[bolty]

My family took a trip to Peru just recently.

The main reason was to hike the Inca Trail but we also took a lil side trip to an oasis town call Huacachina:



The main attraction were the desert dunes and my son really wanted to try Sandboarding.

We had to take one of these out to the dunes:



Which was awesome fun. The sound of the monster chevy engine was intoxicating.

Finally some boarding. My son is a pretty accomplished snowboarder. He has his level 1 instructors certification in both boarding and park but he found it pretty hard:



Yours truly:



And finally, my daughter giving it a go:

I have alot of great vid of us shredding the dunes in the dune buggy but they are just waaaay to long.

Hope you enjoyed.

[Soni]

wow....look like you guys had lots of fun!!

[dassub]

those dunes look ridiculous fun!

[f30Seth]

Wow, I envy you for taking a trip like this with your whole family.. This kind of trip is kind of "too exotic" for me, but that's just me. Sandboarding??! I never knew such thing existed and that's your son and daughter!? HOW OLD ARE YOU?! you must be GAZILLION YEARS OLD!

just kidding

[ctgazer]

wow...looks like an amazing time...love sand. even tho theres no water!

[Chiggy]

That sandboarding looks ridiculously fun! I may have to try that some time. Do the falls hurt less on sand then on snow & ice?

[who's ur daddy?]

bolty - great fun! bet this was better than egypt!

[bolty]

Thanks for the comments guys.

Yeah the sandboarding was definitely great fun. Its alot harder than you think, and climbing back up the dunes will just suck the life out of you. Its hard work!

Nathan, Egypt was not fun in the same sense but its was still amazing. The kids definitely liked Peru better though.

Chiggy, the sand is softer than ice and snow for sure but you can get some serious speed on the sand if you want and a faceplant into the sand will still put some serious hurt into you. I saw some people eat it really bad and got the wind knocked out of them.

e92says, Iam not a gazillion years old. I just started having kids waaay early. I paid my dues early and am reaping the benefits now My wife still tells me I need to grow the hell up.

So I'll tell you guys a little more about this trip;

For my wife and I, travelling to places with our kids is something we really like to do. This particular time, my wife decided the kids need a bit of a reality check. So she found a childrens home in Lima, Peru and arranged for her and the kids to go and volunteer for a month. That was the premise of the trip. I did not go for this. I only joined them 5 weeks later for the "fun" part.

These are some of the kids at the home. Mostly orphans with various health problems:



The highlight of the "fun" part was to hike the Inca Trail. Its basically a 45 km hike over 3 nights / 4 days. Camping, and roughing it over some mountain passes, through the tropical valleys and generally hellish conditions. Altitude sickness, bugs, wild animals, outhouses, getting sick, you name it, it was there. It was probably the hardest thing my family and I have ever experienced. The end goal was to reach Machu Picchu but the trek itself, when completed was the best thing we ever did! The sense of accomplishment was awesome and we were glad we finished it without getting killed or hurt.

From the Sun Gate, above Machu Picchu:


View of Machu Picchu:



We also visited Paracas Bay, which is considered the "poor mans Galapagos" and saw alot of marine animals up close in the wild:



And finally, my son paragliding in Lima, Peru:

It was a great trip. And just as fun, was being home alone for about 5 weeks

I took advantage of that time to get an exhaust, install a boost gauge, and go to the track with you guys

[who's ur daddy?]

Originally Posted by bolty

This particular time, my wife decided the kids need a bit of a reality check. So she found a childrens home in Lima, Peru and arranged for her and the kids to go and volunteer for a month. That was the premise of the trip.

Bravo. Mad respect for doing this.

[f30Seth]

Originally Posted by bolty

For my wife and I, travelling to places with our kids is something we really like to do. This particular time, my wife decided the kids need a bit of a reality check. So she found a childrens home in Lima, Peru and arranged for her and the kids to go and volunteer for a month. That was the premise of the trip. I did not go for this. I only joined them 5 weeks later for the "fun" part.

WOAH... I'M JEALOUS I hope I get to find one that's keeper like yours. NO wonder you got married so early.. these days only thing girls want are a batch of Gucci bags, a trip to Tahiti and hire a maid to do the housework as a mother for them. goes for that mama.

[ctgazer]

^^ word...damn that sun gate pic looks crazy steep

[Soni]

Originally Posted by who's ur daddy?

Bravo. Mad respect for doing this.

+1

[nikku]

beautiful pictures !!! I'm loving the sand dunes. It looks so peaceful and talk about oasis!!

[MaxL]

I had exactly same pictures from my trip 3 weeks ago :-). Sandboarding is not as fun as doing it on the snow, but the buggies are awesome fun. Did you see penguins on Paracas Islands? Those are crazy funny.

[rkick08]

Originally Posted by who's ur daddy?

Bravo. Mad respect for doing this.

[bolty]

Originally Posted by ctgazer

^^ word...damn that sun gate pic looks crazy steep

Its actually steeper than it looks!! Not for the faint of heart for sure!

Originally Posted by MaxL

I had exactly same pictures from my trip 3 weeks ago :-). Sandboarding is not as fun as doing it on the snow, but the buggies are awesome fun. Did you see penguins on Paracas Islands? Those are crazy funny.

Wow man thats cool! Surprisingly, we met alot of Canadians in Peru. Yeah, we saw the penguins on the islands. My daughter went crazy for them. I'd love to go back there and see more of the southern part of the country.

[DinoMite]

awesome vacation !
I wish i had some time off from work