Hi everyone!
So tonight was our last night in Mancora. I decided to leave with Vanessa and Andreas to go back to Lima bc I've had sooo much time in the sun since I got here Friday. That, and I'm so ready for the next leg of my trip! So, I got my 17 hour bus ticket back to Lima for 6:30 tomorrow night. Aside from all the movies being shown only in spanish, and the mini J-Lo marathon, the bus ride wasn't that bad. I actually was able to take a ton of pictures on the way since my seat is on the upper level. Overall, pretty good accommodations for just $30. Food's pretty decent too.
Anyway, about my day!! Woke up around 8:30ish, had breakfast at the hostel in their main eating area that's located on the second level. It's completely open and surrounded with views of the Pacific. Its beautiful. There's also a little seating area with a bunch of bean bags and a TV. I was able to watch a teeny bit of Monday Night Football with some of the other visitors tonight but lost interest very quickly. The staff here is really great and keeps the whole place super clean and homey; made up of local Peruvians and left-behind backpackers from South Africa, Argentina, and Germany. By the way, they have these breakfast sandwiches here called "toasties" which are originally from the UK - its like a deluxe grilled cheese with ham, tomatoes, and a fried egg on buttered toast. Deee-lish!!!
I then headed down to the beach after my toasty for my surf lesson with a 16-yr old named Alex. There wasn't much of a lesson, but he did guide my board and pick the waves for me when we were in the water. I got up everytime!! Well almost. There were a few nice bellyflops into the water once the wave took control of my board. I think I've swallowed about a gallon of sea water today. Don't worry, there are tons of pictures!! We then had another 5 soles lunch at one of the beachfront bodegas and then headed into town for some shopping. Then hit the waves one last time right before sunset. This time, I went by myself. And I totally sucked. I have to get over my fear of touching the gross- rocky-seaweedy bottom. That and I don't think my board was waxed enough bc I kept on slipping off each time I tried standing. That or I just really suck. Either way, it was such a great site seeing tons of surfers out in the water paddling out to get the next wave, with the beautiful sunset and fishing boats in the background. Sounds so cheesy, but its just so surreal once you're out there in the scene. Oh yeah, I accidentally ran over a British guy, but he is okay.
Since it was our last night in Mancora, we decided to do dinner at one of the nicer places in town at this place called El Tuno. The food was amazing. Most of it tuna based obviously, and all sooo good. We also got a bottle of Chilean cabernet sauvignon - very yummy. And of course split a freshly made, super creamy vanilla cheesecake and tiramisu. We then ended the night by going back to Kat and Diego's bungalow and told ghost stories. Really really scary, true ghost stories. I'm so glad I'm sharing a bungalow right now.
Tomorrow, we're thinking of heading to Cabo Blanco - the beach where Ernest Hemingway wrote or got inspired by for some of his stories. Or we may hang out here, and possibly do another day of surfing? All depends on how long it takes to get to Cabo Blanco.
Anyway, my BB is dying! And I can't charge it overnight since the power here runs on generators and goes out at night. Hopefully ill get a chance to charge it before my bus ride tomorrow night!!
I love you!! And miss everyone!! And 24-7 power and hot water!!
-Aileen :)
PS
Pic attached is from the first day when I brought my phone out on the beach with me. But its from one of the bodegas!!
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