Well we arrived in Ica after a nice bus ride on Cruz Del Sur.
Cruz del Sur is one of the best buslines in Peru and we can understand why.
They so need these buses in Australia. They are double decker buses with seats that recline back 160 degrees! Cost us 60 soles ($22) for both of us for 5 hours.

Surprising highlight of the trip was the Inca Cola. It actually outsells Coke in South America. It's flourescent yellow and tastes just like Snow Top. I loved it.

After arriving at Ica (45 minutes early) and getting ripped off by yet another taxi driver from the bus station, you would think we would learn by now, although we didn't want to hang around anyway, we arrived quickly at our hotel and were happily surprised to find that the place was great. The staff speak no english however and the owner, Raoul, who allegedly was great at sorting tours etc we never saw.
For a place right on the highway it was surprisingly quiet and there was even a wedding that popped in for photos.

In any case my cold had turned into an absolute rip snorter by now so I didn´t care so long as I had a bed. Phil also managed to acquire the first stomach problems of our trip (we're thinking the sandwich on the bus may have been the culprit), nothing crippling though, but it wasn´t me!!

The restaurant at El Carmelo didn't take US$ so we had enough for a couple of beers and some hot chips, which suited us fine as neither of us were particularly hungry. An early night was had and probably a good thing for me.

I woke with a really sore throat but managed a bit of an extra sleep for an hour which seemed to help.  We walked into town and found no real cause for concern safety wise, although we probably wouldn't do it at night, changed some money and stopped for a couple of cokes at Commercial Natute in the Plaza de Armas.  We were absolutely dumbfounded when the guy in the shop not only organised us a taxi to the Museo de Regional but also paid for it! It was only 2 soles (less than a dollar) but we still can´t believe it. We had a chat to him and he has family in Australia and has the best english we have come across so far. So to anyone who goes to Ica definitely stop in at Commercial Natute for a drink and or food.

The Museo de Regional is a museum displaying traditional, pre spanish artifacts. The museum was small but really interesting and they even had a section with mummified remains including full skeletons and skulls which had been shaped from birth. They also had hair styles depicting rank and hieracy and a set of dreadlocks Brett can only aspire to!

There really wasn't much else to do in Ica. I think a lot of people stay further out and go sandboarding, but that isn't really our thing. We booked our Bodega tour for the next day and have decided to wait until we get to Nazca to book our flight over the Nazca lines. Here's hoping that turns out ok. We walked to the bus station to organise our bus to Nazca and passed yet another church. They certainly build them big in South America.

Bus organised, although a bit later than we hoped. Returned to the hotel to find on a sunday the restaurant wasn't open so bak into Ica it is and to El Otro Penoncito, a Lonely Planet recommendation. I'm starting to think we shouldn't put much faith in them. Tea was very average and we didn't stay around.
 
Next day it was onto the Bodega tour.
After being picked up by a scruffy fellow who didn't speak english (we were concerned as we were the only ones on the tour) we set off in a car we again weren't sure would get us far. First stop was the Bodega Vista Alegre. As it turns out the tour and tasting aren´t included in the tour price. After paying another 10 soles for us both we were guided by, we think, an owner or winemaker, who really was going through the motions. At least he spoke english, actually really quite well.

The wine tasting was interesting with the surprise being that we preferred the cheap one they make for the festival in March and not their more expensive wines, which we have yet to see for sale anywhere.

Interesting things learnt:
1. Wine aged in small barrels ages faster than in larger barrels because of the contact to the wood (6mths is equal to 3yrs) so simply stating it is aged 3 years doesn´t fully explain it.
2. Pisco means bird in the traditional Quecha language
3. Pisco is really strong (47%) - especially at 10:30am
4. Only 25% of the grape volume is used to make Pisco the rest is methanol, which they use as fuel or to sterilise equipment and feet (at the festival).

After a disappointing tour it was then onto Bodega El Catador, at which point we were wondering what we were in for. On the way we passed by the local river. Very sad to see that they just don't understand what they are doing to their water. Both sides of the river were just chock full of rubbish and the amount of plastic bags were staggering.

Arrived at El Catador and were happily surprised when we got Victor as our guide. He was hilarious and definitely made the tour. He showed us around the vineyards and orchards where they grow pecans, figs and mangoes before showing us the grape pressing area which holds 8000kg of grapes.

The wine press was 150 years old. Once the wine is pressed it goes into Botica to ferment. The word Pisco comes from bird as mentioned and this relates to the head shape of the bottle (Botica).

We tried their products at the end including the ´perfect love´ wine. Apparently it is an aphrodesiac and acts as a fertility aid. Maybe that´s just because they drink so much of it but I wasn´t taking any chances!! 
It´s actually really nice and their pisco was a lot nicer than Vista Alegre's in our opinion. He even showed us how to drink it properly.
1. Swirl it around the glass
2. The fluid shouldn't flow down the sides quickly or if you wipe some on your hand , when it evaporates, it should smell like fruit not alcohol.
3. Take a sip, roll it around in your mouth, swallow and breathe out deeply.
Funny how there is an art to everything.

We even tried their chocolate covered caramels. Oh my god they were simply divine so we just had to buy some. It was a nice end to our tour athough we do prefer our wine tastings at home (and the company ;) ) If in Ica I would just recommend hiring a taxi to El Catador and skipping Vista Alegre altogether.

We are now off to Nazca and a flight over the Nazca Lines. Can´t wait and with any luck my cold will go away.