Blessings before my trip to huanchaco
Trip Start
Dec 26, 2008
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Trip End
Jan 15, 2009
iīm in mancora still, leaving tonight. once someone told me that i remind them of a passage in 1 corinthians where paul talks about being all things to all people. a person who can be in a mixture of different crowds. well thatīs what you find here in mancora people from all walks of life. there are the locals. some of which are incredibly friendly and love the diversity. Pilar, my friendīs mom, and the owner of the hostel that iīm staying out, is so social and goes out of her way to help people when she can. she has a beautiful soul, and if anyone comes here to mancora they need to stay at laguna surf camp. then thereīs little kids who are about 8 years old out there on a board and ripping it, and then looking at you and smiling to make sure you saw them.. theyīre the best. a boy named marcos comes to mind when i speak of the kids... his smile when he surfs puts a smile on my face too. then there are those that exhibit so much localism that everyone in the water can feel it. I can understand why though. After a busy weekend there is so much trash on the beach. Then you have people surfing who donīt know the unwritten surfing rules of how to respect eachother. Most people who travel come to party, use, consume, and then leave. So yea, I understand it. Then there are the surfers. Searching for that wave that will make their trip worthwhile. There was one man from Argentina who was so upset every morning because the swell hadnīt come yet. It was big, but it wasnīt the 2-3 meters that the surf report promised. There are so many little surf towns set up exactly for this type of person. Theyīre hidden jewels, and have not been exploited yet becaue of the ravages of el nino in 1998. They were pretty much destroyed, but they still have the surf crowd coming in to stay in a rustic hostel, and to eat a restaurant where there is only one thing on the menu, swordfish... and let me tell you it was delicious. (Speaking of surfing here iīm not sure, but i think iīve been surfing with some pros. you can just tell.. and i definitely saw some pros while I was at the little surf town of labitos. and pilarīs nephew javier is for sure a pro.. iīm not trying to put them on a pedestal, but seeing where they travel and the lifestyle they lead, itīs īso incredibly simple and delightful. i donīt know how else to describe it) then there are the chilenas as my friend diego puts it. but iīd like to put it in a broader category... the travelers who come to party and tan. itīs summer break down here, so all the kids in university are out traveling. and they travel in packs. mancora in peru, and mantenito (i think thatīs right) in ecuador. and then thereīs the revolutionaries. the volunteers who travel who want to give back, but not only want to give back, but want to empower. I have had so many conversations this weekend about the need to empower people, versus just give them what you think they need. There is so much poverty here. So many bad habits, such as a lot of drug use, in reaction to tourism. itīs fun here, but also heartbreaking. one man i met here has such a big heart. he took me out surfing and lets me borrow his board, and he talks about wanting to help the community. he was crying when i let him borrow the black market 7 pounds ( yea i know still in theatres and only 3 soles). He wants change, and he wants to give. But heīs stuck on coke. When he drinks heīs an entirely different person. and it makes my heart hurt because iīve seen who he really is. and then there are those traveling in partners. the lovers who are enjoying the freedom of being in love with an open schedule. itīs beautiful. and then there are those travelers like me, traveling solo. everyone says you get to meet more people and experience more things, and practice your spanish more this way. Javiera, a girl surfer i met put it this way "you meet the best people when you travel alone." i totally agree, and itīs because youīre more open. Since I got to Mancora Iīve been traveling with Diego. A chilean boy whoīs a lawyer in real life, but you would never know by the looks of him. Heīs learning to surf, but does all board sports. We were in search for a place to skate for him the other day, so we went to Los Orgonos, a nearby surftown, also known as a ghost town because of el nino. They built canals there in order to help with the next hurricane, and Diego heard that it was a good place to skate, so we went. It was an awesome adventure. we met a local named jose antonio who just got back from working in the petroleum mines. He too was a surfer, and when he saw diegoīs board took us to the best place to skate. Diego ripped it up. I love seeing people in their element, when they are so passionate with whatever they are doing. The next day we went to Labitos... 2.5 hours on the bus. I felt bad because the whole time he was so worried about getting back in time to meet his girlfriend Valentina, who was arriving that afternoon. Luckily we saw the argentinean couple from Laguna Camp who gave us a ride back... which only took 40 minutes by car. Quite a fun adventure though.. only 5 people on the wave :) Anyway, Iīm telling you about all these different people to tell you to lead you up to the sushi party we had last night. Me and Pilar have been talking about making sushi for three days... and finally we went to the store, but shrimp, japanese bread crumbs, the green stuff to roll it in, the rice, wasabi, mango! avocado carrots... cream cheese.. just a bunch of yummi stuff. We decided to start cooking around 7, and what I thought was going to be a quite party of 6 or 7 ended up being a huge sushi party with everyone. the locals (the friendly and the unfriendly ones i mentioned), the surfers, and the travelers. It was so beautiful seeing everyone working together, laughing and sharing last night. My friend Dominika who had the worst time with the woman who had a huge localism vibe put it perfectly "life is funny like that, sometimes your worse enemy becomes your best friend." and thatīs what I call God redeeming things. earlier that day, that lady started being super friendly and nice to me. I have been trying to be nothing but positive to her, becaue I understand where she was coming from, and I think I finally broke through. Then somehow peace was made between these feuding women. People, even enemies, came together last night. I know God was smiling down. Anyway... i wrote more than i thought i would. i am off to huenchaco tonight.. i wanted to participate in a volunteer program that sounds like what i want to do... a surf camp for local kids that is part of hostal. itīs called un lugar and is a part of otra cosa... unfortunately you have to have a month commitment in order to encourage consistancy.. i understand the importance for that. but it will be nice to see how the program is run. ok, until later.. nos vemos ;) michelle E
