In Search Of Sunshine - Part 2

Mancora, frequently recommended as the sunshine haven of Peru, and described by an anonymous author in my lonely planet as 'Paradise', seemed upon first impressions to be a little desolate. Admittedly there was a rather pretty beach, and the sun was already beginning to shine, however, the rather quiet down appeared to be quite heavily populated without actually having anything to do.

We checked into a slightly pricey hotel consisting of hammock fronted cabins surrounding an enticing looking pool and overlooking the beach. After three days on night buses we collapsed to recover some of the lost sleep from 3 night buses in 4 days. When we awoke the sun was shining and the Pacific Ocean, that could be seen from our cabin, was a stilled deep blue. The next day we would be celebrating Emily's 24th birthday, and if our first impressions were to be correct then this would be a cool place to spend it. After jumping in the pool and going for a wander on the beach we went in search for food, to be presented with a large selection of stalls selling various seafood dishes. There were well over 20 restaurants with exactly the same menus and after much deliberation we picked one of the mirror image stalls because it had a picture of a happy looking lobster next to its name. Emily returned to the beach while I disappeared to explore the town and seek some birthday provisions and a present from the poor selection of shops. Emily returned burnt and feeling unwell and we settled for an early night.

The next day was spent indulging ourselves (meaning eating as it had become quickly obvious that there was nothing at all to do in Mancora) as a birthday treat and the evening was passed at The Point, Mancora's one and only party hostel, drinking cocktails, smoking weed and wondering why the rest of the hostel's population were coked off their eyeballs. The following morning was spent tending to hangovers, hoping for more sun (which had decided to hide) and looking for other beaches to try. While looking through my lonely planet we spotted another beach resort circled, this time in Ecuador. We packed our bags and headed off to find a bus to Montanita, which would hopefully endear itself to us more than Mancora.