Downward dog in the desert - Nico, Alejandro, and Michael do Huacachina

Mike and I bused back down from Lima to the world famous Nazca Lines, a collection of shapes and pictures etched in the desert by the ancient Nazca people ranging from 50-500 meters in length.  As we sat in our four-seater plane munching on some cookies and admiring the pictures whizzing by below, Mike had a tremendous insight into one of the most famous figures, a primitive outline of an astronaut seemingly waving towards space (a basis for the theory that the shapes were made by aliens) - "He's not waving, he's just holding his hand out to ask for an Oreo!"  Mystery solved.

We were soon reunited with Jesse and the next morning Alejandro as well in the desert oasis of Huacachina, a small natural pond tucked away in rolling sand dunes that stretch for miles on all sides.  We set off in the afternoon for the region's main attraction - a wild buggy ride up and down the dunes with breaks for sand-boarding mixed in.  Daring to take most of the hills standing up instead of lying on my stomach, I felt pretty bad-ass at first for someone who never snowboarded before.  And then the little Japanese boy sped by me.

Along with us for the ride was Canadian girl named Hue.  A yoga aficionado, Hue believed that the dunes, sunset, and yoga poses would make for a great combination.  I'll let the pictures (one of which features me screwing up the downward dog position) speak for themselves.

And then a tearful goodbye, and suddenly all my homeboys were gone and I began to adventure alone.

But not for long.  The next day I happened to sit next to an Israeli named Shachar on a bus, and it was Hebrew for the next few days on the Isla del Sol and in La Paz (also reuniting with Salkantay-buddies Oded, Stav, and Shaked and meeting new friends Yogev and Liron).

Check back soon for Wavin' Flag - Nico does Sucre