Hotel Casa de Playa Mancora

... the oil expiration companies. The fishermen have taken to the border and basically blocked it with dumper trucks worth of sand on all the bridges. This is also one of the most difficult border crossings in South America as the two immigration offices are about 3km apart and neither in nice areas of towns.....<br><br>So until the roads are unblocked I am stuck on the beach - bummer or what. Well at least my tan is ...

Mancora was a brilliant place to kick back and relax for a few days, especially after rushing up the coast on lots of buses... a well needed break and chill out!<br><br>We arrived bright and early and ignored all of the touts until we found ourselves a really nice place with a sea view... and so close that you could hear the waves crashing whilst getting to sleep... there were loads of barss, cafes and restaurants along the seafront, so we started with breakfast at teh cute ...

... her there, she leaves Cordoba on the 15th of December for Aspen, so I might get another shot there!<br>I didnt sleep that well on the bus, despite the semi cama bliss. But the fact allan will be here in about a week cheered me up no end. We drive each other mental at times, but its going to be so good to se him after all this time, and being a pretty emotional guy, I think there is a chance I could even cry at the airport when he arrives. Disgusting I know!<br>

... an insight into Mancora life... We apologised for getting him up so early but he wasn't bothered and told us he was about to head out for a surf! He arrived back about 3 hours later, had a sleep and emerged around 2pm, ready for a tough friday at the office!! Some people have the right idea... So, we set about following his example and promptly had a 3 hour nap ourselves!!<br><br>Our hostel was fantastic - perched on top of a cliff overlooking the town ...

... tomato sauce (dave) and lasagne (me) with a glass of red wine, 16 S each (about 6 usd). We both could have eaten it all over again, but we made do with even more raisins when we got home.<br><br>Mancora is a surfing resort, and there are quite a few tourists here. The younger travellers tend to go to the party places, there's one called loki (a chain of hostels with a reputation for partying) but we look for places that are relaxing, have free wifi and we can cook. This ...

... for the terminal. Once we got there we grabbed our bags and were unknowingly in the middle of a taxi war. When we first got off the bus we found a moto that would take us to our hotel, at least Kristen did while I smacked the bus. We then got in a different moto and he followed the bus to the terminal with the first moto we had talked to following. We decided to stick with the driver who got us to the terminal , and after we snuck past the other driver we were off to ...

... done we have a wander along the beach and watch the Tuk Tuks (three wheeled taxis, motor bike front 2 wheels at the back) plying their trade. We have become big our bikes and amigos with some of the drivers, they are interested in our bikes and journey and supplying extra services. Cocaine, marijuana and hookers, all at once or one at a time?<br>Grab a bit of Internet time then out for food and a small beer.

... on the sand by lunchtime. <br>Day one was your typical day at the beach... sunbaking (and getting sunburnt, oops!), cerviche and beer for lunch, having a few cocktails that evening, and all was good. It was a quiet night in town so we were well behaved little girls and in bed by midnight. <br>Day two and the daytime events were much the same as the previous day. Though being a Saturday we were planning a big night out, and so the afternoon consisted of ...

... goats and chickens and anything else they can pack in) to the little beach town of Mancora. In Mancora I stayed a block back from the beach at Hotel Desperado, where I met the very friendly owner who lived in New York and Switzerland for much of his life before returning home to Peru. There are a lot of people with interesting stories I´ve encountered on this trip. Mancora is fairly quiet and pleasant despite the large tourist presence along the beach area.

... I'd say you could literally stay in there all day if you wanted. Reminds of Ocean Beach in San Diego, just without the masses of seaweed. And the bums, of course! We decided to renege on our decision not to stay in any Loki's because frankly the one here is really nice, looking more like it was lifted straight from a reasonably classy Spanish resort than a hostel, complete with lovely big swimming pool and direct access to the white sandt beach ...