Travel Blog

Right. So clearly 6th January isn´t a big deal in Cuenca. In fact, nothing´s a big deal there. Which is strange because the book lists Cuenca as one of the best places to go in Ecuador but in my opinion, anywhere you have to search high and low for a bar in on a Saturday night is never the best place to go. We eventually found a bar that was open but we reckon it had only just finished being built as it smelt of new paint and there was still a ladder in the main part. Also the beer was warm so we they obviously hadn´t installed the fridge yet. We were both hungry and thirsty now and we stumbled upon a place called Monday Blue (or something to that effect) which seemed to be the only semi-hapenning place in town. Got some nice grub there but then decided to head back to the hostel and get out of Cuenca as fast as we could!

Sunday 7th January

But yet we didn´t leave today. For some reason we hung around. If we thought Cuenca was dead on a Saturday night, Sunday afternoon is completely lifeless. Nothing is open. We first tried to find somewhere to eat. We eventually found somewhere that looked relatively ok that had a set menu for $2. Unfortunately it turned out to be egg and chip soup, beef with not-quite-thawed frozen veggies and tinned raspberries for desert. Interesting! As expected I forwent the egg and chip soup, forced back the beef and veg and poked at the raspberries. After that we chilled on the banks of the river in the sun reading, playing DS and drinking coke. We were joined after a while by Jonty and Angie – An isle of Manian and an Aussie who were sharing our dorm. We went to dinner with them in Monday Blue again and then back to the hostel to stay in and drink beer which was pretty much the only option available. When they left around 9m to get an overnight bus to Baños (lucky suckers!) we had a quick game of chess before bed. We intended to get up early tomorrow to make our way to the beaches of Northern Peru.

Monday 8th January

Today I had my first swim in the Pacific Ocean! But first a quick resume of how that came about. It initially seemed that getting to Mancora in North Peru would go something like this : Bus from Cuenca to Machala, bus from Machala to Huaquillas, taxi over the border into Peru, bus to Tumbes and a final bus on to Mancora. But once we arrived Machala, we overheard a bus operator shouting MANCORA! MANCORA! We glanced briefly in his direction and before we knew it we were being bundled onto a bus direct to Mancora. We were slightly concerned as to whether the bus would wait for us to get out passports stamped at the border because the lonely planet told us most buses don´t wait and we didn´t want them speeding off to Mancora with our luggage and us left standing at the Ecuador/Peru border like a pair of feckin Paddy eejits. But they just kept repeating Si! Si! Si! So we shrugged and jumped on the bus.

The bus itself was pretty comfortable and the trip went without incident until we arrived at the border. The bus guy beckoned us off to get our passports stamped and once again we tried to ascertain whether the bus would wait for us or not. But it was as frivalous as the first time and to our horror, the second we jumped off the bus, it sped off down the road ! We were slightly worried except that the bus guy was still with us. While we still had him, there was still a chance to get our bags back. He took us into the immigration office where two guys took our passports. They began copying details from our passports onto a pair of forms. We weren´t quite sure what was going on so we kept a close eye on them. Then they ushured us to the front of the significantly long queue where our passports were stamped. The other people in the queue weren´t happy with us skipping to the front but the immigration officials didn´t seem to mind so we carried on. It was then we realised that the cost of having the two guys fill out our forms and hurry us to the top of the queue was $10 each ! So we just threw them $3 between us and legged it across the road where the bus guy was standing.

At this stage we figured the bus with our bags on it had just done a turn round the block and was coming back to pick us up. But the next bus we got on wasn´t the same bus ! Slightly freaked at this stage we again tried to enquire as to the whereabouts of our bags but to no further avail. Finally we jumped off our current bus in Tumbes and back onto the original waiting bus. After checking that our bags were in fact on board we slid relieved into a pair of seats for the final leg to Mancora. The instant we arrived in Mancora we knew it was worth all the hassle. It was late evening and the sun was at a perfect temperature. Palm trees surrounded us and the sea was sparkling. A little moto took us to a hostel/resort type place called Sol Y Mar where we had decided to stay. We were slightly miffed at the massive 20 second trek to the beach every time we wanted to go for a swim but we put up with it. It was then that my long overdue first swim in the Pacific Ocean occurred. Let it be the first of many !

That night we went for dinner. In Mancora, if you don´t like fish, you´re pretty screwed. I was a bit worried about this since fish isn´t my favourite meal of all time but I decided on the tuna steak which was completely like nothing else I´d ever tasted. Delish. Of course after this we headed out along the bar street and about 10 mojitos and a chat with a Welsh woman, English woman and Kiwi guy later, we headed for another bar. A bit of chat with the bar girl later and I was off discoing with her for the rest of the night (Fi had already gone off with her own bunch of Peruvian male friends). Unfortunately the numerous mojitos were beginning to take their toll and at this point my memory becomes quite sketchy. Needless to say I arrived back at the resort at some mad hour with the vague memory that I was supposed to meet the bar girl somewhere tomorrow at 12. Oh dear ! Still it didn´t stop me having a final beer with Fi and her Peruvian boys at the resort bar (which serves around the clock) before bed.

Tuesday 9th January

As you can imagine the Chuchaqui today was overwhelming. Luckily I didn´t have a lot else to do except lie on the beach and recover ! We spent the day sleeping, bodyboarding, eating and drinking. Unfortunately despite my best efforts to retain my pasty white colouring, I ended up getting a bit of a burn on my shoulders and forehead. As expected plans to meet the Peruvian bar girl didn´t come through and we couldn´t resist going to the tuna steak place for dinner again. We decided to go back to the bar from the previous night and sure enough my girl was there. After a bit of banter and a beer, the dreaded chuchaqui caught up with us and we were forced to retire early. Although this time I remembered the time and venue of where to meet Sofia the next day !

Wednesday 10th January

Did much of the same as yesterday on the beach today. Except that the burn was pretty bad and we were forced to sit in the shade and apply copious amounts of after sun and sun block. Yesterday we booked a 16 hour overnight bus to Lima and it was kind of a thing hanging in the air that we had only a few hours left in sunny Mancora. Still we met up with Sofia and had lunch etc… We arrived at the bus station on time only to find out the bus was delayed by an hour. When the bus arrived, it was the most comfortable bus I´ve ever seen. Fully reclining seats and tv screens. The only problem was the heat. For some of the journey, the window in the roof was opened but most of the journey was spent sweating. After 2 and a half dodgy Disney movies I fell asleep.

Thursday 11th January

Woke up this morning on a bus a few hours outside Lima with the desert on my right and the sea on my left and a beautiful sin rising over the former. We arrived in Lima not a minute to soon but not after another dodgy Disney classic ! We checked into the hostel for well needed shower and headed out to explore Lima. We knocked on to an interesting vegetarian restaurant for lunch. Monte bean soup with Rice of the garden ! Yum. Currently killing time in Lima before our 6am flight for Cuzco tomorrow morning.

# posted by Grum @ 1:29 PM