Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Date: 10th October - 13th October 2006
Had a very early start this morning and we left in Doris at 6:45, we were leaving Ecuador and crossing the border into Peru and heading for a beach town called Mancora. It was a fairly long drive getting to the border but the views are amazing so its never boring drives. We arrived at the Ecuador border office where we had to queue to get our passports stamped in order to leave the country, this took ages because we all had to fill in new forms as the ones we had done on the plane previously wernt ok apparently, the frustrating thing was that the new ones they gave us had all the same information on anyway hehe. We then had to drive further down the road to enter into Peru where we had to fill out forms and get our passports stamped in order to enter the country. On the way into Peru on the truck, there were locals coming up to windows trying to sell puppies and monkeys they were really cute and only cost a couple of quid, really random!! At about 5:30 we finally arrived in Mancora which is like a beach resort with lots of little bars and restaurants and a cool beach that has surf - it was so nice to see and smell the sea, taste of home, especially after being in altitude for so long. There are these mad trike things which are taxis always buzzing up the strip and beeping, they are always hassling you for a lift its quite funny and there are literally hundreds of them. We stayed in the Quebrada hostel, it is a beach house kind of place that has 4 rooms and then a big grassy/sandy camping area. We drew straws to upgrade to the rooms but us guys lost :(, it wasnt too bad though as it was nice and warm here. After setting up camp we went for a quick swim which was really nice the water was well warm and then Mel, Russ and I found a little bar that had a nice toliet stayed for a drink and took it in turns to leave 3 little brown presents hehe. Its weird how good it feels when you find a toilet that is clean, has paper and most of all has soap because you never often see any of those anywhere! It wasn´t long before dinner which was beef stir fry cooked by Brandi and Debbie. We went out on the razz that night and had a really cool time, we went to a couple of the bars on the strip including one called Fluid and amazingly the owner had lived in Jersey for a bit and his mate is the manager of Pizza Express in the bay!! crazy! We all had a mad one and ended up dancing on the tables, Nathan and I led the way swinging our T Shirts around our heads hehe then ended up with us all dancing on the bar and around the pole which was hilarious.
The day after that we went out for breakfast and took a wonder up the strip as there was a market there (Mel brought a neclace), later on we took a well deserved rest hanging around the beach enjoying the warm water and the waves. Stayed in the sea for ages becuase it was like a bath, there were hundreds of fish swimming around us, and every now and again you would feel a little slippery slap on your leg as they swim past hehe! That night we took it easy and watched a bit of TV with some of the others in the outside communal area. Next day Melissa and I went on a bank mission which was a bit of a craic as we got one of the mad tuk tuk things hehe, they drive like complete mad men and never stop beeping but it was fun and only cost 1 sol (about 20p). It was hard work trying to change money as they dont accept anything with a slight tear in and didnt accept travellers cheques!! That day we were going on a mission to a nearby beach with a better break for surfing lessons, we all loaded up on Doris and got underway. It was a really good day and me and mel both managed to stand up on the board a bit so we felt quite good at the end and it was cool so will def try it again. That night it was Shalini´s Birthday so we all went out for a spit roasted pig meal which was well good, lot of fat on the meat but it was tasty. We spent most of the night chatting, singing and dancing in the same place which was cool, after that mel and I went for a pizza as we were still a bit hungry and Rusty joined a few of the others for a late night dip hehe.
Next morning we were up really early even with our hangovers because it was just too hot to sleep in the tents, so at about 8 Mel and I left camp and went into the sea for a refreshing dip as our morning shower, ahh this is the life! After chilling out on the beach the 2 of us ate at a really nice fish restaurant and had laugostines - yum. We spent the rest of the afternoon down the beach after meeting up with some of the others and watched the sun set on the bay which was cool and took some wicked sunset pictures. That night me and Mel were the cooks cleaning team so we helped Laura and Dee do their chilli con carne with sausages (as there was no mince around hehe) and had a few glasses of sangria to help things along. Was cool we were all sat around the cooking equipment had a laugh waiting for their food to cook and cleaned the pots and pans to help out. Just chilled out at camp tonight as we were leaving at 7 next day to head to Huanchaco!!
- comments