Huanchaco Hotels
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Northern Peru coastline - part II
Entry 16 of 36 | show all | print this entry |
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The next stop on my itinerary was Huanchaco, an 8hr bus ride further south from Mancora. As has become my habit now, I took an overnight bus. It conveniently saves me from having to pay for accommodation for a nigh, and it allows me to spend my days doing more meaningful things. Sometimes, though, the ride is uncomfortable - despite using high end bus companies - that I spend the entire following day recuperating.
Huanchaco is another surfing Mecca, but with a totally different feel to it. My first impression when I stepped off the bus was how orderly and civilized the town felt. All streets are paved and generally very clean. For comparison, in Montanita only the main streets are paved, and in Mancora probably about half the streets. Seems the closer I get to Lima, the stronger the sense of an organized society.
It is a quiet, laid back ocean side village located less than 20 miles away from Trujillo, one of Peru's largest cities. Quaint little parks are randomly strewn around town. Each park contains a central monument or gazebo, and neatly arranged flowerbeds with footpaths meandering through them. I have long admired how New Yorkers set aside areas of 20 by 20 feet, fence them off, plant a tree in the middle and designate them as city parks. It takes passion and dedication to call such a small space a park. But New Yorkers sure could learn a thing or two from the citizens of Huanchaco on how to make their mini parks more enjoyable.
The houses in Huanchaco are affluent looking and generally more complete (in terms of construction) than those in Mancora. They are almost always one or two storeys high; many have balconies or a small front yard with flower arrangements. The gates are imposing and made of solid wood or metal. The majority of first floor windows have bars, with elaborate iron-cast workmanship on them.
The beach has a unique feel to it as well. There are no bamboo restaurants crowding out the view with their shade tents and plastic furniture. Besides sun umbrellas and the totora reed canoes (more on which later) there is hardly anything else occupying beach space. For this reason the central beach of Huanchaco feels much wider than that of Mancora.
The bars, hotels and restaurants are all located on the other side of the paved road that lies right behind the wide and fairly long strip of sand. Curiously, the beach has a well maintained paid public bathroom. I came close to using the shower facilities after 2 days of not having any water at our hostel. All this gives the beachfront a more civilized look, but it also takes away some of the rural romanticism that Mancora carries.
The town feels somewhat empty during the week but fills up with people during the weekend - mostly Peruvian families, some local and some from other families. Many Trujillans take the combis that run frequently between the two towns committed so they can enjoy a day by the sea. Foreign tourists fall into one of two categories: committed wave chasers, and backpackers interested in visiting the many archeological sites in the area that bear witness to the splendor of pre-Inca civilizations such as Chimú or Moche. It is not surprising then that there are hardly any bars or nightclubs in Huanchaco, and the streets are deserted by midnight. In contrast, in Mancora the real bustle only starts after 10-11pm, and parties last until sunrise.
The beach is divided in two by a long, 19-th century looking pier that you can pay a few coins to walk along. The steel beams supporting the pier are a little rusty and covered in seaweed, adding to its antique look. At its end is a white gazebo where couples and families go to sit down and enjoy the sunset.
The waters are warmer in the bay that lies to the north of the pier. There, surfing instructors give lessons, little kids play around in the waves and fishermen offer rides in their caballitos de totora ("little horses of totora"), or totora reed canoes. These boats, used by the local fishermen for many hundreds of years, were possibly the predecessor of the modern day surfing tradition in Peru.
They are quite tall when you look at them stacked up against each other, leaning against the concrete wall that separates the sand from the beachfront road - perhaps 5 meters or higher. The fishermen, who apparently still use the caballitos de totora to catch fish, store them upright in the sun to allow them to dry out. I was told that the average lifespan of such a canoe is about half a year.
On the southern side of the pier, where the beach is rocky and there is open coastal access, experienced surfers rip the swells created by the cold currents, and onlookers laze in the sun all day long.
The ocean is indeed much colder here. You would be crazy to attempt surfing without a wetsuit, and even with one after 2 hours your fingers are freezing. As I was on a mission to learn to surf, I took a few lessons with one of the local schools. My instructor, Carlos, is a very decent and professional guy. He let me try to catch waves on my own and only offered advice on what I should do differently or encouraged me when I was doing well. With Carlos from Mancora I managed to stand up on the board almost every single time - but that's because he picked the waves, stabilized the board by holding onto the back end of it, and contributed half the paddling with his flippers.
With Carlos from Huanchaco I probably only caught 10 waves in 3 days. Much smaller waves than those I was riding out in Mancora. Despite this, these were admittedly the sweetest success yet - because the effort was much bigger and it was all mine.
This teaching approach is not unique to just Carlos (H) - I quickly realized that the majority of instructors in Huanchaco are just there to teach you how to surf and not to stare at your body or try to make a pass at you. Another refreshing difference from Mancora.
I spent New Year's Eve at the beach with the local hippies and with Mamosa, a Swiss girl I was rooming with who kicked my ass in backgammon many times in a row. Mamosa knew some of the locals from prior travels so it was a very friendly atmosphere. No bar, no loud disco music or expensive cover charges. I have long come to expect less of New Year's Eve celebrations, just because you tend to build up anticipation and then end up disappointed. This December 31st was not much different from my other evenings in Huanchaco - conversing with the locals and the other tourists, enjoying the ocean breeze and the heat of the beach bonfire, and listening to the hippies playing their drums.
There are many hippies and artisans in Huanchaco, many of them having travelled from all corners of Peru and South America to base themselves in this peaceful and laid back town. During the day they line the beachfront road and try to make a living off their artisan crafts; at night they hang out at the beach drinking beer, smoking whatever is available and playing drums or guitar.
Of Mamosa's friends, Louis, was particularly interesting. Louis is a travelling artisan; he weaves bracelets, necklaces, and rings. Many of his creations incorporate semi-precious stones, fossils or shark teeth that Louis himself found in the deserts of Nazca. Once every few months Louis will go rock-hunting, and then he will spend the rest of the time touring the continent and living off the money he earns by selling his creations to tourists.
He spoke of the jewel lakes of the high Andes, the spiritual healers of the Amazonian jungle, the Chilean deserts, the white sands of the Ecuadorian coast and the ancient cities of Colombia. He told me that Bolivia is his favourite country on the continent because it has the most preserved indigenous culture and the people are very warm and welcoming. He lives in a world of sensuality and spiritual energy, and is proud of his American Indian heritage.
Louis has two kids, both live with their mothers in Europe, one in Germany and the other in the Netherlands. He dreams of going to visit them and is deeply concerned that they will become westernized and loose their indigenous roots. The doors to Western Europe are closed to many Peruvians, and I sensed a slight resentment in Louis toward the developed world owing to this fact. His desire to be with his children is so strong that he is willing to marry a westerner just to gain access to Europe. You often hear of people from poor countries marrying foreigners in order to escape their miserable existence. Louis, on the other hand, already believes he leads a rich and fulfilling life in his own country. His paternal instinct is in conflict with his national and ethnic pride, and it was so obvious to me that this torments him.
Mamosa and I visited the Chan Chán ruins together, also the Huaca Arco Iris and Huaca La Esmeralda. After Mamosa left, I went to check out the Huacas del Sol and de la Luna. Chan Chán, Huaca Arco Iris and Huaca de la Luna were particularly impressive. Chan Chán is the largest adobe city in the world, it was built by the Chimú, one of the powerful coastal pre-Inca empires. Most impressively, they managed to construct a system of irrigation canals that allowed them to survive in this desert environment.
We saw beautiful wall decorations of fish and pelicans (some sleeping, some standing, and some with a fish in their beak). The city of Chan Chán is enclosed in a 9m high wall and has only one entrace, very narrow at that.
The Huaca Arco Iris (temple of the rainbow) was decorated with dragons in the shape of rainbows with warriors on each side. These friezes are very well preserved and well worth seeing.
The Huaca de la Luna was just spectacular. It was built by the Moche civilization, and much of it was destroyed by the Spaniards in search of gold (they did not find any). The walls enclosing this temple bear several levels of impressive friezes - stylized dragon faces, fish, spiders, crabs, birds, serpents, warriors, naked prisoners, and other wonderful creatures.
The colors have been preserved which enhances the experience. I would say Huaca de la Luna is a must on any traveller's itinerary in Trujillo and Huanchaco.
Since a number of these sites are in Trujillo or beyond, I spent some time walking around the city. The main plaza (every main plaza in Peru is called Plaza de Armas) is huge and the buildings that line it on each side have been restored to their colonial splendor. The plaza fills up with families in the evening.
Since the holidays had just passed, nativity scenes were displayed throughout the plaza (sponsored by various companies) and families were busy taking photos of their children posing in front of each scene.
Many of the colonial houses are now occuppied by banks which take care of their restoration and upkeeping, and sometimes are open to the public. For example, I managed to see a free exhibition of the work of local artists at the Casa de la Emancipación.
The iron bars on the windows of houses surpassed those of Huanchaco in their worksmanship, and I also saw many balconies made of cast iron or woodcarvings. As in Huanchaco, houses are painted in either bright or pastel colours. Once you leave the center, the houses become more ordinary and streets are dirtier; still it is pleasant and fairly safe to walk around.
After a few days of surfing the cold waters and hanging out with the artisans it was time to move on. And so I said goodbye to the ocean (at least for a little while) and hopped on a bus to Huaraz in the Cordillera Blanca - land of llamas, pre-Inca temples and glacier lakes.
Latest Comments (1)
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surfing (reply)
Jan 12, 2008 15:31 EST by selkins
as usual your trip sounds awesome, thought that since you seem to be doing a lot of surfing you would appreciate knowing that mavericks is going on right now here in the bay area the first time in 2 years! you can check it out on my space http://www.myspace.com/maverickssurf
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| 16. | Northern Peru coastline - part II - Huanchaco, Peru Dec 31, 2007 (  60 ) (  1 ) |
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