Em and Jeff's Adventures

Vacation, Part Two

So, we boarded a bus Monday morning that would take us effortlessly (or so we hoped) over the Peruvian/Ecuadorian border. The bus was supposed to deposit us in Sulyana, a town north of Pirua where we could easily catch a bus to Máncora to meet my brother.

The bus ride went fairly smoothly and was fairly uneventful. We met a really nice Peruvian man named Dario who lives in Santiago, Chile. He was very helpful, especially in negotiating the border crossing and helping us decide what to do with the second half of our vacation.

At the border, we disembarked and walked to the Ecuadorian border station to get our exit stamps. There was a TV playing, with believe it or not, ROCKY III!


Hell yes.

We seem to be working our way backwards through the Rocky Box Set. At the rate we´re going, we should finish just in time for the release of Rocky VI when we get back to the states. We walked across the border (which was about 50 yards) to the Peruvian border station, without mishap. Though Jeff did have to avoid a cart being pulled by a mule, which nearly bonked into him. (These are the joys of crossing in the Andes at Macará rather than at the coast, where we´ve heard things are a bit crazier.) The Peruvian border station was a riot! You´ll have to ask Jeff about the conversation he had with the border Police. It´s not appropriate to post it here.

We eventually arrived in Mancorá at about 8:30 at night after twelve hours of bus riding only to discover that our hotel was a 25 minute moto-taxi ride outside of Mancorá. I wish I had a picture of the moto-taxi...imagine a moped pulling a golf cart and you´ll essentially get the picture. We rode 25 minutes down a sandy bumpy road in a moto-taxi to what felt like the edge of the earth to get to the resort. A little harrowing in parts (especially the wooden bridge), but we arrived in one piece with all of our luggage, which I was sure was going to bounce right out of the back of the moto-taxi.

The resort was incredible! If you ever want to stay at a beach resort in Peru, The Vichayito is definitely the place to be. My brother, Ryan had already made friends with Carlos, the man in charge, and he made our stay even more incredible. We spent a morning learning how to surf, had a certified physical therapist/nurse give us massages in our bungalow, ate delicious seafood (with nothing resembling rice), and hung out on the beach and by the pool. It was a much needed chance to relax and decompress from three months of living in Ecuador. Thanks to Ryan for making the reservations!

We stayed until Friday before heading out because it was such a wonderful experience. On Friday, we headed south to Trujillo, which is a whole different adventure for another day. But, here are some pictures of the highlights in Mancorá:

Hanging out in front of the beach house at The Vichayito


Jeff and Kyle going in for a swim after a vicious game of "Three Shot Killas" (Don´t ask...I just live with them.)


Sunset


A Rare Site--Ryan relaxing


Jeff in the Ocean


Carlos really enjoyed playing American music from the 80´s during dinner. You´ll never guess what came on..."Eye of the Tiger" the theme song from Rocky. Of course Jeff and Ryan wanted to spar. It´s a natural reaction.


"Te Pone Oso" This is what happens when you drink a dark, malty beer after months of drinking only Pilsener, which is, as the name suggests, a pilsner. Jeff and Kyle maintain that it´s a decent pilsner, but as I loathe pilsners, I disagree. This dark beer was initially located in a bus station in Sullana while we were waiting for our connection. It was relocated in Mancorá and shared with Kyle and our French Canadian friend Oliver. The only down side of drinking the beer--"It puts the bear in you." They can´t really say they weren´t warned--it´s on the label.

posted by Tobias Arthur @ 11:26 AM