After a few days in Mancora, Matt, Kelly and I decided it was finally time to make up some ground to Cusco. First stop was to be the worlds longest left point breaking wave in the world, Puerto Chicama. Being new to the Peru bus system, we had a bit of trouble finding a bus with room heading south. Also, in most cities, there is no one main bus terminal but rather a number of companies with terminals in various places. After no luck finding a bus with 3 seats to Trujillo, we opted for a bus headed to Lima. We barely fit on the bus and didn´t even manage to get our bags and board under the bus.
The time to Trujillo was meant to be about 8 or 9 hours, but the bus was having some serious engine issues so it took closer to 10 or 11 hours. Also, being that the bus was headed to Lima, we managed to space out and stay on the bus right through Trujillo. The next town we hopped off and back tracked to the major city of Northern Peru where we ate and then bussed another 2 hours to Chicama.
Upon arrival, we could see the long beach with loooong waves and picked a cheap hostel with a great view of the break. There were a few other surfers at the hostel we chose, but they were on there way to Huanchaco for bigger waves. We had JUST missed the swell, so the surf was pretty flat. In addition to that, the water required 3.5mm full-body wet suits and was full of great big jelly fish. It wasn´t as much fun as we had anticipated and there is not much else to do in this town but surf. We mucked about in the waves a few times anyway but after two days and one night, we hopped on a bus to Trujillo where we would catch another bus to Lima.
We arrived in Lima at 4am, grabbed a cab to the Loki hostel in Miraflores and stored our bags. We killed a few hours then headed to McDs for some breakfast (it was too convienently close to the hostel). After some grub, I started my hunt for a new camera while Kelly and Matt rented some longboards and enjoyed a couple hours of surf. No luck finding a camera but the surf looked like fun.
At 1pm we took grabbed a cab to rush our way to the CIAL terminal for our 1:15 bus. Apparently there are more than one CIAL terminals in the city and our cab driver didn´t know where our particular one was. After some unorthodox driving, we got to the terminal at 1:30ish and JUST made it on our bus in time for departure. Phewf!
This 22 hour bus ride was pretty pleasant. I was sneezing heeps, so wasn´t as comfortable as some. However, they did give us blankets, snacks, drinks a dinner and showed us about 6 movies, with latin soundtracks between. The scenery was unbelievable as well. From Lima, we headed south on the PanAmerican wedged between the Pacific Ocean and desert sand dunes. Not much scenery was observed through the night apart from the full moon, but when dawn arrived we were weaving and winding up and down the Peruvian Andes. A handful of passengers ended up chacking too, probably due to a combination of the sharp corners and the altitude changes. One hour we would be at 2700m, the next 4100m. Despite the stench of some vomit, the view of deep valleys and snow capped mountains was phenomenal.
The time to Trujillo was meant to be about 8 or 9 hours, but the bus was having some serious engine issues so it took closer to 10 or 11 hours. Also, being that the bus was headed to Lima, we managed to space out and stay on the bus right through Trujillo. The next town we hopped off and back tracked to the major city of Northern Peru where we ate and then bussed another 2 hours to Chicama.
Upon arrival, we could see the long beach with loooong waves and picked a cheap hostel with a great view of the break. There were a few other surfers at the hostel we chose, but they were on there way to Huanchaco for bigger waves. We had JUST missed the swell, so the surf was pretty flat. In addition to that, the water required 3.5mm full-body wet suits and was full of great big jelly fish. It wasn´t as much fun as we had anticipated and there is not much else to do in this town but surf. We mucked about in the waves a few times anyway but after two days and one night, we hopped on a bus to Trujillo where we would catch another bus to Lima.
We arrived in Lima at 4am, grabbed a cab to the Loki hostel in Miraflores and stored our bags. We killed a few hours then headed to McDs for some breakfast (it was too convienently close to the hostel). After some grub, I started my hunt for a new camera while Kelly and Matt rented some longboards and enjoyed a couple hours of surf. No luck finding a camera but the surf looked like fun.
At 1pm we took grabbed a cab to rush our way to the CIAL terminal for our 1:15 bus. Apparently there are more than one CIAL terminals in the city and our cab driver didn´t know where our particular one was. After some unorthodox driving, we got to the terminal at 1:30ish and JUST made it on our bus in time for departure. Phewf!
This 22 hour bus ride was pretty pleasant. I was sneezing heeps, so wasn´t as comfortable as some. However, they did give us blankets, snacks, drinks a dinner and showed us about 6 movies, with latin soundtracks between. The scenery was unbelievable as well. From Lima, we headed south on the PanAmerican wedged between the Pacific Ocean and desert sand dunes. Not much scenery was observed through the night apart from the full moon, but when dawn arrived we were weaving and winding up and down the Peruvian Andes. A handful of passengers ended up chacking too, probably due to a combination of the sharp corners and the altitude changes. One hour we would be at 2700m, the next 4100m. Despite the stench of some vomit, the view of deep valleys and snow capped mountains was phenomenal.
Me enjoying a nice sized brew on the beach in Mancorra.
Matt enjoying a nice cuba libre (rum and coke).
A fantastic Mancorra sunset.
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