It doesn't matter that it's chilly & winter in Chiclayo, las chicas are heading out to flash hairy, white legs & check out the surf at Pimentel beach. Robin, Pam, Mindy & I flag down one of the many dented yellow daewoo taxis that do the rounds in Chiclayo. A bargain...just 10 soles for the 9km trip. Being the only one who can sling together a few spanish words in a sentence, I become 'Bob' co-driver. This has the added advantage that I get to wear the only seat belt. In this case not such an advantage as the belt is permanently fused at the buckle & I have to climb through it to get in my seat. Seat belts are not worn to prevent physical injury but to prevent financial injury - the police are eager to give out 80 sole traffic fines.
Pimentel beach is beautiful - a huge expanse of clean whitish sand, and a 300 metre rickety old pier with an antiquated railway track running along its border (clearly no longer in use). We amble 3/4 of the length of the pier only to be stopped at a large wooden fence. An old guy guards the entry though an doorway, & we are asked to pay 1 sole each to enter. Pay for what?, I wonder. The old fellow with ticket book in hand is keen to bargain & offers '4 for the price of 3' but I can't see an amusement park or cafe at the end of the pier, in fact all I see is a treacherously loose boardwalk...maybe the money is for insurance or to pay for sea rescue when we fall through the boards. We pass on the adventure.
Surf is up & local kids are body boarding on 6 foot long woven bamboo rafts. Shaped like a kayak chopped in half along its middle, the kids are able to fling the rafts too & fro. Looks like fun but way, way too cold for me to dip my body in this part of the Pacific.
Beers & cerviche (fish cooked in lemon) at the beachfront La Amiga restaurant serenaded by a classical singer thumping out a few tunes on his guitar. A mighty fine afternoon!
Homeward bound in a mini bus collectivo for 1 sole. 'Chiclayo, Chiclayo, Chiclayo' yells the conductor an uncountable number of times out the window...how many times does he say that word in a day? The van speeds round and round the deserted streets of Pimentel hunting for potential passengers. Anyone walking on the street is wooed & convinced to visit Chiclayo NOW. Imagine a bus driver that doesn't resent stopping or waiting for a passenger, & one that will actually slam on the brakes to stop for someone, & will throw the bus into reverse gear so that he can pick up just one more passenger / squeeze them into an already overcrowded bus.
