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Published: March 15th 2010
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Our next leg of the journey was another surf binge. The northern coast of Peru is known for its long left-hand point breaks in desolate locations. We went to several throughout the next couple of weeks...Mancora, Lobitos, Huanchaco, and Chicama. Great surf at every location...unforgetable times. Mancora was like another Montanita...lots of tourists and crowded lineup. Taylor and I got real cheap and stayed in crappy living quarters for our time there. The mattresses were nothing more than flimsy foam pads, and the walls were just cheap plywood panels. We were bitten by bugs all night and sleeping in a tinderbox...luckily no one dropped a match. By now we are champions of cheapness.
Our next stop was Lobitos...a town in the middle of the Peruvian desert. Nothing exists but dirt and really good surf. Oh...and really bad fish. Yet another ploy in our cheapness finally caught up to us and caused a disaster in my butt. To save money, we ate at this one place that had a special for the day: fish soup with fish and rice. I donĀ“t normally like fish that much, but I do like saving money. We didnt bring enough with us, so we were
already pinching pesos. The soup was just hot water with potatoes and a dead fish in it. You dont usually have to pick bones out of soup, right? After I couldnt bear the taste anymore I anxiously awaited our main course. For this, the guy just took a fish and cut it in two...Taylor got the head and I got the butt. It was a strange looking fish that I had never seen before, and the meat had a yellow tint to it. I really dont know why I ate it...I guess I just figured the local food hadnt let me down so far. That night I broke into double digit bathroom trips and felt miserable for the next 3 days. I hate fish.
After waiting out a bus strike for a couple days, our next stop was Huanchaco which is a really cool town. We stayed at a great hostel and got some great waves. Rented longboards and I easily got the longest wave of my life several times. There was a surfing competition the following weekend, so people started to show up in swarms. We went to a big techno party on the beach where absolutely no
Our quarters
Tent was necessary to keep the mosquitoes away one could understand our spanish over the music. The town of Huanchaco is the site of one of the earliest forms of surfing. The fishermen used to make their fishing boats out of reeds that they would tie together. After the days catch, they would surf their way back to shore, and the boats were designed to catch waves.
Our next surf stop was Chicama...home of the longest wave in the world. If it is breaking correctly, it can be ridden the whole distance of 2.2kms and takes 4-5 minutes. Quite a remarkable place, and we were stoked to be there. Unfortunately, conditions werent right for the whole thing to connect...but we still got some hella long rides.
After good weeks of surf we headed back to the mountains and the town of Huaraz. Here we did a trek of the Cordillera Blanca, a very beautiful mountain range of the Northern Andes. There are some great climbs to be done in this region, but our lack of time and tired bodies opted to just do some hiking and camping instead. The first two days went great, but for the next couple it rained almost the whole time. Unfortunately,
the weather did not hold out and the magical vistas we hoped to glimpse were covered in clouds the whole time.
Finally, upon our return to Huaraz, we met some local climbers who took us bouldering just outside of town for the day. Lots of fun, and we wished we had more time here.
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Aunt Lisa
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Great Reading!
Steven, You do have a way with words! I get a good laugh reading about your adventures. You should write a book about your adventures and encounters. Love you, take care.