Máncora

We were feeling somewhat better and wanted to get out of our hotel room as quickly as possible, especially to be independent from the cooking skills of others. So, we left pale and a few kilos lighter on the night bus heading north to Máncora, just before the border with Ecuador. Here, we found a nice hostel right by the beach on the outskirts of the town with good cuisine, peaceful and far away from the hustle and bustle. The host and the other guests were also very nice and relaxed.

After Marike overcame her aversion to just hanging out at the beach for two or three days, we enjoyed long walks on the beach, swimming in great high waves, reading, cooking our meals, and gazing at the sea with a cold drink in hand. It was really good for us, and we ended up staying longer than planned, even though that meant sacrificing a few stops in Ecuador. During that time, the area experienced several quite strong earthquakes, but the bamboo structures of our accommodation withstood everything.

The only downside was an armed robbery of a Canadian tourist just a few hundred meters from us on the second-to-last day, who left her belongings while swimming on the beach and then got robbed. We had walked that path every day. After that, we didn’t feel so free and easy anymore, and it was good to move on.

Nevertheless, it was a successful conclusion for Peru, where there is still so much more to see and which we have grown very fond of. Hopefully, we will return one day!