Máncora - The Good Life

As my latest three month stint in Lima, Peru comes to an end in a few weeks, I decided to treat myself to a trip up north, near the border of Ecuador, to a small beachfront town called Mancora. To get there, you need to take a 1.5 hour flight from Lima, followed by a 3-4 hour bus ride from the provincial capital of Piura. It's about 800 km from Lima but well worth the trip.

Considered the best beach in Peru (and one of the top in the world) for surfing, I was expecting a town filled with hippies, backpackers and (of course) surfers. Wow, was I wrong. After arriving in Mancora center, I took a small moto-taxi, which is a motorcycle that has been turned into a taxi, about 5 km south of the town, where the driver took me on a dirt road to a gated community known as Mancora Chico where my hotel was located. I arrived late at night and it was pitch dark, but I could still hear the sound of waves crashing from my room.

When I woke up the next morning and went for breakfast, I was overwhelmed. The view was breathtaking. The owners of the hotel (Claro de Luna) are from Rosario, Argentina so needless to say I spent a lot of time with them discussing politics, the state of the country, etc. They were two of the nicest hotel keepers I have ever come across in all of my travels. The morning after I arrived, I had an ear infection and needed antibiotics, so they called a pharmacist and even had the antibiotic delivered to the hotel so I didn't have to leave to pick it up. On top of it, the food they served was equivalent to that of a Michelin-star rated restaurant.

The day after arriving, I decided to give sea kayaking a shot, so I paddled out well past the waves (some of which were 10 feet high or more) before hopping onto the sea kayak for an hour or so. Everything was tranquil until I headed back to the shore. I was completely unaware of how to navigate a kayak through waves, so needless to say, the second wave flipped me and the kayak, and smashed both me and the kayak into an underwater rock, banging up my leg pretty badly...no breaks but plenty of bruises and blood. I'm sure I'll have scars to prove it in a few weeks.

The following day, I opted for a much more relaxed itinerary starting with a trip to an Asian spa for a 1/2 day of treatments followed by a 1/2 day cruise that took six of us out to observe sea lions, sea turtles, pelicans and other wildlife. We also spent some time fishing and the fish we caught was turned into our lunch (ceviche) by the tour operator. Afterward, the boat took us to a calm area of the sea where we went snorkeling and even caught a blowfish!

All in all, this was an incredible trip and a place I will definitely make a point of returning to next time I'm in Peru. To see all of the pictures, click here.