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Weekend in Ica!

After a super long stretch of staying in Lima, we finally escaped the city and took a little vacation to Ica, Perú. As part of the Holy Cross study abroad program in Lima, we have three trips which are planned out by and led by EdOdyssey (the program which Holy Cross does study abroad here through). Ica is the second trip that we get to go on.

Our wonderful program coordinator, Patty, runs a small hotel with her family in Ica and kindly welcomed us in for the weekend. During our brief two day stint in the area, we went sandboarding in the sand dunes, rode in a buggie (see pics!), had a barbecue in the sand dunes, cooked (well… prepared) our own Peruvian food, saw sea lions at the Islas Ballestas, and so much more! En route to Ica we also got the chance to learn a little about Afro Peruvian music and culture and even play a little bit ourselves!! After that, we stopped at the Hacienda San Jose for a tour of the hacienda and breakfast. It was definitely a strange experience to witness how a place where slaves were tortured and mistreated, has now been turned into a hotel and tourist attraction. Following this, we stopped at Tacama, a vineyard, for a tour and tasting. We sure love our wines and piscos 😉

I’ll let the photos speak for themselves. T’was a wonderful weekend of laughter, Huawei phone jokes,  playing in sand, and enjoying el SOL!

Sarah, instructor, and kid are pictured. Sarah and the kid are playing the cajón.
This kid was a musical genius on the cajón!
A view of the field at Hacienda San Jose
Hacienda San Jose
Patty, and the Holy Cross students enjoying the sunset. A nice group photo
Patty and the HC kiddos 🙂
The girls of Holy Cross take a selfie with the sunset
Nothing like a sunset selfie amirighttt?!
The Holy Cross crew standing on the sand buggie
Our transportation for the evening! Like a rollercoaster… but in the sand! Also great because when we sandboarded down the dunes we didn’t have to walk back up hahaha
Sarah in the car and everyone else is asleep
On our way to the Islas Ballestas. Looks like the fam is a little tired!! Got to get the Z’s in whenever you can!
Sea lions on a rock at the Islas Ballestas
Sea lions at the Islas Ballestas!!
parcial bridge and the islands
After learning about the exploitation and history of guano in Peru during multiple of my classes at PUCP, it was nifty to put the history a little more into context.
Holy cross students sitting around a table preparing ceviche and learning from Patty's mom who is standing up and demonstrating.
Learning how to prepare Ceviche, a SUPER popular Peruvian dish consisting of raw fish (which get “cooked” by the lime juice), limes, onions, choclo, and whatever else you want to add to it! I’ve eaten about 5 bites of fish during my entire life so I was quite proud of myself for eating a substancial portion of the dish I made!!
Causa dish and Sandra
Second dish we prepared: Causa
This is one of Sandra (my housemate and pictured here) and I’s favorite dishes here in Perú. Definitely a must-try if you are visiting!!