Haunchaco

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Haunchaco

I had a wander up to the church that sits on the hill over looking Haunchaco, at night from the pier the church is illuminated and is the most prominent structure in this small town. The church itself is standard for this part of the world but its is so beautifully maintained, Stone steps wind their way up the hill to the church with rambling immaculately kept gardens all the way up. Nearby is a walled graveyard, again neat and tidy.

The views from the church are amazing 180 degree oceanscape, you can hear the waves crashing on the shore in the distance. The inside of the church is again standard for Peru, full of glass cases with suffering saints and the Holy Virgin at different stages of her life and of course JC himself.

Tourism is taken seriously here and the municipal has an army of workers recognizable by their orange jackets tending the numerous parks plazas and winding streets, retrieving litter, sweeping and keeping tidy the huge number of colorful flowerbeds.

Haunchaco like most of coastal Peru is desert but unlike some of the other small towns along the coast there is a civic pride here and rather than dusty facades and roofs from the constant desert dust, the homes and municipal buildings are clean and well kept, There is a beautiful all wooden library in the centre of town and quite a few sculptures in various places, most to do with the sea and the fishing trade that has made this little place famous.

Numerous options are available for your culinary needs, ranging from high end "fancy" places with prices to match, to little homey places with great deals for great food, being by the ocean the seafood options are aplenty.

There is a small market which sells a little of everything but as Trujillo is only 20 minutes away most people use it for fresh produce only, go there early in the morning if you want to purchase fresh fish as it is not refrigerated and is often all gone by lunch time.

There is a lot of construction going on and in this case it seems to be luxury flats and condos, Peru's economy is on the up and it clearly shows here, long may it last.

It is high season now and the town fills up at the weekends with hundreds of families arriving to enjoy the beach and the famed surfing, indeed the break here is one of the longest in the world.

Venders trawl the beach selling Icecream, buckets and spades, deckchair hire, beer, sodas, trinkets, tamales, lilos, t-shirts, sunglasses, sarongs, jewelry, massages and all manner of things one might need on a day at the beach.
Men dressed in woman's dresses with balloons tucked into the bosom and backside areas wander around with the intention of making people laugh, for a few coins they sell candy and entertain those who find their act amusing. The whole scene is colorful and happy and a must for people watchers.

One day we walked past a concrete football pitch, a dozen youngsters about 9 years old were playing a lively kickabout, among the group one little gringo boy had joined the game, as we watched he took a nasty fall and as quick as a flash one of the other kids turned to Martin (a tall, white, all American young man) and quipped "Oi gringo, that's your brother" We doubled over laughing, even the little kids give shit to the gringos.

Each night just before dusk the pitch is occupied by a sturdy group of young fellas, Now these chaps are not just having a kickabout, they are seriously good, fast competitive and with all sorts of fancy footwork, It was a great way to spend an hour every evening cheering them on from the sidelines.

Before we left we had said we would try the BBQ'd chickens feet a lady sold at the pier so after a couple of beers with Dustin we went for it, greasy, chewy and a tad crunchy, I'm glad I tried them but I won't be rushing back for more.

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