To Mancora...

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Our bus for Mancora left at 9pm on Sunday night to arrive in Mancora at 6 am Monday. So we had the day to play with on Sunday in Huanchaco and Tiujillo. After our breakfast we took a taxi to Trujillo to the Plaza de Armas. Every city has one of these architecturally pretty squares. The buildings are ornate from the outside and painted in different, bold colors. In the center of the square was a large fountain. There were several picture boards surrounding the outer circle of the fountain. Many people were having their photographs taken by official photographers. It was a windy, overcast day. We walked around the square and then ventured outside of the park area. We found that many shops were closed due to it being Sunday. We walked through a market-it had nothing on the markets we had experienced in Cuzco.

We finally settled at a small restaurant for some cappucino and dessert. Patty had the fancy cappucino with whipped cream while Steve chose the boring version. We ate Tiramisu and Black Forest Cake. We aren´t sure if they happens in the US but both desserts were doused in liquor! The bottoms of the desserts were soaked through. It definitely gave a punch to each bite! We stayed there for a bit to try and plan out our next steps in Mancora.

We headed back to the Plaza de Armas for some more pictures and a taxi ride back to Huanchaco. Once back, Patty visited her favorite market man who proceeded to make her serveral pieces of jewelry. Steve stood there and acted as the perfect sugar daddy! We said fairwell to him, verified our reservation for the Sunset in Mancora, and then headed to a restuarant for drinks. Once our drinks arrived, we setteld back into some good card playing, Spite and Malice. Steve made some headway but not nearly enough to catch Patty´s lead. It was now time to collect our bags that we had left at the hostel and make our way to the bus station.

Something we should tell you about how we hail taxis...we have begun to look for the type of car and size. Once you enter a taxi, your life can be on the line so you want to choose wisely. We got a young man who was sporting a black taxi which was on the newer end and that had some blinking disco-rave lights in the back. We asked for the El Dorado bus terminal in Trujillo. He nooded and it began...the scariest taxi ride we have had yet. It was dark outside. The windows open with wind blowing at us. Maybe our choice of a newer car was not the best...our driver had something to prove that he could drive fast! Most of the way is a small 4 lane road. But just because there are lines doesn´t mean they follow these rules. As we have said earlier, they make up their own lanes here in Peru. We came to the outskirts of the city where the stop signs exist and it is one man for himself on the roads. Patty noticed a city bus (the size of an old toyota minivan) with people pressed up against the windows pull up next to us in his own lane at a stop light. That bus driver was going to try and get through the light ahead of us. Well our taxi driver quickly figured this out and made this move. He slowly inched up toward the light, gave a scary look to the bus driver who just simply looked anxious, and then it happened...we beat everyone through the light. Our driver had succeeded. He continued to zip in and out of lanes, gaining speed each moment en route to the bus terminal. He finished off our ride by racing to a middle of a road that he needed to cross and then stopping immediately in the middle of it...this is where Patty and Steve saw the oncoming traffic coming right for them. In the next second, the driver hit the gas pedal and we were off, missing the oncoming traffic. Trisha-we were thoroughly impressed with your ability to maneuver in and out of traffic in Chicago and find that perfect parking spot...this experience was on a whole different level!

We thankfully got out of the taxi and headed inside to wait for our bus. You could tell right away that El Dorado as no Cruz Del Sur. We chose the seats in the back near the bathrooms and began playing a game of cards. Patty won of course! As we were waiting, and yes doing some people watching, an older woman approached us with some bags speaking Spanish. Well, we are the two Americans that don´t speak Spanish in this country so we smiled, nodded, and assumed she wanted us to watch her bags while she used the restroom. Um no...that was not the case. She proceeded to move our packs to the seats in the row ahead of us and continued to speak at us in Spanish. Basically, she was moving us because she wanted those seats. So we did what anyone would do, smile, nodded, and moved our stuff all the while not understanding what just happened to us. A few minutes later Patty noticed that the woman who took our seats had set up shop. She was charging for bathroom use. Now, you had to pay to use the bus restroom. Go figure!

During our wait the power went out a couple of times. It came time to board the bus. We checked our packs, went to the counter to show our tickets and passports. The worker glanced at them and then took our finger prints. Steve put his fingerprint in Pattys slot and Patty vice versa. We would totally confuse any CSI lab worker. Our seats for this bus trip were on the second floor. The VIP spots were all sold out. We took the seats in the very front of the bus which essentially gives you a windshield view from the top of the bus. This bus was not as nice as Cruz del Sur. Patty quickly tried to fall asleep while Steve ate the random sandwich they passed out and watched a movie in Spanish. We put our seats back a little but not all the way as we did not want to be rude to the two men behind us. Well, this was the bus trip from hell. There was so much snoring, bumping of seats, smells, etc the whole way. Patty did not sleep. Steves says he didn´t either...Patty would disagree with that as she claims she was awake while he was mouth wide open, head bobbing. The ride to Mancora was not a smooth one. There were long stretches in which the bus went up and down repeatedly with some sharp turns in between. We finally arrived in Mancora shortly after 6 am.

It was still dark outside and we were exhausted. Once you get off the bus, you are swarmed by people trying to get you in their taxi, sell you something, etc. It can be very overwhelming when you are tired and cranky. We got our packs and took a motortaxi to the Sunset. This was the first time we did not take a car for a taxi ride. In Mancora, they have motortaxis which is a motorcyle in the front with a carriage attached to the back. We headed out of town, on a dirt road that lined the coast. We finally made it to the Sunset where we had a reservation. There were a couple of sercuriy guards out front that led us into a wonderfully white, huge room! The Sunset has to be one of the most charming oceanfront places we have seen. We thanked the guard, and headed into dreamland.

We woke up a few hours later feeling refreshed. We showered and were finally able to pull out summer clothes!!! Our room had glass doors that went out to a patio with chairs and table. We headed to the office and met Amelia, the woman that we had been in contact with before our arrival. They gave us some breakfast. We ate outside on the terrace near the fully stocked bar and a view of the ocean. BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!! After we ate we decided to head into town and figure out our plan for our stay in Mancora. We spoke with Amelia who advised us to only pay 3 soles for a ride into town. We had paid 10 to get to the Sunset. She hailed a motortaxi for us and off we went. Mancora is a small town. We started off at the local market which has several different vendors selling their crafts. Patty eyed a few things that she wanted. We found our way to a restaurant for lunch. Patty had her shrimp while Steve went for a 3rd round of ceviche (and the best). We decided to find the Cruz Del Sur terminal to book our tickets back to Lima in the VIP section since it was a days ride. We found out this would not be possible...booked! After trying some different bus lines-we weren´t making out with anything. Now we decided to fly back to Lima. We just needed to find a way to Tumbes and see how long we could stay at the Sunset. We puttered around the city some more and then made our way back to the Sunset. The Sunset is also the home of the best Italian restaurant in Mancora, or at least that is what we have read in Lonely Planet. Well, this is 100% true. Our dinner that first night--amazing!!! It might even compete with Bill and Eric´s cooking! Steve had some steak dish while Patty had lasagna. We had some drinks, Pisco Sours and Mojitos...strong, strong, strong!

We called it a night and Patty was determined to hit the beach the next day. We had reserved our room at the Sunset for 2 more nights-leaving for Lima on Friday. We woke up Tuesday morning, played a game of cards, ate breakfast, and headed to the beach. It was gorgeous out that day! We lounged around some, played more cards, walked the beach, swam in the ocean. A great, great day! We headed back into our room to get ready to head into town for get our plane tickets back to Lima, book a tour for the next day, and get some dinner. Patty noticed that she looked a bit red from the sun but didn´t think much of it as she was happy to wear some of her new jewelry she had gotten yesterday. We headed into town, bought our plane tickets, ate some dinner, and booked a tropical tour for the next day which would take us a few hours outside of Mancora for a small trek into the jungle, see animals, swim in the hot springs, lunch, etc. The tour was leaving the next morning at 7 am to return around 8 pm. We headed back to the Sunset. Patty was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable...her sunburn began to present itself. Trying to lay down was very difficult for Patty...her skin was burning and hurting. We went to sleep not realizing what we would find the next morning. Patty´s face was bright red and she looked like Rocky Balboa. Her face was so swollen. She had not slept and told Steve at about 5 am...I don´t think I can go on the tour. Steve agreed and went outside to let the bus know they would not be going. Later on in the morning Patty went to the bathroom and saw her face. To say she was a little scared is an understatement. She freaked out! She asked taht Steve head into town to find out what to do for a sunburn and get something to help her get better. Steve agreed to do this and let Amelia know that we would not need the room cleaned as Patty was not feeling well from the sun yesterday. Patty stayed in the room, miserable and in pain. Steve ate breakfast in town, researched sunburn and came back to the Sunset a little later with Asprin, some after sun lotion, and a couple of rolls for Patty to eat. Wednesday was spent inside the room watching bad TV, playing cards, and Patty complaining her face would never be the same. Steve continued to assure Patty she looked fine...liar!

As the sun went down, we went our on our patio to get some fresh air and play yet some more cards. By the way, the count for Spite and Malice is 18-6 (Patty-Steve). Steve had convinced Patty that she looked fine and that they should eat dinner at the Sunset. Patty relunctantly agreed. We had to sit in a corner. But things turned around when we received our dinners--100% scrumptious!!!!!! Steve had another steak dish and Patty had gnocchi. So good!!!!

We woke up this morning with Patty feeling a little better...she seemed to be less red and her the swelling had gone down some. We got ourselves together and headed into town. This time, Patty put on several layers of sunblock, wore jeans, long sleeved shirt, sunglasses, hair down with a hat on. She would not be touched by the sun! We ate a nice lunch, did some market shopping. Patty loves going to these vendors. We need to find a taxi to Tumbes tomorrow to the airport for our flight back to Lima.

It has been nice to be in Mancora. Unfortunately, we didn´t do the tropical tour due to Patty´s sunburn but nonetheless we have enjoyed Mancora. We arrive back in Lima on Friday evening and will be there until Monday night when our flight takes us back home.

We aren´t signing off the blog just yet because you never know what can happen in Lima. Unfortunately, we have been unable to upload any photographs while we have been travelling. We plan to add these when we get home so you can all see. So please stayed tuned!

The Millers

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