Big waves on the PERUVIAN COAST

DAY 42

HUANCHACO: We arrived on the coast of Peru the night before and did nothing but hit the sack after our long journey. In the morning, we awoke refreshed and ready to explore this old fishing village turned surf town. There were numerous surf shops, seafood restaurants, and street vendors selling the same trinkets that we've seen in every previous city we've visited. After getting some street sorbet and popcorn, we headed to the peir where people were fishing by using a simple contraption composed of a fishing line, a block of wood, and a hook. Their secret lie in their gourmet bait--tiny live crabs. Compared to some of the things I've used as bait--bread, hot dogs, worms, nothing--it's no wonder why my fishing record isn't all that great.

We had to go into town to take care of logistics which meant we had to take, for the first time, a combi. A combi is a minivan that people cram into for the equivalent of 75 cents to get from one place to another. These elusive vehicles are difficult to catch if you don't know exactly where you're going. A young boy hastily screams out the names of streets and neighborhoods in the same way an auctioneer would try to sell a fresh litter of pigs. There seem to be no stops.  You simply flag one down or jump in front of the thing in the middle of the street when the right one comes your direction. Most of the time, by the time the boy is done screaming out names, the bus had already whizzed past you blaring its loud music. After watching several pass by without hearing any recognizable names, we blindly jumped out in front of one hoping it would get near where we wanted to go. I bumped my head on the way in as the door is made for a midget (mom, of course, had no problem). Once I thought I was comfortably settled into the van, I realized that the ceiling was so short that I had to bend my neck to fit. Furthermore, the windows were far below my eye level, so I was left to ponder the culprit of stains on ceiling for the rest of the journey. 

DAY 43

We spent much of our day watching waves that were surmounting to abnormally extreme heights. There was no storm, rain, or any other inclement weather, but for some reason (maybe post-earthquake mini-tsunami?) the waves in Huanchaco were reaching enormous heights. The pier was closed, there was no sandy beach to be seen, and the road alongside the beach was entirely flooded. At one point, mom went on a walk on the main street and came back wet from a wave that had attacked her on the street. Beachfront stores were loaded with sandbags and our own hostel was chopping up the road to build a canal using the broken gravel.

After watching the sun set over the ocean, we headed to town to catch our northbound bus.



DAY 44

MANCORA: At 6 a.m., we reached another surfer beach town about 9 hours north of Huanchaco. Mancora is a much nicer, touristy type of town with more seafood restaurants, bars, and beach vendors. At any time of day, we can look out from our hostel room and see surfers and beach bums abound in the water and small beach. Once again, the waves here are abnormally large. The restuarants and stores along the beachfront, including our hostel, had sandbags at their entrances.

Although it too is a fishing town, the fishing area is seperated from the hotels, restaurants, and surf schools by a few kilometers. We took a walk along the beach to the fishing port where buyers (and large black sea birds) hovered around the fishing ships for the fresh catches of the day.

DAY 45
Another easy day frolicking in the waves. We hit the beach early so as not to get too roasted, grabbed some ceviche (twice), then returned to the hostel for an afternoon nap.  Enjoyed another beautiful sunset from our balcony before turning in for the night.

DAY 46

We checked out of our hostel but hung around the pool all day.  Took an evening bus to our next and final country, Ecuador!