Mancora was so cool!!! It reminded me of Phillip Island but with more surfers and hippies and such a relaxed atmosphere...I just loved it! We ended up spending 3 nights there because we knew that we couldn't get to the embassy in Lima on the weekend and it was much better relaxing on the beach than living it up in the city. And that's pretty much all we did do...relax and eat. The food was incredible; there's nothing like fresh fish and chips and the days were wasted away by walking around for a while, looking at all the local crafts, then laying on the sand watching horses go by or watching kite boarders fly through the air, or watching surfers ride the waves, or simply sleeping or reading, all the while getting a lovely tan (in my case...Amy kept all her clothes on as she is prone to a little burn). It was pure pleasure and good to not have to travel for a few days. We organized a bus from Mancora to Lima on the Sunday night and because it was such a long way we got a cama bus, which means that the chairs recline so you can get some sleep. It was only meant to be a 16 hour journey, but took more like 20 hours and we were pretty wreaked after that, but it was good arriving during the day and not having to worry about hotels and stuff (we had one booked).
At first I thought Lima was a hole, but that was only because we first drove through the older part. When we got to the part we were staying in, I felt a little better. It´s funy how all cities seem to be the same, it looks just like Melbourne here, except there is more car horn beeping and traffic. The first hostal we stayed at was right near the embassy which was good, but there were a bunch of American and Canadian people there that were really loud! We went to the embassy and they told us that it would be 4 days until I could get my visa for Brasil, which sucks a bit because we didn´t really want to waste so much time in Lima. There´s not much to do here and I really want to get to Cusco...it sounds really fun. So anyways we have to wait until Thursday then we´ll be outa here! We moved hostals on Tuesday because the one we were staying in was booked out, but it was a good choice because the new one is really cool. It overlooks the park and there is so much to watch and there are restaurants everywhere. It is a little annoying that you cant walk down the street without people trying to get you into their restaurant to eat; I think I am starting to get a complex about peoeple haseling me...its really annoying. The foor here is good though, but they struggle to make a good coffee...something I really miss.
We tried the local Peruvian drink last night, its called a Pisco Sour and is made with Pisco, lime and egg whites...I know it sounds really weird but it was actually really nice. It seems Lima is slowly redeeming itself little by little....although as soon as we leave here i´ll be happy. Many adventures await...
