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Satin Shoes Go Camping
It should have been the most boring day in the world ever: at least 12 hours on a truck with nothing to do but play endless games of Connect 4 and try to stop your playing cards from flying out the window, but it was oh-so different. Until lunch was pretty normal. But then we got out of the truck and set up for food, and a random bull comes wandering up, with its owner utterly uncaring, swinging away in his hammock...so Daniel tries a bit of matador action to get it to move (to no avail, despite his lovely McDonalds red t-shirt) then it headbutts Lindsay in the ass so she tries to climb up into the truck for safety and manages to practically slice her finger off. The bus they then tried to catch to get medical help then got a flat tire. Eventually got her to a (rather dirty) pharmacist...then we had a good 7 hours until we got near the Ecuadorian border crossing into Peru, which was ramshackle and a bit chaotic and took ages. By now we're all cranky, especially Matt, whose 19th birthday it was, and a couple of people were pretty ill in the truck too. Then we got to Peruvian border control on their side and Keith got his passport nicked. Half the boys gave chase (in flip flops)...male post-match report bravado revealed that Daniel had caught up with him, fell in some mud but brought the other guy down too, got his hat but he got away. This resulted in more complications with hapless authorities, then we were off again. Finally reached Punta Sal beach after 15 hours in the truck and downed our 'Cristal' beers when Matt discovered his birthday-present camera had been smashed. If we'd been anywhere but the beach, I think we might all have cried, but it was beautiful and all for us - not another soul to be seen.
Sunbathing and beach volleyball the next day and Faith and I went for a sunset ride along the beach. Have never done it before and hey, it's a teenage girl horsy dream, but there's nothing like galloping along a beach in the surf. Scrumptious fresh fish done on the campfire for dins and muchos alcohol and marshmallows to follow.
Moved on to Huanchaco the next day - a base for seeing the Chimu ruins of Chan Chan and the Temple de la Luna. Quite simply the nicest hostel I have ever seen...it had a swimming pool. Sampled one of my new favourite foods - ceviche - on the seafront: raw fish, scallops, squid, prawns and crab 'cooked' in a marinade of lime juice and chilli. Simply divine.
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