10 kilometers of night desert walk… South Cross above my head… The moon… The worship to the Sun… Downhill from the top.

Enrique came to me in the evening. His friend gave us a ride 20 kilometers from the town. Our further plan was pretty simple: we had to walk through the desert all night long and reach Cerro Blanco (the highest dune in the world – 2078 meters) by the sunrise! We meet the sunrise there and go downhill on snowboards! We have to walk 5 kilometers more after the decent to meet Enrique’s friend on the road… Usually people go to the top at night because it’s too hot during day time. Nazca is the third driest desert on the world. All the plan is made for the sake of 15 minute downhill…

As soon we were away from the road and started our walk to the mountain we found ourselves in a completely other world… Starry sky above the head and sounds of the desert awakened literally space feelings. The rocks and the sand illuminated by the moon reminded me the landscapes of Mars… We were walking down the trail laid by Incas… Sometimes it was very narrow and close to steeps… When I walked those places I saw rocks rolling away from my feet to the dark nowhere… There were mountain silhouettes all around me… Enrique was walking first. He orientated himself by the signs known only to him… I felt like I was completely alone in the whole world when I stopped to take a picture just to watch the sky… It was so pleasant to see my friend ahead of me among all those lifeless rocks… I wasn’t alone!

We periodically entertained each other by throwing rocks to the abyss or going down the hill and making sparks out of the stones… Rocks are somewhat like flint here… Enrique sang “Happy birthday to you” in Spanish when he knew I had my own a couple days ago. It so awesome experience in the middle of the desert under the starry sky that I cannot express the feelings I had!

I saw the full moon and unknown constellations above my head… The sky was crossed by the Milky Way… I see four bright stars right above the horizon… Even though it was the first time I saw that constellation I was pretty sure it was Southern Cross… I asked Enrique and he confirmed me it was Cruz del Sur. He was standing and staring at the constellation that was illuminating the way of Jules Verne’s and other writers’ adventurers… I crossed half of the world to watch it…

Southern Cross, the mystery and meerk,
Pours its tender night light to the soul -
And the souls is full of eternal
Beauty and unearthy truth…
(с) Bunin

It became more and more difficult to walk. We saw the special stones where Indians prayed to Maccha Mama (Mother of the Earth)… By the morning rocks changed to fragile sand… It became even harder to walk…. Our feet sank in the sand but we continued our way up… We stopped several times to take a rest and eat some cactuses collected by Enrique under the light of Moon… We reached a decent height when I saw the red part of the sky very far from me… Enrique pointed at somewhere and said: “That’s our height!” I saw huge white sand height far above me! We were going up… Sometimes I used my hands… The sky became more and more red… I made my last jerk and did it to the very top! We didn’t shout and we weren’t glad… We just sat on the dune crest and looked to the Sun side… We were sitting silent… and watching the Sun coming… The light was defeating the dark… The edge of the light and the retreating night was so obvious… That was one another win of Ra over the Dark…

Meeting the Sun


I stood, raised my hands up and said: “Hello Sun! We were waiting for you” and bowed down when the Sun was above the crest. Ancient Incas bowed down to the Sun and I clearly understood that there was no other way in the mountains…

When it was bright I could see bizarre pictures of sand made by the Wind… I could see cliffs far away…

Curve of a female back


I was standing on the top and greedily catching each moment… I made a deep breath and shouted out: “Viiiiiteeeeer”! I could distinctly hear the mountain echoes “Viiiiiteeeer, Viiiiteer, Viiiiter, … iter!”

Chimera world


Enrique at the dunes


I was ready to go down hill… I actually haven't snowboarded for several years… I have never sandboarded… I saw a very steep 2000 meter hill just next to me… and the cliffs behind it… I was standing and waiting… I was freaking out… then I pushed myself and flew…

The highest dune in the world is 2078 m high. I walked a whole night to reach it’s height…



Saying it was awesome is just nothing… It was cooler than speed in your own convertible car. The speed was inebriating stronger than Cuban rum. It was more awesome than Goa parties! It was cooler than the Beatles! It was better than a bottle beer in the middle of a heat! It was cooler than Tarantino movies! It was more awesome than getting high with Jamaican ganja! It was stronger than all Klichko fights! It was more passionate than a dance with a Cuban girl! It was more beautiful than the shapes of Miss World! It was cooler than all the money of Bill Gates! It was more awesome than all the meditations exist! Fuck! That was more awesome than sex! THAT WAS COOLER THAN LIFE!

Wind in my hair


Down...


I said goodbye to Enrique at the entrance to my hotel… We made a strong handshake… He smiled and said: “Come back my friend! We’ll ride again…” I was ready to cry because he was a true person on my Way…

Enrique, I’m pretty sure you won’t read this but be sure that I’ll be back and we'll ride again!