Mancora and Huanchaco
PERU | Tuesday, 1 July 2008 | Views [359]
After spending close to two months in the Andes, we opted to spend a portion of the three weeks we had remaining in Peru at the beach. It was just what we needed.
Our first stop was Mancora, which is close to the Ecuador border. The majority of the Pacific Ocean along Peru's coast is friggin' cold due to the Humboldt current that flows up from Antarctica. However, just south of Mancora, the Humboldt current is met by the equally as nasty "El Nino" current flowing down from the Equator. Given this, it is possible to swim in the ocean around Mancora without a wetsuit! Hooray!
In reality, we were 2.5 kms south of Mancora, at a beach known as Las Pocitas. Las Pocitas are the small pools that exist amongst the large rocks that dot the beach during low tide. The beach was magnificent. Lined by coconut palms, it felt very rustic and tranquilo. We stayed at Las Balsas Bungalows, which was managed by the always-helpful Alfredo.
This paragraph is dedicated to Alfredo. Alfredo was an interesting guy. He was about 50 years old and had only come to Las Balsas from Lima in February. Alfredo spoke the best English that we have encountered on our journey and the reason for this was because he had attended LSU as an undergrad. When we told him that they recently won the National Championship, he was quite happy. Although we never felt comfortable enough to extract the details of his life, we think Alfredo was recently divorced and came to Mancora to escape from his old life. He did tell us that his father was very rich and sent him all over the world, and that his father was also shot (but killed too?) by the Shining Path terrorists. Given his past, it is likely that he is managing a small hotel at the beach to occupy his time more than anything else. In the future, Alfredo would like to write a contemporary history of Peru entitled, "Who's Guilty". If you are interested in Peru, I suggest you pick the book up whenever it is published, as Alfredo struck me as a very smart and in-tune guy. For me, however, the best Alfredo moment was when he donned large googles and a speedo to spend the morning hand-removing algae with chlorine from the bottom of the pool.
OK, back to our story. We ended spending 8 nights at Las Balsas because we liked it so much. I think we read a combined 8 books (Trish = 6, Ben = 2) and worked our minds on Sudoko. We were responsible and did not get burned very bad, however, now my legs are peeling at an alarming rate. Better be more careful in Brazil. My only complaint about Mancora was the lack of surfing waves, which were touted in the literature and internet. What I could decipher from the locals was that the weather was just not cooperating. Oh well. I did get to watch the US Open live and play soccer on the beach with a couple local kids and Al.
To remedy the wave problem, after Mancora, we took a day-long bus trip to Huanchaco, a cool little fishing village outside of Trujillo, Peru's third largest city. We could only stay for two nights, given our extended stay in Mancora, but that was enough time for me to learn how to surf. I have always wanted to learn, but never felt like donning a wetsuit in front of friends. Becuase it was only Trish, I felt emboldened and went for it. In two days I was able to successfully stand and surf on some smaller waves. When I tried the bigger stuff, my shoulders and back were too wasted from ealier sessions and I only ended up surfing the wave on my knees, but it was fun nonetheless. Hope to improve in Brazil.
Other than surfing, there wasn't much to do in Huanchaco. It was low season and overcast for the majority of the time (it is closer to Lima and the infamous eternal grayness of winter). After two days, we said goodbye to the beaches of northern Peru and boarded our overnight bus back to the Andes and Cordillera Blanca.
Tags: beaches & sunshine
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