Surf'n'Salsa Huanchaco, Peru

Trip Start Jun 02, 2008

Trip End May 01, 2010

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Where I stayed

hostalnaylamp.com

(Huanchaco hotels)

Flag of Peru Huanchaco, Peru
Tuesday, September 16, 2008

We drive South through the Sechurian desert arriving at the Peruvian coastal resort of Huanchaco. The village is known for its caballitos little horses"..strangely shaped canoes which line up along the beach. Fishermen surf them onto the beach with their days catch. Peruvians surf in the waves at dusk and in the early morning...you can easily hire a board or take lessons but its doubtful how clean the water is. We stayed in the naylamp hostel with a small back garden converted into a campsite . A bunch of Peruvian teenagers were also camping so i decided to upgrade to a room with Tushi. The staff here were really friendly and there are a pair or tortoises that wander the courtyard garden... the female has a voracious appetite and greedily ate the remains of our lunch of cucumber and tomato...

Huanchaco is a good place just to wander the streets , watch the surfers and take a trip out to visit the chan chan archaeological site..the largest adobe city in the world and the temple of the Moon. The p ier is quaint and you can while away the hours before dusk on the Malecon watching the surfers and fishermen.

On the last night we found the "wave in Hunchaco" bar ..a brightly colored surf bar. The owners were Carlo and his brother who worked in the bar.....there was a group or Germans Canadian and American travelers also partying there and we drank cocktails. I danced Salsa with Carlo and his brother and one of the Americans who danced in a New York style whcih was easy to follow and fun. Carlo danced better than any Peruvians or Ecuadorians i had met since Tito at teh Quito dance school. We danced away the night hours ..the next morning...early at 6am we boarded the bus for our final stop before Lima...the Andes mountain town of Huaraz