Máncora

Unfortunately, the journey began with nausea again for Philip, even before the bus started. Our theory is now that he simply can't tolerate Saubohnen - we had eaten them before every bus ride with subsequent nausea. After everything was out, Philip felt great again and the rest of the bus ride went well. Early in the morning, still in the dark, we arrived in the small town of Máncora, which is considered a beach resort among Peruvians. We had already reserved our room for the previous day, so we could check in directly and get a few hours of sleep.

On the first day, we walked through the cute little town, which also had delicious restaurants offering vegan and vegetarian food, and lounged around on the beach. Above us, many frigatebirds and cormorants circled, diving into the sea from time to time to catch a fish. The only downside in Máncora - haha, mega pun 😜 - was that the main road "Panamericana" runs right through it and every now and then huge trucks and buses squeezed through the town with the usual honking. Otherwise, we liked it here, the temperatures were slowly becoming tropical again and we could finally wear short clothes and flip-flops in the evenings again. Of course, this brings along some crawling creatures, but we are well protected thanks to our mosquito net. Furthermore, there were lots of cute kittens that we secretly fed with Felix cat food. In the evenings, we watched the sunset, which is always visible over the sea here on the west coast of South America.

The next day, we went back to the sea for diving. Unfortunately, it was cloudy and despite thick wetsuits and boots, the water temperature was quite cold due to the Humboldt Current. We had planned to dive at a decommissioned oil platform, but unfortunately, it was currently closed, so we went to the nearby reef instead. Unfortunately, there was not much to see there because the visibility was less than 2 meters! It was mostly green around us because of the phytoplankton. Good for the fishies, bad for our eyes 😄 We always stayed close to the diving instructor, but even though we practically had his fins in our faces, we could hardly see his upper body. The two of us always held hands to not lose each other, and occasionally we saw a few fish and soft corals. With better visibility, it would probably be a great diving spot, but for us, it was just another diving experience and an opportunity to improve our skills. At one point, we lost our diving instructor for a short time and simply followed the bubbles, which was a bit creepy, but after a few meters, we found him again and were very relieved 😅. After two dives, we returned to land, where it was immediately warm again, and we were rewarded at the pier. Because we saw pelicans, sea turtles, and even a blue-footed booby!

The next day, we took another "colectivo" to the town of Punta Sal, which was about 30 minutes away and was recommended to us by Philip's host family. The town was quite sleepy, which may also have been due to the national holiday which was more noticeable to us in the weeks before than on the actual day itself. The beach here was really beautiful, and we found a quiet spot in the shade because the sun was scorching down on us from the sky. After a delicious lunch, we leisurely made our way back to Máncora. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the open living room of the hotel, where we had left our luggage. In the evening, we ate again at a super delicious Japanese restaurant around the corner, which offered sensational vegetarian sushi. With this feast in our bellies, we once again took a night bus, which should take us to the largest city in Ecuador, Guayaquil.

Thus ends our time in Peru, which we enjoyed very much overall. We traveled through the country by bus from south to north. We met old and new friends, learned a lot about the Incas and other cultures, visited great sites, and finally enjoyed a few relaxing days at the beach. Peru has something to offer for everyone!