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Published: February 24th 2009
Huanchaco Sunset
Took this picture from the restaurant balcony where we shared some drinks with some friends.Finally, the new leg of this journey had begun. It took us 40 hours, including two overnight buses, to get from Cusco to Huanchaco, Peru, but at last, we had reached the Peruvian coast and the beautiful waves it provides. Huanchaco is a small beach resort town outside of Trujillo, Peru´s third largest city, and Trujillan's flood Huanchaco's beaches on the weekends. As it turned out, we arrived to Huanchaco on a Sunday morning and nearly every hostel in town was completely full, but our kind taxi driver drove us to every hostel he knew of until we had found sufficient shelter for the night. In past instances on this trip, when we had not so easily found accommodation, we generally wound up in a crazy hostel. This time was no different. We stayed at Solange Hostel, named after its owner and manager, who was your typical, nearly deaf, and therefore, VERY loud, single, older-woman. The day we got there we left our bags in the kitchen, as she advised us, until our room was ready. We got back from the beach at 6:30 in the afternoon, and she was already asleep in bed with our bags still locked away! Then
Surfer (not me) at Mancora
Please excuse the 2x optical zoom. she woke us up at 6 in the morning the following day since she was screaming at her cleaning lady to clean the bathroom after sweeping the courtyard. I couldn't hold anything against Solange however, since she gave me such heartwarming smiles accompanied by semi-creepy winks and loud and indecipherable spanish everytime I walked past her. The significantly older South American women love me.
My living conditions however, were of little importance to me. I was here to get my first taste of Peruvian waves. The conditions were beautiful. My friend Palo back on Kauai would have described it as "Bronstein Country." This term does not describe a small wooded area behind my house where I used to play in my own fantasy world, but rather, it describes wave conditions that are perfect for Bronstein! Drew and I rented a 7'7" beater shaped in La Jolla, California that had somehow found its way to Huanchaco. The water was cold,
really cold, and so we rented full body wet suits as well. There was one peak where the beach jutted out to a point, and from this peak the waves broke along the shore - looooong lefts - until just
Drew Goofin'
This is a statue of tiny boats fisherman use called Caballitos. They are made of reeds which are tied and braided together. before reaching the pier in town which divided the beach in two. Though there wasn't a particularly big swell while I was there, it was perfect for catching my first waves since leaving Kauai. It was consistent chest to shoulder high with sets head to slightly over-head high. Long rides combined with a strong current resulted in a routine of paddling out to the point, catching 2 or 3 long rides down the beach, and then walking back up the beach and paddling out again. Now, I will never claim to be a charger like many of my friends back on Kauai. Max might surf a 12-hour session. Billy knows when and where every swell in the world will be hitting. Palo will snap three boards in one session because he fearlessly charges every wave. I'm not at that level. Far from it. BUT, I love it just as much as the next guy. Similar to skydiving, its so hard to be anywhere but focused on the wave you are riding and totally
IN THE MOMENT when you are pumping up and down the face of a glassy, beautiful wave. It's the best, and it was the best. It had
been so long since I had gotten stoked in the water, but one wave and you remember that there's nothing else in the world quite like gliding across the ocean. My first waves and my first session in Peru were a blast.
The following day we decided to move on to Chicama since Solange was really starting to wink at me more than I was comfortable with, and Chicama is a world famous and epic wave that I have heard so much about for a long time. Chicama is famous for being the longest wave in the world, and a left to boot. (For you non-surfers, left breaking waves cater better to goofy footed surfers such as myself.) On big days, the entire beach connects into one endless wave. Locals told us stories of 30 minute rides from the point at one end of the beach to the pier at the other end (its about a 30 to 40 minute walk along the beach to give you perspective). Before I get into my waves, I'll tell you a little about the town. Puerto Chicama is a town of about 5,000 people about 40 KM north of Trujillo. It is
as off the map as I have felt anywhere in South America. We checked in at El Hombre Hostel which has been in operation for over 30 years. In fact, my old boss Neal in Kauai stayed there when he was my age and surf-trippin' through Peru. Drew and I were literally the ONLY gringos in all of Chicama and 2 of 4 people in our hostel. There was hardly any swell for the 3 days we were there, but once again, it was enough to make it magic. We rented a 7'6" Schaper epoxy fun board (perfect for the small waves) and wet suits for the 3 days we were there. Since I cannot tell you about every wave, I'll skip to day 2 of 3 in Chicama. The swell picked up a little bit this day and we decided to checkout the Cape. The Cape is a break at Chicama that is way past even the point. The swell hits it a bit more head-on so it is usually a bit bigger at the Cape, as we learned. We walked nearly 30 minutes from our hostel to the mostly rocky shorline section of the Cape and I hopped
in the water - another new spot, another new wave. There were maybe 10 of us spread out across several hundred yards of break zone. There was literally no competition for waves. Everybody waited for the perfect wave they desired and then went for it. Like Huanchaco, sets were about head high, occasionally a little overhead, and between the very long rides and the current, everybody was constantly getting out of the water to walk back up the shoreline and get back in the ocean. I surfed until I had nothing left in the tank - long, fun, "Bronstein-country" rides.
After three days of nothing but surfing and reading on the beach in Chicama we caught a bus back to Trujillo and from Trujillo up to Mancora, Peru - a party town, but also home to a fun wave. During the 9 hour trip north from Trujillo to Mancora the water gets much much warmer. While freezing in Chicama and Huanchaco, the water in Mancora is comfortable without a wetsuit. Since this blog goes out to a varied audience, including surfers and non-surfers, I will enlighten those non-surfers quickly before I get into my warm-water sessions at Mancora. I
Here I am with THE El Hombre
(Don´t know his real name - he´s simply ¨El Hombre¨) prefer to not use a wetsuit in general, but wet suits are pretty cool... especially full body wetsuits. When I put on a full length wetsuit, I feel like I'm some sort of super hero (I think Spiderman wears neoprene...?). Suddenly I have this magic layer that makes me invulnerable to cold water! How cool! A full length wetsuit also makes peeing in the ocean more enjoyable than ever! Now since none of my surf friends will ever lend me another wetsuit after that last comment, I will just repeat the words of an old wise man, "There are those who pee in wetsuits and those who lie about it."
Now that you all know some important things about wetsuits, back to the surfing. We arrived in Mancora on my birthday and after 4 days of surfing in a row, but as it turned out, I was quite under the weather all day on my birthday and was resigned to sitting by the pool with a book. The next day however, I woke up feeling much better and got up bright and early to get in the waves for the incoming and much anticipated swell. Mancora really only has
one peak, so it gets quite crowded rather quickly. It is also much faster and throws harder than Chicama or Huanchaco (at least compared to the days I saw each of these spots). I rented a 7-footer this time, another beater, and got in the water just before 8. I paddled out near the point and sat just outside the pack of locals (I was the only gringo in the water at that moment!). It was the best session of the week by far. Wave after wave came through... plenty for all. Sets a good foot or two over head and barrels were being had by the local rippers. That day I wound up going out for 4 sessions and on the 4th I swapped the 7'0" for a 6'3" which treated me even better. The next morning I decided to try to get the waves before the crowd. While other kids in the hostel were stumbling home drunk from the clubs, I was paddling out shortly after 6 in the morning to start the day the best way there is - a dawn patrol session.
That concluded our Peruvian Surf Safari and a new surf safari is hopefully
about to begin - this time in Ecuador! Love from Monteñita, Ecuador!
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Loki Hostel
non-member comment
Great photo!
Awesome photo, Eric - love it! Thanks for your comments, we like it too! :)