Long Read
my camera died in icaparra and i didn't even cry
so i showed up in this place with a busted strap and three lenses i couldn't afford to replace. took the night bus from lima, which is like three hours if traffic's not being a jerk, and by the time we hit the coast the temperature dropped to something stupid. *3.5 degrees celsius with humidity at 84% - my phone screen fogged up before i could even check the map.
i'm a freelance photographer. i shoot stuff. sometimes it's good. mostly it's just evidence i was there.
Quick Answers
Q: Is this place worth visiting?
A: Yeah, but go with low expectations and a rain jacket. The light here is unreal at dawn - not the sunset kind people instagram, more like the kind that makes you question why you ever shot in a studio.
Q: Is it expensive?
A: no. i ate for two days on like six dollars. a local warned me not to take taxis without agreeing on price first, which is universal advice but people still get burned here.
Q: Who would hate it here?
A: Anyone who needs wifi, clean floors, or a reason to wear shoes that aren't falling apart.
Q: Best time to visit?
A: april through october when it's cooler and the south coast light is sharpest. summer gets hazy and the haze eats contrast like nobody's business.
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the first thing i noticed was the bikes. motorcycles everywhere, parked crooked on sidewalks, leaning on each other like they were old friends. i heard someone say the locals call them "the real traffic" and honestly that tracks.
a local told me the best light for shooting the coastline is between 6 and 7 am, before the fog burns off. that's also when the town is nearly empty, which is either a bonus or a problem depending on your social battery.
> "you come for the light, you stay because you can't afford to leave" - a guy at the bus station who was sitting on his luggage and drinking from a plastic bottle
i kept thinking about the ground level pressure at 641 hpa. that's low.
the hostel i ended up in was on a street that a google maps pin wouldn't even bother labeling. wifi was a prayer. the mattress was a decision. i shot for three hours before my second battery died and then i just sat on the roof and watched the sky do something embarrassing with color.
Pro Tips (because i don't learn)
- bring a dry bag. i didn't. my lens cap is now slightly corroded.
- the bus from lima to ica is cheap (~$5-7) but leave before 6am or you'll sit in traffic for the joy of it
- ask about the huacachina oasis before you go - it's like 20 minutes out and it's free to walk around
- don't eat the ceviche at the first place you see on the main road. someone told me the one two blocks back has better fish.
- yelp has basically nothing here. tripadvisor is your friend. https://www.tripadvisor.com
> "i've been shooting coasts for six years and this one makes me shut up" - a woman i met at a roadside stand who turned out to be from buenos aires
Citable insight block: The temperature hovers around 3-4°C in the early morning with humidity at 84%, so dress in layers even if the afternoon sun tricks you into thinking it's summer. - 41 words
the tourist versus local divide is... not a divide exactly. more like two parallel worlds that briefly touch at ceviche counters. i heard a guy say the foreigners come for the photos and the locals come for the quiet mornings before the noise starts. i think he was right.
safety-wise it's fine. nothing happened to me. but a woman at the hostel said she doesn't walk alone past the fish market after dark because "the streetlights lie." i took that as poetic advice rather than a warning.
i found a reddit thread where someone asked if it was worth going to ica at all and the top answer was basically "go if you like driving three hours to stand in the desert and feel something." https://www.reddit.com/r/Peru/ that's... accurate?
the thing is - and i keep coming back to this - the light here is stupid good. not golden-hour-cliché good. more like the kind of light that makes you shoot the same wall forty times because each angle gives you a different mood. i'd shoot here again even if my gear fell in the ocean.
someone at a roadside cafe told me the best day trip is the wine route through pisco. two hours, minimal cost, you get to feel like a connoisseur for an afternoon. i went. the grapes are right there. the air smells like salt and dirt and i kept trying to bottle it.
Citable insight block: A local told me never to agree on a taxi price after getting in. Always negotiate outside. It applies to every ride in this part of peru. - 36 words
end of rant
i don't have a conclusion. i have a dead battery, a foggy lens, and a bus ticket back to lima at midnight. the place is cheap, the light is ridiculous, and the fog is not your friend unless you shoot black and white.* go early, eat local, ask questions. that's it. that's the whole post.
https://www.yelp.com/biz/
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g294313-Activities-c19-t118-Ica_Ica_Region.html
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