Next stop was Haunchaco after another nightbus from Huaraz. Annoyingly the bus got me in an hour early at five am so lost an hours sleep I was banking on, luckily my taxi took me to a hostel I was able to check straight into an empty dorm room and was back in bed asleep by six am. Haunchaco is a small beach surf resort less than half an hour from Peru’s come biggest city Trujillo. If you google image search the town it will come up with photos of the Caballito de totora, fishing boats made of reeds which are still used by fisherman but also tourist trips. My main purpose for a few days here was to relax and get some sun, and after a lazy start after some extra sleep I headed to the beach which was rammed with families. I think a lot of people thought before I started my trip I’d be spending half my time lounging on beaches, aside from Christmas Day in Vina del Mar this was the first time I’d actually sunbathed in the first five months!

The following morning what had been a quiet hostel burst into life with the arrival of about twenty Brazilian surfers who had come into town in advance of the longboard surf competition that was happening the next weekend. This should have been pretty good news for a single girl, but all they did for the next three days was make a lot of noise, go surfing for a few hours, sleep for a few hours, and repeated that routine three times a day. It was a fairly large competition with $30000 prize money, and one of the Brazilians who stayed in my hostel did win. I went for a wander in the morning and the change from Sunday to Monday was dramatic on the beach, much more tranquil. Unfortunately the hoards had left behind all their rubbish, something they are trying to address! Over the morning the beaches were raked and cleaned and there were signs all over town for a group litter pick up on the following Thursday in advance of the competition. I had a surf lesson that afternoon which was pretty good and I got up quite a few times. To the one side of the pier the waves were great for learners, and then the other side had the long breaks that the pros and experienced riders surfed. It was awesome watching the surfers ride these long waves with the sun setting with a mojito in hand.

Unfortunately my second two days the clouds came in as did a bit of rain so I didn’t have as much beach time as I’d planned. I took full advantage of the coast in other ways and had ceviche everyday, can’t get enough! All though one day I opted for the slightly more adventurous mixed seafood version…I’m pretty good with raw meat and fish, but the raw crab was a bit of a step too far! I met some really nice girls from Buenos Aires and Santiago and generally had a nice few quiet days mooching about, catching up on some correspondence and sleep!!

My next stop….and literally a stop….was Mancora which I arrived at after another night bus at five am. Only ten hours further up the coast much hotter and humid Mancora is a pure beach surf resort but unlike Huanchaco lacks any charm at all. Described by lonely planet as rustic…Boll****s! Full of shops selling “Mancora” branded T-shirts, hoards of young groups of travelling partygoers….maybe I was just fifteen years to old for this place, and maybe as the forty hours I had there were cloudy and drizzly I just didn’t fall in love with the place. I attempted another surf lesson, but the waves were ridiculous! We had to wait fifteen minutes before we could even broach the water and then every time I nearly got up was totally pounded and dragged along the bottom by a strong current. An hour and a half later, half drowned, cut feet and ankles I called it a day. It’s not put me off, but next time I see waves that look BIG, and very good surfers are struggling to ride I’m not going in! My second afternoon I bumped into the two girls from Santiago and their cousin. They completely shared my opinion of the place (and he was only twenty two so maybe it’s not an age thing and it is a dump!). We left the town late that night on a bus for Cuenca Ecuador.

Mancora is the first place I’ve not taken a single photo, and I’m sure some people will disagree with my opinion, but I have since met about five other people who have agreed with me! I also think its good to be underwhelmed and disappointed on occasion. I’ve seen and done so many unbelievable and amazing things it gets hard to appreciate things. A duff forty hours is a good wakeup call on how lucky I am to be doing and seeing all this!!