The bus from Mancora arrived a little later than we were told as there were some issues with the brakes. This caused a delay of about 2 hours. Some of the passengers were getting quite frustrated and in the end actually took their bags off the bus and got in another bus for Lima. Much to their dismay the bus departed about five minutes after them and didn’t have any further problems with the breaks.
Once we arrived in Lima we headed to the GAP hotel where we were going to meet our tour group the next day. Sandy had booked a room for us to stay there but when we arrived they informed us that there was no reservation for us and the hotel was entirely booked. So off we headed to find an internet café to find Sandy’s reservation. GAP had still not sent it to her, so we went on the hunt for a hotel. On our third try we managed to find one, but as most of the day was gone by this point we decided to relax and spent the rest of the day checking out some shops around Miraflores.
Saturday morning provided us with a very slow start as we had to wait for our laundry which, as usual in South America, took longer than expected. We also had to go on a hunt for the rest of our stuff that some how didn’t make it into our laundry bag. Once we had all this sorted out, took my extra bag to South American Explores to store it until I return to Lima We then checked into the next hotel where we were to start our GAP trip - it was late afternoon. As Sandy hadn’t seen the downtown of Lima we opted to head in that direction for the afternoon and poke around the rather small historical centre of Lima.
This ride downtown was Sandy’s first experience of the city busses in South America. Now the interesting thing about the busses in Lima, even though it is a larger and wealthier city than Quito, is that the busses are involved in a more chaotic race around the city. Sandy affectionately called it the “Bus Race” and that is what it was. The busses in Lima are 15 passenger vans with letters and numbers to indicate which route it is. Depending on the bus company, an S route could take you downtown or out to the airport. The only thing that helps is that they have someone yelling out the bus window telling you where this bus is going (but you can’t understand them ... ever) and they also have the names of the streets written on the side of the bus (not much help as you can only read it after the bus has passed). The bus race gets its name from the competition these busses have to get passengers. At the red light the busses line up in order to get the best position to attack the street. As soon as the light turns green, the busses swerve in and out of each other trying to get to the sidewalk to pick up the passengers and then speed off again to catch the next fare. This sounds like any bus system, but when you have 20 minibuses lined up at a stop light which has two dedicated lanes of traffic, it turns into utter chaos. I can guarantee this is going to replace betting on horse racing in a few years ... the word just has to get out.
In the historic centre of Lima, I took Sandy to some of the places I had already visited, including the Plaza d’Armas and the catacombs. But the highlight of the trip was our lunch at Norky’s. Now, I will admit, since I had been eating most of my meals with a family, I wasn’t very good at my Spanish words for food, but after this lunch, that all will change. We looked at the menu and found a meal that looked interesting to share - a collection of different types of meats and a salad with French fries. It turned out we should have opened our dictionary. This meal came with enough food to feed a family of six. Once we took off the meat with which we were familiar, it got kind of interesting. We weren't sure it the safest mystery meat was was pork, chicken or turkey. But we are quite sure the most interesting mystery meat was some part of an animal's digestive tract. To describe it any more would prevent you from eating for a few weeks. But needless to say, Sandy and I couldn't stop laughing and kept comming up with comments on what it looked like and how it culd be one of the best kinds of food to include in a diet plan .... eat a plate of this and then you can have all the dessert you can eat.
After our late lunch we headed back to our hotel and met our GAP tour group. We felt very confident about our group and thought they would be lots of fun to travel with. After dinner with the whole group, we turned in early as we had to catch an early morning flight to Cusco.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
Apr. 17 - 25 - Surfing Safari
Sandy arrived late Wednesday night (more like Thursday morning). That morning we headed out so Sandy could see a bit of the city. We went along my favourite walk through Miaflores to Larco Mar and along the cliff to the "Park of Love"; a Gaudí inspired surreal park with little messages in the 4 mosaics talking about love.
Later in the afternoon we boarded a bus to Mancora. Since it was an 18 hour bus ride we opted to partake in some first class luxury and we were rewarded handsomely. Plush leather seats, food rests, leg room and the seats went back almost completely to make a bed. Surprisingly though, this didn't make the ride any faster, but at least the movies were in English and there was some AC.
When we arrived in Mancora, we were swarmed by taxi drivers trying to get us to use their taxi. I had gotten used to this in South America, but these were more aggressive than I had ever seen before. The crowd of them was so thick that they blocked your access to the luggage and you actually had to physically force your way through the crowd. Not really the best welcome to Peru's beach paradise.
When we finally had our bags, we headed off to Laguna Camp, hopefully our hotel for the week, but we were turned away because they didn't have space (we went back later that day and found they actually did have space, so we booked it for the rest of our stay). We got back into our motor taxi and made our way to our number two choice, Sol y Mar, known to be rather rowdy, but it was cheep and on the beach. They did have room for us so we droped our bags.
Our first day, like most of our days in Mancora, was spent relaxing - sitting on the beach, reading, eating, drinking, swiming and fighting off people trying to get us to eat at their restaurant or trying to sell us jewelry. A typical day in paradise!
On Saturday we changed hotels (Sol y Mar had no one else staying there ... even though it was the party place) and moved into Laguan Camp, a small collection of bamboo bungalows with hammocks strung between each palm tree, so we decided to add something to our daily routine - sleeping in a hammock. All in all it made for the perfect vacation ... away from my vacation.
Before we changed our hotel, we went for our first surfing lesson. Mancora is one of the best places for surfing in Peru, this is evident by the perfect waves and abundance of surf shops. It's warm water, sandy beach and easy access to the waves also makes it one of the best places to learn how to surf in Peru. This was the main reason for travelling up to Mancora, but due to tired arms, sun burns and various other aliments (bugs, blisters and cuts ... from surfing) I only managed to take three lessons and surf alone only once.
The lessons were actually very well thought out and people are able to pick it up very quickly. After getting a board and waxing it up we headed out on the waves to learn. The instructor would hold onto the back of the board and kick from behind when a wave came and actually sit on the board until you were up. They would continue doing this, slowly weaning you off the extra stability the instructor provides by sitting on the board, until all you need is an extra push and someone telling you when to paddle. All in all it was a great experience and I was so excited when I managed to get up all on my own.
Mancora wasn't all fun and games in the sun, it also had a sad side. Walking along the beach you are bombarded by people trying to sell you things or get you to eat at their restaurant. As we were there for almost a week we got to know two of these people in particular, Israel and William. They were little kids who ran away from home in search of a better life, and they found that life on the street was better than what they were used to at home. No one seems to know where these kids live in Mancora, but they appear to make enough to live on by selling shell necklaces to travelers. One nice thing is that by coming to a small town like Mancora, they were looked after quite well. One restaurant we visited would actually feed them at night after the guests had left.
Once we finished our week of relaxing on the beach in Mancora, Sandy and I got on another 18 hour bus ride back to Lima where we were going to meet our GAP tour group to start our Peruvian adventure.
Later in the afternoon we boarded a bus to Mancora. Since it was an 18 hour bus ride we opted to partake in some first class luxury and we were rewarded handsomely. Plush leather seats, food rests, leg room and the seats went back almost completely to make a bed. Surprisingly though, this didn't make the ride any faster, but at least the movies were in English and there was some AC.
When we arrived in Mancora, we were swarmed by taxi drivers trying to get us to use their taxi. I had gotten used to this in South America, but these were more aggressive than I had ever seen before. The crowd of them was so thick that they blocked your access to the luggage and you actually had to physically force your way through the crowd. Not really the best welcome to Peru's beach paradise.
When we finally had our bags, we headed off to Laguna Camp, hopefully our hotel for the week, but we were turned away because they didn't have space (we went back later that day and found they actually did have space, so we booked it for the rest of our stay). We got back into our motor taxi and made our way to our number two choice, Sol y Mar, known to be rather rowdy, but it was cheep and on the beach. They did have room for us so we droped our bags.
Our first day, like most of our days in Mancora, was spent relaxing - sitting on the beach, reading, eating, drinking, swiming and fighting off people trying to get us to eat at their restaurant or trying to sell us jewelry. A typical day in paradise!
On Saturday we changed hotels (Sol y Mar had no one else staying there ... even though it was the party place) and moved into Laguan Camp, a small collection of bamboo bungalows with hammocks strung between each palm tree, so we decided to add something to our daily routine - sleeping in a hammock. All in all it made for the perfect vacation ... away from my vacation.
Before we changed our hotel, we went for our first surfing lesson. Mancora is one of the best places for surfing in Peru, this is evident by the perfect waves and abundance of surf shops. It's warm water, sandy beach and easy access to the waves also makes it one of the best places to learn how to surf in Peru. This was the main reason for travelling up to Mancora, but due to tired arms, sun burns and various other aliments (bugs, blisters and cuts ... from surfing) I only managed to take three lessons and surf alone only once.
The lessons were actually very well thought out and people are able to pick it up very quickly. After getting a board and waxing it up we headed out on the waves to learn. The instructor would hold onto the back of the board and kick from behind when a wave came and actually sit on the board until you were up. They would continue doing this, slowly weaning you off the extra stability the instructor provides by sitting on the board, until all you need is an extra push and someone telling you when to paddle. All in all it was a great experience and I was so excited when I managed to get up all on my own.
Mancora wasn't all fun and games in the sun, it also had a sad side. Walking along the beach you are bombarded by people trying to sell you things or get you to eat at their restaurant. As we were there for almost a week we got to know two of these people in particular, Israel and William. They were little kids who ran away from home in search of a better life, and they found that life on the street was better than what they were used to at home. No one seems to know where these kids live in Mancora, but they appear to make enough to live on by selling shell necklaces to travelers. One nice thing is that by coming to a small town like Mancora, they were looked after quite well. One restaurant we visited would actually feed them at night after the guests had left.
Once we finished our week of relaxing on the beach in Mancora, Sandy and I got on another 18 hour bus ride back to Lima where we were going to meet our GAP tour group to start our Peruvian adventure.
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