Blogs from Piura, Peru, South America - page 5

After our evening in Lima we headed to Mancora, Peru's best  know surf town, for some more r&r in the sun.  On arrival the town appears nothing more than a small collection of concrete and 'giant bamboo' shacks. However our hostel was one of the nicest we've stayed at with a lovely pool and bar and also complete with its own petting zoo (1 cat, 1 kitten, 1 dog and 7 puppies!).  We spent four days here chilling out by the pool or on the beach and enjoying some of the good food the small town has to offer (lots of fish). We also got to meet up with some friends, Nicola and Laura, who we first met back in San Pedro and have coincidentally since enjoyed the salt flats, inca trail (which we all booked ... read more

From Trujillo, we headed north to Mancora, a gringo's paradise. A quaint little surfing village, with mainly English speaking establishments, in the very northern part of Peru. When we arrived, we tried to check into the famous Loki hostel, a massive hostel complex, resembling a hotel moreso than a hostel. As it was the final of the World Cup while we were there, we wanted to stay somewhere with a good athmosphere. Unfortunately, there was no room at the inn at The Loki hostel, so we booked ourselves into another small hotel nearby. We watched the World Cup in the Loki hostel and the Dutch fans were out in force. So I became a fairweather Dutch supporter for the day, to fit in with the crowd. Unfortunately, we were disappointed, the Dutch fans presumably more than ... read more

Aangezien we weer een lange rit voor de boeg hadden, hebben we in Lima een luxe bus genomen naar Mancora. Helaas bleken we achterin naast het toilet te zitten. En hoewel het verder echt een luxe bus was (zo is de bus bijvoorbeeld voorzien van draadloos internet), was het toilet duidelijk al een tijdje niet meer goed schoongemaakt waardoor alles in een straal van drie meter werd bedwelmd door een penetrante urinewolk. Gelukkig waren er nog twee stoelen helemaal vooraan aan het raam vrij. Na overleg met de busconducteur zijn we toen daar gaan zitten en hebben we de rest van de reis weer normaal konden ademhalen en film kijken. De volgende ochtend arriveerden we in Mancora; een klein surfersdorpje helemaal in het Noorden van Peru niet ver van de grens met Ecuador. Na aankomst hebben ... read more

We arrived in Mancora on morning of the 6th (Tues) and now that we're at the beach, I feel like we're on a vacation from our vacation. The Loki hostel is like a resort right next to the beach with a pool, bar, ping pong table, and loads of daily activities for less than $9 a night! I've definitely decided that I want to open a hostel somewhere abroad when I retire...I've been keeping tabs on what is good and what is bad. Since traveling is one of my biggest passions, it's pretty much perfect for me hehe Mancora is gorgeous and the people are super friendly, however it is more touristy that the cities we've been to with more gringos, especially at the Loki... The highlights: We watched the 2 semifinal soccer matches with everyone ... read more

Crossing the border from Ecuador to Peru and arriving to Máncora Finally on Monday (21.06.2010) I managed to leave Salinas, and I took the bus in the evening at 8:30pm, because another bus broke down and was replaced by this one, direct to Guayaquil with the bus company CICA (or CLP). After two hours of watching a very, very bloody movie, I arrived in Guayaquil at 11pm. I went immediately to get the busticket for the 23:30 bus to Máncora (company CIFA) and purchased one ticket for 12,5 US$. I bought a sandwich, had a coke, bought some water, used the toilet and went to the bus, which was a little bit late, so I had time, to buy some sweets and a newspaper to spend my last few US$. When you buy the bus ... read more