After three weeks in Ecuador and seven days of this spent in Montañita, Eimear, Kirsty and I planned to head to Peru. The border crossing at Aguas Verdes was rumoured to be 'the most dangerous in South America'. I wasn't really sure why, but the girls had read about people being drugged and their possessions stolen on buses when crossing over the border. After looking into it, there were regular night buses running from Ecuador to Peru so I figured if they were running buses it couldn't be that bad and we decided to take an overnight bus that would take us straight over the border and 'risk it for a chocolate biscuit' so to speak.
We took a bus from Montañita to Guayaquil for $6 where we then planned to take an eight hour bus to Mancora on the Peruvian coast. We looked up some recommended companies and the times. We got to Guayaquil at about 9pm. We went to the ticket desk of CIFA bus and was told they only had two seats left on the night bus....didn't anticipate that one! We tried the only other company running a bus that night and were told the same thing. The first bus in the morning was leaving at 7am. We considered sleeping in the bus station but it didn't really appeal. We tried our luck and went back to the first bus company and asked again.... out of desperation and just in case they had any cancellations. We were told (for the same price of a normal ticket) the third person could sit up the front with the driver and the ticket inspector....not ideal for an overnight bus but probably better than having to wait 10 hours in a bus station in Ecuador. Sold! We waited until 11pm for the bus and I took my seat up front next to the driver, leaving the ticket inspector sitting on the floor in between us. He didn't seem to mind though answering 'tranquilo' when I apologised to him in Spanish for stealing his seat (I assumed this probably happened a lot). While everyone in the coach was asleep with the lights off I was sat in the front with these two middle aged Ecuadorean men listening to anything from backstreet boys to Ricky Martin, the ticket inspector had plugged his phone into the radio and was playing DJ. Needless to say I hadn't got much sleep by the time we arrived at the border at 3am. As everyone on the coach sleepily got off the bus and were ushered into migration by the bus driver and ticket inspector, I was surprised at how quiet and easy the whole process was with Ecuador exit and Peru entry desks right beside each other in the same room and with our bags staying on the locked bus. The whole process at immigration did take about two hours with two other coaches arriving as well however I'm still unsure where this border got its dangerous reputation. Welcome to Peru!!
Thankfully after the border we all got a seat on the bus and managed to get a few hours sleep before we arrived in Mancora at about seven in the morning. Still half asleep we were shuttled off the coach and quickly approached by a tuk tuk driver asking us where we wanted to go, we were aware that we didn't have any Peruvian currency on us but at that stage we just wanted to get to the hostel so luckily for the tuk tuk driver we agreed to pay him more than the local currency ride in order to pay in dollars (travelling fail)!
The hostel was only five minutes away and was right on the beach, little wooden cabanas in different colours with balconies for the dorms stood facing the beach in a row. There were salt water showers, a little kitchen and communal area and the two friendliest Peruvian men who worked there. It was already quite hot at that time and even though we couldn't check in until 2pm, Marcos and his son offered us breakfast and coffee while we waited for our rooms to be ready. After some food we walked right onto the beach and basked in the blistering sun for the morning.
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| Cabanas at Misfits hostel |
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| Mancora beach |
Mancora is another surfer town, smaller than Montañita but lined with souvenir shops, restaurants, bars and the opportunity to rent horses, banana boats, jet skis and quads. Being in Peru, the first thing I wanted to try was ceviche, the traditional Peruvian dish of marinated fish in lime juice with onion, chilli and coriander. I had had it before in Central America but this is where it originated. It was extremely easy to find with almost every restaurant offering it as part of their set menu. I got a type of traditional Peruvian ceviche in a spicy, creamy sauce with a small serving of purple sweet potato on the side) followed by fish in a light sauce with peppers and onions served with a small portion of salad and rice and fresh maracuya juice (family of the passion fruit). All for $3.
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| Ceviche with sweet potato |
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| Surfing baby waves |
Later that afternoon after another cheap two course meal of fresh ceviche in a light lime marinade with red onion served with plantain crisps and chicken (lime juice and burst lip = extreme pain), we got a bus from Mancora (which much to our joy was an hour and a half late) overnight to Lima which was due to take 20 hours. Of course it ended up taking 23 hours. We took a bus with a company we hadn't heard of before (error) for $33. We had gone for the semi cama option (part reclining chairs). The bus was comfortable but was a bit manic as the driver stopped about for locals along the way, at one point they were even sitting on the stairs. Definitely not good when you're paying for a private overnight bus!
Lima - the capital of Peru.
The main touristy area in Lima is called Miraflores and is apparently full of lovely cafes, restaurants and museums. We had booked a hostel in the centre of Lima instead, purely for ease of getting to and from the bus station. The hostel was in an old French mansion and was lovely with a big roof terrace, high ceilings, a cute kitten and brilliant wifi! It was in the centro historica and had lots of restaurants and shops around as well as a lovely park across the road.
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| 1900 hostel |
The hostel had free ceviche making on offer with their Peruvian chef, and whereas I'm pretty sure I know what encompasses the tasty dish (raw fish, lots of lime juice, chillies, coriander and onion) I really wanted to have the opportunity to see exactly how it is prepared. Unfortunately I was struck down with another dodgy tummy and felt really weak. The pharmacist was however pretty happy to handover some pretty impressive medications so I took these with the hopes I'd be ok to go on the free walking tour that afternoon (also organised for free through the hostel). Thankfully by the time it was 3pm I was feeling a bit better.
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| Lima santa Domingo church |
The walking tour lasted about three hours and we were taking around the historic centre and real Lima by a lovely Limean girl called Alice. I was surprised to learn that Lima has a population of 10 million people, one quarter of the whole population. She was hilariously amused by Eimear's fair skin pointing out how white she was. She brought us around the city showing us the impressive gold clad churches, presidential palace, Santa Domingo market, the old post office and square where locals gather to sing, dance and sample to local street food puddings and food. She explained the Spanish and Argentinian influences and even brought us to where you can buy the best 'churros' in Lima. We also sampled a traditional rice pudding desert topped with a thick, sweet sauce made from plums called Mazmorra Morada. She also brought us to a church that was built over a graveyard (as all the churches in Lima were) but this one had open catacombs where the bones of the indigenous people could be seen through the grates and some people had also thrown money down.
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| Chifa meal in Lima |
Later that night, I was feeling a lot better so we decided to try out some 'Chifa food' (Chinese/Peruvian food). We found a row of Chifa restaurants and wandered into one questionable looking establishment, there was one Chinese lady there who seemed to be taking orders, cooking and serving all the food. We didn't really know what a lot of the food was on the menu and even Spanish Dict on our phones didn't help much, she also didn't seem to speak Spanish (or didn't understand our poor pronunciation) and definitely didn't speak English. After much deliberation we all ordered what we thought were relatively safe options. I had a massive bowl of chicken, noodle soup followed by chicken, vegetable noodles. I was literally overjoyed to see the plate piled with cabbage, broccoli and peppers (it's pretty worrying that vegetables could make me so happy).
The next morning we checked out of 1900 backpackers and left Lima for our next destination, this time only a four and a half hour bus journey, easy!
Next Stop: Huacachina, Peru
Food/Drink: Peruvian ceviche, tequeños (cheese empanadas), traditional Peruvian rice pudding with peach sauce (mazmorra morada and arroz zambito), Churros in Lima. Chifa (Chinese/Peruvian) food in Lima, $2 for two course menu of huge portions (and even better, lots of vegetables). Pisco, traditional Peruvian liquor made from distilled grape wine, Pisco sours and chilcano (traditional peruvian drink of pisco, lime bitters and ginger ale).
Stayed: Misfits hostel, Mancora. $8 including breakfast.
1900 backpackers hostel, Centro historica, Lima, $8-10 including breakfast.
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