’s going to take us into the deepest, most isolated desert to see amazing fossils, rock formations and sunsets, which will probably blow our mind.
Monday, March 23
Roberto asked that we come to his house the next morning to see some of the fossils he has collected from the desert. For the most part, he insists that fossils be left in the land. However, he does take a few precious items out because he “likes things that are beautiful”. So, after another breakfast at Desert Adventures, we headed to Ica.
Roberto’s family own a huge colonial house on the corner of the Plaza de Armas. The house is pretty much in ruins, probably both from sheer age (with what looked like very little upkeep) and from the earthquake that devastated this area in 2007.
Roberto (showing his truck to us in this photo) has his collection set up in one of the rooms, which is also the room he sleeps in when he’s not at his girlfriend’s house.
The room could literally be out of an Indiana Jones movie. He has shark teeth and other fossils set up in display cases, and a particularly interesting rock formation that looks like Munk’s Scream. The walls are plastered with maps of the Ocucaje desert. One corner has a desk strewn with papers, shark teeth remnants and diagrams of a pyramid that he is planning on building. There is a mattress in the other corner with camouflage bedding.
After a full inspection of the room, Roberto treated us to coffee at the club next door. We were wearing shorts and sandals, so Roberto had to talk the guard into letting us in. Actually, now that I mention that, Roberto almost never stops talking. He’s incredibly engaging, and after about almost two hours we had to cut him short. It was time for us to hit the supermarket for water and other supplies.
We spent the rest of the day lounging by the pool and relaxing. I was torn with feeling excited for our next adventure with “Desert Man” and sad that Casey and Kyle would be leaving the next day! It has been great to travel with them down here. (Not to mention, they brought me Hot Tamales!)
Heading to Ica next week. How can I get in touch with Roberto Cabrera??
You can ask the staff at Hotel Suiza to track him down for you. I will also send him your email address and let him know you’re interested in meeting him! He’s somewhat sporadic on responding to emails though, so Hotel Suiza might be the better option at this point.
Let me know if it works out. I’d love to compare experiences. As it turns out, we’re going to go on another excursion with him in a few weeks! Can’t wait.