Goodbye South America - Mancora, Peru
Mancora, Peru
It’s time for our final post from South America. We finished our volunteering at Cerro Blanco two weeks ago to grab a last few weeks of (mainly) sun and beach time before going back to the brutal reality of a UK winter. There was little goodbye presentation organised, and we talked a little bit about our experience and the work we had done (check out their website here - http://bosquecerroblanco.org/es/ - this is what we were mainly doing for the last 6 weeks) and then they showed lots of photos and said nice things about our time there, then we had a little party of pizza and coke. It was sad leaving the forest - we will definitely go back and visit, but it will probably wont be a long long while yet.
Once we left the forest our first stop was the coast in Ecuador, a place called Puerto Lopez. It’s a fishing village so you can go and watch them bring the fish in, in the morning. In the day we went to the beach and in the evening ate lots of fish and drank caiprinhas, so all in all, pretty good. We also took a day trip to Isla de la Plata island one day to see the ‘blue-footed boobies’ (yup, you read that correctly). They are big birds with blue feet that nest all over the island – mainly on the paths. It was seriously rough going out there on the boat, we got drenched, but when we arrived it was still and serene and some turtles came up to say hello. After walking around the islands looking at the birds we all went or snorkel to look at the coral and fish.
Next we got the bus back to Guayaquil and up to the mountains to reach Cuenca. This is an American expat hangout place, as it’s relatively cool and has some beautiful colonial architecture. While in Cuenca to be honest we mainly did some present shopping (for some lucky recipients!), ate really really well, and wandered about... We also went to some hot springs one morning and hung out with the old folk as they took their early morning dip and Turkish bath.
To get to Peru, which we need to go to, to get our flight, we got bus tickets for a bus all the way south over the border to a beach town called Mancora (about 8 hours in total). Our bus broke down just before the border and not to bore you with the details but there was a LOT of worrying conversations and confusion in the following chaos and melee at the bus station, before finally hours later we managed to find a bus going across the border.
Mancora is apparently where young people from Lima come to party, so we were expecting the worst.... It’s actually not too crazy at all - we are staying in a sweet little place with bamboo huts, palm trees, a pool, and within earshot of the sea. I can hear the waves crashing while writing this, not bad for our last week. Although the first thing I noticed on crossing the border is the amount of rubbish everywhere. The Ecuadorians think they are bad, but they are nothing compared to the Peruvians! We have seen so many people chuck rubbish from their cars since we got here (and we have only been here 5 days!) its crazy.
The landscape here is unusual, just basically a desert that meets the sea. The beach stretches on and on, so we have walked down the beach quite a bit. The sea is warm (24 degrees) but with waves too, so perfect for bodysurfing and a bit of fighting, holding each other under the water, that kind of thing.
We mainly have been swimming sunbathing, reading etc., but also have been up to a few activities. We went to a nearby village the other day to see the turtles. It’s a working pier where they throw all the fish entrails off the side, which attracts the turtles. Normally vegetarians, these turtles have basically grown giant and some of them are about a metre in diameter. You can watch loads of them swimming about from the pier, while dodging flying fish entrails. Stew jumped in and went for a little snorkel with them. I also jumped in and then got bashed against the pier a bit, so got back out again.
Yesterday we went for a dive. Stew and I were buddies and we went with the instructor and a Kiwi (who was much more amiable while diving, when he couldn’t talk). The currents were strong so it was totally knackering but the coral was very beautiful and we saw loads of fish and small cool things like eels, small rays, amazing starfish, sea slugs an stuff like that. The instructor also performed an underwater rescue mission for a fish that was caught in an old net. Afterwards we went for a cocktail - passion fruit sours (yum!) and then ironically, after admiring them all day, ate some fish.
The final weekend is upon us! Monday we have an 18 hour bus journey to Lima to look forward to, followed by a two-legged 20 hour flight to London. We are dreading the journey but are really looking forward to seeing all our friends and family again. Thanks everyone for reading our blog. It’s been quite frankly an awesome trip and it’s hard to believe it’s over. I have suggested to Stew that we do the same thing in 10 years, so hopefully after 10 years he will have got used to the idea and we’ll be off again!
We are leaving you with our Team Carrot's Adventures in South America Awards 2013:
Number one piece of indispensible geeky travel gear: Stew's water filter bottle! (saving money and the environment)
Biggest profiteer: HSBC by way of their extortionate withdrawal fees – almost £200 in total
Best juice award: Maracuya (bitter passion fruit)
Most useless item in med kit: rehydration sachets
Most dangerous animal encountered: Psychotic toe-biting pet macaw at dive centre in Colombia
Moodiest locals: Bolivia
Most amazing view: from the front porch of Aldea Luna - nature reserve in Argentina
Best forgery: Stew’s DIY flight confirmation showing 'proof of return out of Ecuador’ – without which we wouldn’t have been allowed on our flight to Ecuador
Grossest things eaten: Cow hoof soup
Most amazing animal: Yogi the baby sloth
Not in my day award: All backpackers carrying tablets, smart phones etc...
Most annoying competitive-backpacker phrase: ‘I never book (hostels) ahead’
Cheapest travel: Ecuador approx $1/hour buses
Most expensive travel: Approx $40/hour for Machu Pichu train
Most useless advice: ‘To avoid Malaria its best not to get bitten in the first place, do so by using DEET and wearing loose clothing’ (haha)
Pointless scaremongering: Footprints Guide to South America 2103 edition, after talking about an area’s attraction, includes comments like ‘not a safe area’ ‘don’t take valuables’ and ‘beware of biting dogs’