Ecuador (very briefly) and Mancora

This past Thursday was a ferriado (holiday) in Peru, so we had a four day weekend to do a bit of travelling. We needed to extend our Peruvian visas, and the easiest way is to leave the country and return. So Wednesday night we set out from Trujillo via an overnight bus to Tumbes (about 30 km from the Ecuadorian border).

We heard different stories on what the protocol is for extending our visas. The most reliable sources at Bruce Peru seemed to agree that you have to spend one day in Ecuador before returning to Peru. Everyone, including the Lonely Planet, warned that this particular border crossings is a bit sketchy. So the plan was to spend a night in Guaycuil, Ecuador. But our plans began to change when the moto-taxi we flagged down in Tumbes took us to the border contrary to our request to take us to a bus station in town. The driver told us a bunch of lies saying that the bus station we were looking for in Tumbes didn't exist, etc., and we ended up taking the expensive way to the border (not by choice). The good news is that we spoke to the Peruvian migration officier and found out we were allowed to get both exit and entry stamps (and new visas) in the same day.

We made our way to the Ecuadorian migration office, a few kilometers from the actual border, got our passports stamped a couple times and were crossing back into Peru within a half hour. The border town was interesting. There is free trade between Ecuador and Peru, so there were carts stacked high with all sorts of fruits: bananas, mangos, pineapples, and more. We found a cheap colectivo to take us back to Tumbes and he even stopped and waited for us at the Peruvian migration office. By 11:30 am we had new visas and were back in Tumbes.

(Here is a picture of the border. Peru on the left and Ecuador on the right, with a really horribly contaminated stream in between.)

We quickly grabbed a combi from Tumbes and within two hours were in Mancora. According to the Lonely Planet Mancora is Peru's "worst kept secret". It is the most "resorty" town along the north coast of Peru. I also happened to see an article in today's New York Times about Mancora (check out this link), so it isn't getting any less popular! We quickly found out why this is an attractive spot for backpacking travellers and Peruvian tourists.

The beaches are beautiful and the Pacific is warm in Mancora. The water is crystal clear and the weather is hot. It feels more tropical than any other place we have visited in Peru. We were lucky to get a place to stay at Laguana Camp. It is a hostal that is comprised of different bungalows, hammocks everywhere, and a really layed back owner who we chatted with a lot. Here are the highlights of our two and a half days in Mancora.

• Having fresh squeezed juice with meals. All the restaurants served homemade juice and it came in a small pitcher with a straw for about 4 soles ($1.50). The fruits in season were papaya, pineapple, banana, orange, passionfruit, and others... yummy!
• The beaches: white sand, swimming, surfing, beautiful sunsets, and even some decent people watching. The only downside: we both got a bit sunburned yesterday.
• Hanging out with Eduardo (owner of Laguna Camp) and chatting about random subjects in hammocks and around bonfires while drinking a few beers. The Laguna Camp was away from the busy Panamerican Highway where parties in the street and semi-trucks passing through somehow co-exist. The only sounds we heard were the waves.
• Eating fresh fruit on the beach. One morning we had bananas, mandarins and the best mango ever. We were covered in as much juice as we were sunscreen and we didn't care. The mango tasted like a dessert for breakfast.

Mancora was nice but in our minds Huanchaco (our local beach near Trujillo) is more our style. We loved the warm water and tropical climate, but Mancora is a bit more of a tourist trap. You have to be more on the lookout for people trying to rip you off. And after many weekends in Huanchaco we have friends and our favorite places, which makes it a special spot.

Brian after some surfing.

A gecko friend we found in our bungalow.

Another beautiful sunset.