Beachtastic time in Peru

After the strenuous hiking and sightseeing in Ecuador we decided it was time to hit the beach. We caught a early bus to Mancora a beach side resort in northern Peru known for its surfing and partying. After surviving two Rambo films on the bus - what is it with action films on buses!! we arrived in Mancora and were instantly happy with ith 32 degree heat and sunshine. We hopped in a tuk tuk which

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eems to be the mode of transport in northern Peru which took us hilariously about 500metres down the road and that was after taking us on an unnecessary loop down one road. That was the last time we needed a tuk tuk in Mancora - ha!!

We climbed up a hill with our packs as we had decided to stay in some very cute bungalows up on a hill overlooking the beach as we wanted to make sure we could get some sleep away from the party! The owner was lovely and we had lots of nice chats with her and her very entertaining mum who also lived there. It was lovely to sit in the hammocks outside our bungalow and go to sleep hearing the sea. We instantly dropped our bags and went for a long walk along the very pretty white sandy beach. Our days in Mancora ended up being fairly similar and very relaxing. We did a lot of reading, eating and of course splashing about in the sea. As for the surfing we hired boards for two days and we had mixed success. The tough thing was actually getting out to the waves which were quite far out and there was a strong current pulling us in the other direction. Lets just say we did a fair bit of paddling and we certainly felt like we had had good work outs. What didn^t help was the fact that it was mainly a spot surfed by expert local surfers and I mean expert in that they would surf in balanced on their heads or would do all manner of tricks and spins. It was great fun watching them. We did manage to catch some good waves in when we eventually made it to where the waves were!!

As for the party we didn{t quite find it which as you might have gathered by now is a bit of a story of our travels!! Whenever we turn up somewhere it seems to be quiet but usually just for the few days we are there we are told. Oh well we still had some great evenings starting off with a drink watching the sunset and finishing up playing backgammon in a bar with only a few other people in it - but with the bar pumping out incredibly loud music as if the biggest party was going on in there. There were lots of fun bars lining the beach all pumping out music but there was a definite lack of people to turn it into the atmosphere we quite wanted. So Mancora for us really was all about the beach, relaxation and eating!!

We then took quite possibly the shortest bus ride we might take on our travels, 20 mins down the coast, to another very peaceful beach resort called Los Organos and stayed there for another verey relaxing two days on a hostel on the beach this time. The beach was gorgeous, even whiter sand than Mancora and we swam a lot, walked, found geckos and crabs, chilled and enjoyed the local seafood. Jonty tried the local dish Ceviche, raw fish with lime and onions which he enjoyed but found a bit sour!! I tasted it but Im not big on Sushi and enjoyed a paella type dish a bit more. We did try surfing again but it was very rocky so we didn{t go out for too long as our feet got cut up a little! Next we caught an overnight bus to Trujillo/Huanchaco as we needed to get somewhere we wanted to stay for a few days as it was Easter and everywhere was booked up!