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Published: December 22nd 2014
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Crossing the border from Ecuador into Peru, it may seem the barren landscape which suddenly engulfs everything around you is lifeless until the mounds of litter that pave the roads indicate there must have been life since the Incas, and that whoever lives here is not impartial to a bag of crisps and a Coca Cola.
Whilst this doesn't paint the best first impression of a country notorious for its historical wonders, this spoiled exterior is almost inkeeping with its charm as almost anywhere in Peru you can blow the sand off to find ruins of a civilisation gone by, but it is a younger generation leaving their mark now.
When I said you can find ruins almost anywhere in Peru, I largely meant anywhere except Mancora, where the closest remnant of a pre‐Colombian era is a 20 year old tuk tuk that will greet you as soon as you arrive off the bus. The driver, who you will later find out is also a surf instructor and a barman, will then insist he takes you to the only hostel you are likely to be staying in, Loki del Mar, which is actually about 100m
away, and then offer you a bag of cocaine (oh, he is a drug dealer too).
Mancora is simply a one hostel town where Loki offers a little holiday from your holiday. It's everything an all inclusive in Greece provides (except the all inclusive part). Sky Sports, great food and a bar that serves refreshing alcoholic slushies means you never need to leave the safe walls of the hostel unless you want to make the adventurous 5m walk to the beach.
Although this may seem incarcerating, Loki's tempting confinement brings with it a great place to meet new people, as you stock up on enough slushies during happy hour 3 ‐ 4 to see you through to happy hour 9 ‐ 10. As such, you gradually descend into a deep and life changing conversation with the fellow next to you. Mancora may not be the place to 'find yourself', but you will find plenty of others looking, and travellers need to let their hair down every now and again (most of us have been growing it long enough).
Carrying on down the coast to the surf town Huanchaco (which is a
safer, less party‐orientated version of Mancora) you can get your first taste of the ruins that make Peru famous. While Chan Chan is more easily accessible and its vastness alone is impressive (it is the largest pre‐Colombian city in the Americas), Las Huacas del Sol y de la Luna are 700 years older and their giant pyramidic structures are perhaps even more special. Still being excavated, their layers seemingly go deeper and deeper towards the centre of the Earth.
After conquering my fear of raw fish and admittedly enjoying the local dish of 'ceviche', we made the long bus trip to Lima. Lima has a bad reputation. Dangerous in parts and heavily polluted, you can also feel the whole weight of its population (a 1/3 of the whole of Peru) pressing into you when you ride El Metripolitano. Despite this, like every other city we have found in South America, it has its charm. A strong Chinese influence has brought with it a wealth of great restaurants, and the Museo de la Inquisicion which displays the eerie torture chambers for free is well worth a visit.
Plus, after surviving our first ever earthquake (only
5.6 magnitude but enough to make your bum clench) and doing a shot of the local Pisco with a Japanese tourist who reacted as if he had just seen Godzilla then took a photo of us, we were in the mood to go out. Expecting digital cumbia but getting Green Day tribute bands, we learned Lima has a very interesting nightlife scene. After a few more Piscos we didn't care anyway.
Last on our desert coastline tour was Huacachina, a small oasis among pristine sand dunes a short ride away from a town called Ica. For a few hours of unrivalled fun, take one of the many sand buggying/sand boarding tours on offer. Local drivers will hurl you around the dunes, steaming down almost vertical slopes before parking you at the top of the steepest and handing you a waxed up snowboard, of sorts.
Despite never having snowboarded, I decided I would be excellent at sandboarding and took the dune head on standing up. After 5 seconds of glorified style an unintentional 180 turn was followed by a face plant so hard I was sneezing sand for a week.
After ending the tour with a sunset over the desert, we headed to a local vineyard the following day. Despite the free tour lasting all of 5 minutes, sitting down to 5 free glasses of wine convinced us we had little to complain about. 4 bottles later it was just like being back in Mancora...
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