Guayaquil, and on to Peru

I arrived in Guayaquil late afternoon after a delayed flight from the Galapagos. It was a bit of a shock to be back in a big city (Guayaquil is 2 million people). The fact that the hostel was pretty empty, and a bit out of the way probably didn't help. I wasn't too interested in staying there, other than to do laundry (which I didn't get done in the end, because of the laundries wanting to take forever to get it back to me), and to chill out.

That said, I figured I'd take the $0.25 bus ride into town and have a look around. The hostel's not far from the centre, and I'd just jumped on the bus, when we came across a gang of about ten police in camo gear who pulled the bus over. One of them got on board and announced something to the passengers which I couldn't understand. I soon figured it out when all the men started leaving the bus. We were lined up, our bags checked and given a light pat down. I think they were really just making their presence felt, rather than doing anything actually useful. I could imagine the civil rights outcry if the police attempted anything like this in a western country.

I left Guayaquil, wanting to head into Peru, aiming to get to Mancora, a beach-side town, and mandatory Gringo stop. Unfortunately, that meant traversing what's supposed to be the worst border in South America, with a gap of a couple of kms between countries which is a lawless no-mans land. But after doing a bit of research and talking to a guy in the hostel (a professional poker player from the US who'd been living in Peru for a year), I decided it was fine if I got a bus all the way, rather than just to the border - having to get across the border myself - which is what most of the cheaper companies offered.

Mancora Beach

I got to the station at around 11am, but couldn't find anything to Mancora till late in the afternoon. Instead I booked a bus to Tumbes, just the other side of the border and en route to Mancora. I figured I could either stay the night there, or find another bus to complete the journey. We crossed the border safely enough, only having to get off to get stamps from the Ecuadorian and Peruvian authorities. I was glad to pass through no-mans land in the safety of the bus. Actually it was only myself and another woman who crossed – the bus had been full (including the entire aisle) for parts of the trip, but we were the only two who hadn't got off in Ecuador.

Sunset at Los Organos

As we arrived at Tumbes, we were greeted by several guys trying to get us to into their taxis, stay at their hotels, or take their buses to the next town. I attempted to ignore them by walking off, but as we hadn't arrived anywhere near the centre of town, I walked in completely the wrong direction. It was dark by this stage, and as I walked back towards the bus office (where the men were still waiting for me), the other woman who'd been on board called me over. She'd obviously taken pity on me, and had found a safe taxi driver (vetted by the bus office – something I probably should've done in hindsight). Her name was Jenny, a Peruvian with decent English, who was on her yearly holiday. She was also heading to Mancora, so we found a bus and spent the next two hours practising our respective second languages (although admittedly there was a lot more English than Spanish spoken).

I hung out with Jenny for a day in Mancora, and the next beach along Los Organas, where she had some friends. We ended up at their house, watching (inexplicably) home videos of their son's christening from 10 years ago (actually, I think they were wanting to show me some of Arequipa). Later, they drove us to watch the sun set, where they insisted on taking several photos of me posing with the sun in my hand, behind my head, etc. etc. Jenny had to leave that night, so we exchanged details (I think I've got a free tour guide when I get to Arequipa), and said our goodbyes.

Jenny and me at Los Organos

Beach at Pimentel, near Chiclayo

I stayed another day in Mancora in another good hostel, trying not to get sun burnt. A lot of people stay there for more than a week, but I needed to push on (I've got a date with the Inca Trail), so I got a bus down to Chiclayo. There's not too much to see there (other than a day trip to a beach, which was nice although a bit windy), but it was a reasonable stopping point before heading to Chachapoyas, where there's at least one ruined city I wanted to check out. Plus I still hadn't managed to get any laundry done, and this situation was beginning to get desperate.

Guayaquil, and on to Peru

Chiclayo, Peru