Connecting the Dots: Sandboarding in the Peruvian Desert

The driver slammed the pedal as the V8 engine roared to life and we blazed forward towards a dune rising from the landscape on our left. With the pedal to the floor, half the buggy squealing in excitement and the other half screaming in agony, we ascended the sand, drifted at the top and headed straight back down like a skateboarder on a vert ramp. The infinite beige landscape of rolling hills, “real” dunes and expressways of compressed sand was made even more spectacular by the muted, ember-like glow from the sun’s rays trying to pierce through the sandy air. After miles and miles of roller coaster type thrills, the driver began accelerating to summit another peak. However, as the buggy reached the crest and the front two wheels began the decent, he slammed on the brakes and we stopped—half the car falling down on one side of the dune and half the car barely holding on by the rubber threads of the back tires. It’s sandboarding time…

The guides removed the sandboards (old snowboards actually), threw them on the ground, and stepped back as everyone claimed their favorite; a smooth board for speed and distance or a rough board if you preferred walking at the bottom because you were not traveling fast enough to reach everyone else. I chose my board—blue and with a significant perpendicular gash on its underbelly. While traditionally not ideal equipment, I noticed on the previous run that it was a “performer”—even with its damaged exterior shell. I trudged up the sand until the launching point, straddled the board, laid down face first, grabbed the front straps and was pushed down the mountain of sand. By pulling hard on the front of the board to keep the front resistance as minimal as possible and by ensuring your feet remain away from the backside resistance from the sand, your speed increases drastically and quickly. All too soon you reach the bottom of the dune, slow down, and start popping on the pimply compressed sand in the valleys. Eventually you skid to a stop; laughing, face abrased by the sand, ready for another run and hoping the line you drew in the sand wins the distance completion for this round.