Peruvian Coast and Guayaquil (ECU)

After several weeks, it was finally time to leave the highlands - from Cusco to the small coastal town of Huanchaco in Peru. After a 21-hour journey, changing buses in Lima, and another 9-hour journey along the Pan-American Highway, I finally arrived there. The place was recommended on the internet and in the Lonely Planet, but it was largely deserted - probably due to the heavy rainfalls in recent weeks. However, I took a three-day surfing course and made good use of my time, even though I had to pay for it with the worst muscle soreness ever. And in the end, you always meet like-minded Germans...

So, I quickly moved on to the northern Peruvian coastal town of Máncora. The place was a bit friendlier and more touristy, but the Loki Hostel there was so big, good, and cheap that you practically didn't have to leave. And so the only activities consisted of diving at an old offshore production platform off the Peruvian coast, jet skiing, and playing ball sports on the beach. The rest of the time flew by in a multi-headed German-Dutch group... The hostel did have one weakness though: the Wi-Fi was so bad that I couldn't publish the blog post.

Anyway, after six days it was time to continue to Guayaquil. First, the bus was over an hour late, then my seat was already taken (double booking), and finally, I slept on two seats with a Peruvian woman and her small child - until 2 am when we reached the border to Ecuador and had to go outside again for border control. I won't miss these 'relaxing' and 'beautiful' rides in Germany.

Arriving in Guayaquil with a humid and warm 35 degrees, the only constructive activity was to organize the journey to the Galapagos Islands (on May 3rd). Since the package deals are incredibly expensive, I organized the trip individually with a person from Cologne. After visiting the hostel pool, the city, and writing the blog, it was time to go to bed early - the last overnight drive left its mark. Tomorrow, there will be a city tour of Guayaquil and then I will be in front of the TV for the Champions League semi-finals at 1:45 pm, before flying to Galapagos the day after tomorrow.

So that's an update from me... Saludos!

Kai