Copacabana - Lake Titicaca Bolivia

At the Copa, copacabana, the hottest spot north of........ That song got stuck in my head for most of my stay here..  All yours now.. I am way behind on updating the blog, I was in Copacabana in May

Currency: Boliviano $1.00 US = $6.97000 Bolivianas
Bus Cusco Peru to Copacabana Bolivia $75.00 Soles ($27.00 US) - 12 hours - includes 2 mini van rides
Hotel Copacabana $84 Bolivianas ($12.00 US) per night
Boat To Isle De Sol $20 Bolivianas (included there and back)
Tourist Fees on Isle De Sol $20 Bolivianas
Warning: There is no ATM in Copacabana, make sure you have US $'s on you. You can change them at the bank or a money changer. Otherwise you will need to get a cash advance on your credit card.

So surprise the bus to Copacabana was not exactly as advertised, it left Cusco at 8pm and was suppose to be direct to Copacabana Bolivia. The picture in the tourist office in town had a shiny double decker. We got a not so shiny old bus with no bathroom, okay it had a bathroom but it didn't work and remained locked for the trip. I am used to the bait and switch but for some of my fellow passengers this was the first time and they were pretty angry. They soon discovered that no amount of yelling will change their situation, especially yelling in English. The folks that run the bus are not the ones that sold us the tickets so it really isn't their fault that the booking companies lie to people. On the plus side it had big seats that went all the way back and heavy blankets so comfy, oh how my standards have dropped. Got in a pretty good sleep after the movie.

I'm snoozing away when I am woken up by the sound of squealing brakes, breaking glass and a thunk noise as the back tires run over something. The sun was rising over Lake Titicaca and all should have been right with the world at 5am. Good thing I liked the view as we ended up sitting there for over an hour. No one working on the bus came back to tell us anything but we could hear hammer on metal clanging so we all assumed a tire blew. Turns out not so, we hit a donkey and poor Eeyore did not fair so well. The direct bus dropped those of us going to Copacabana off on the side of the highway a few hours later where we took a mini bus (along with locals with livestock) to the Peru/Bolivian boarder. That is when we saw the damage the donkey did, most of the front of the bus was a crumpled mess, the windshield was shattered and the side door to exit the bus was splattered in donkey bits. We must have been doing a pretty good speed when we hit it, or it was some kind of huge monster donkey.

The mini van took us to the boarder where we checked out of Peru then walked across the street to check in to Bolivia. There is no cost to enter Bolivia unless you are from the US. 1 of the guys with us was, he had to pay $130.00 US and supply a photocopy of his passport. The charge allows US citizens to come an go from Bolivia for 5 years. It is in retaliation for a fee the US government imposes on Bolivians entering the US.  Thank god there are bathrooms at the border, pay ones but at this point I would pay just about anything. Border bathrooms like bus depot bathrooms are places of last resort, this one came with a bucket that you had to fill with water from a hose and dump in the bowl to flush. At least it was sort of clean. Customs on both sides was pretty easy, no line ups but we were there pretty early. There are money changers at the border, the rates are okay, I only changed $5.00 US over. Once in Bolivia we are met by another mini van that takes us to Copacabana about an hour away.

I had tried to reserve a room at a place that had been recommended to me by someone at the hostel in Cusco as a place to stay if you wanted to spoil yourself a little.  Alas I could not get a reservation but they told me to just drop by when I got into town as they sometimes had last minute cancellations and something becomes available. Turns out they had a room available, lucky lucky me, went to the restaurant and had some coffee and pancakes while the room was getting made up, then off for a nap. La Cupula is said to be the best Boutique hotel in Bolivia. It is beautiful and has a 1st class restaurant. It is run by some German folks, I highly recommend the Goulash and the breakfasts for under $3.00 US are awesome. I got my own room for $12.00 US a night (you can pay in US at this hotel) it came with a comfy bed, lots of blankets and a heater. I had a shared bathroom with hot water, tons of it and I never ran into anyone else using it. I highly recommend breaking the bank and spending the big bucks,  after the Machu Picchu hike a reward of a little luxury was great. They also have a community kitchen so if you really want to you can make your own meals.

One of the main draws of Copacabana is that it is on the shores of Lake Titicaca and is the launching spot for tours to Isle De Sol (Island of the Sun) the birthplace of the world according to Inca legend. The trip can be done as a 1/2 day or a full day trip. If you want to hike the island from 1 end to the other you need to do the full day trip. The boat drops you off at the far end of the island and you have 4 hours to get to the other end to catch the boat back. There are accomodations on the island so you can choose to stay if you want. I wasn't willing to give up my luxury digs so I did the full day trip. The boats to the islands leave from the docks in Copacabana at 8am, no need to purchase a ticket in advance, just show up and pay. The trip to Isl De Sol takes a couple of hours, a beautiful trip. Lake Titicaca is the highest commercially navigable lake in the world at 3,811 meters above sea level. The air is so clear it gives everything a sureal look to it, the clouds are fluffier, the mountians are clear, the sky feels so close it felt like I could reach out and touch the sun. That being said, I cannot emphasis it enough, take sunscreen, lots of sunscreen, lots of water, some food and a hat. Being that high the burn rate is pretty fast and there is no shade on the island hike, it is all pretty much in direct sunlight. Other than at the dock when they drop you off there is nowhere to buy water or food on the route.

There is a $10 Boliviana fee to go on the island, this includes a trip through the museum if you wish to go, there are no roads on the island. I passed on the museum and myself and a couple of folks that were staying at the same hotel as me took off up the trail. I'm not sure if I was a little jaded after Machu Pichhu but I really didn't think the island was all that great. Like I said, no shade, only 1 good set of ruins, just a lot of walking.  The views from the top of the island across the lake are incredible. There were some surprise charges along the way, seems the locals think they should get a cut of the tourist $'s so twice they charges us $5 Bolivianas to continue on the trail. All very slimy, the last one was a couple of old ladies just outside of the town were we had to catch the boat back. Inca trail robbery, we argued with them for 15 minutes, they told us if we didn't like it we could turn around and go back. We ended up paying but it is the first time I have told an old lady I would have no problem tossing her ass off the trail and down the hill. They were really mean rude old ladies, much figure waving in your face. Not sure what would happen if you didn't have any money on you. If you are going to do this hike you do have to be in relatively good shape, it is hot and a lot of it is uphill, you also have the time limit before the boat leaves, if you miss it you are spending the night. I have a feeling that room rates on the island double once the last boat pulls out.  We made it back with 1/2 an hour to spare.

On the boat ride back we stopped at the floating islands, islands made out of straw. Not long ago people used to live on the lake on islands like these. Not many people live on them now but they have a couple they have built for the tourists so you can see what they were like. Pretty cool but a little on the hokey/touristy side, that people really used to live on something like them is amazing. On the way back I got to sit at the front of the boat (outside the rail) I would recommend going to the island just for the boat ride, it truly is a spectacular trip.

I spent 3 nights in Copacabana, it is a nice little town, it has great shopping and for way cheaper than Peru.  Hats, leggings and jewelry are all way cheaper than Cusco.  There are tons of backpackers and lots of hostels and restaurants in town, a good place to hang out for a few days and adjust. There are some great hikes that you can do around town and lots of boat trips, any of the hostels and hotels will have information on them. As I am starting to see the end of my trip coming up I am trying to get to as many places as I can before my flight home out of Lima Peru in less than 3 weeks. I would love to have spent another day here but La Paz calls, I have heard that it is an incredible place.

There are a ton of buses that go to La Paz, I got a ticket for the expensive one at a cost of $25 Bolivianos, the trip takes about 4 hours, I caught the 1pm bus out of town

Trujillo Huanchaco

Currency Soles $1 US = $2.83 Soles
Bus Mancora to Trujillo $30 Soles (10 hours)
Hostel Trujillo $45 Soles
Bus Trujillo to Haunchaco $1.60 Soles (30 minutes)
Hostel Haunchaco $15 Soles
Entrance Fee Chan Chan (covers 3 sites) - $11 Soles
Entrance into Temple of the Moon Site - $11 Soles

As mentioned in my last post I got screwed on my bus trip out of Mancora. On the upside I can cross off my bucket list; peeing on the side of the Panamerican Highway in Peru with a bus load of people waiting, thank god I thought I would never get to do that one, I can die happy now. I got into Trujillo at about 10am.

Trujillo does not have a central bus depot, every company has their own stations which is a pain in the ass when shopping for tickets as they are spread out all over the city. Luckily my station was pretty close to the center of town which is where the hostel I booked was. According to my map the hostel was not far away so I decided to walk it, again luck was on my side. I did not know it at the time but Trujillo is the 3rd largest city in Peru. The center of town is an oval shape with a street that runs all the way around it so it makes navigation pretty easy. My walk took about 20 minutes, would have been shorter if I had not gone in the wrong direction to begin with, figured it out within a couple of blocks so I'm getting better. I do actually like getting lost and do it on purpose a lot, just not when I am lugging around my big pack.

I had found the hostel Residencial Munaywasi on hosteltrail.com and it sounded good, old colonial home, 2 blocks from 1 of the main squares, family owned and operated. I had emailed them requesting a dorm room, I had not heard back so I wasn't sure if I had a reservation or not. Turns out I did but they don't have a dorm just private rooms with a TV that are $45 Soles a night. As I was only staying the 1 night I splurged. I did enjoy watching the Prestige on TV, Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale great movie. The lady that runs the place is very nice, she made me a Pisco Sour; the national Peruvian drink, those things will knock you on your ass. I dropped my stuff and headed out to walk around for a while. That lasted all of 2 hours before I headed back and took a 4 hour siesta. Did I mention no sleep on the bus? Went out again when I woke up, nice place lots of squares, a big street market and tons of shops and restaurants.


The next day I was heading to Huanchaco which is a suburb of Trujillo, it is the beach end of town. My experience up to this point is that beach town never have super markets so while in Trujillo I hit the mega super market. The hostel I was heading to had a full kitchen and I was going to be there a few days so I wanted to have some supplies. The hostel I was at in Trujillo had a kitchen as well so I had a place to store them, worked out pretty well.

The big draw for the area is the pre-Inca ruins of Chan Chan, the largest pre-Colombian city in South America and the larges adobe city in the world (20 square miles), the pre-Inca ruins of the Muche people and the surf breaks off Haunchaco. They are suppose to be some of the best in the world, funny how every place says that, I guess it is a pretty vague statement.

Day 2 I caught the collectivo van out to Trujillo, the highway runs right through the middle of the Chan Chan ruins. A pretty impressive site even if they are very damaged, you can tell they were walls but the elements (rain, wind earthquakes) have taken their toll on them.

I had chosen the Nay Lamp Hostel as my new home. The reviews online were good, it had a kitchen and was across the street from the beach. A bed in a 6 bed dorm was $15 Soles a night. It is a really nice place, there are 2 sections the back has the kitchen, camping area with fire pit and some rooms. The front has rooms, restaurant and reception area. They also have a couple of large turtle mascots who will wander into your room if you leave the door open, they also seem to like the main bathroom of the restaurant. It is a great place, some really nice people who work there and non champagne backpackers. Although I did meet up with a couple who were also at the Loki during my time there.

As I suspected no super market in town, however there is one on the road back to Trujillo about a 20 minute bus ride away. They do have a pretty good markado with fresh vegetables, meats and some groceries. It is a typical tourist beach town, lots of restaurants, surf shops, street vendors and artisan shops. But it has a much better vibe than Mancora, everyone is not out to scam you, more laid back. Like Mancora every restaurant serves Cebichi (seafood cooked in lime juice), all the backpackers eat the stuff by the truckload and they all say it is great. I however do not do adventures in food so I have no first hand opinion. I like my food dead, not looking the way it did when it was alive and well done not "cooked" in lime juice. As close as I get to living on the edge is empanadas which I do really like a lot and they are very cheap. The town also has several fine establishments that serve torte de chocolate (chocolate cake) and apple pie so I was pretty happy with the food selections available.

As well as being a surf town Huanchaco is a fishing town and has been since the days of the Inca. The local fisherman use nets and small reed boats that are too small for them to put their feet in so they dangle them over the sides. You can find the boats on the shore when not in use and the fishermen sitting around mending their nets, all very small village feeling which is very nice, you can tell they are not there for the tourists they are working folks.

Chan Chan is a must see while in this area, it is located between Trujillo & Haunchaco so either place is a good base. It is about a 1km walk to the main ruins, there are taxi's that you can take if you are feeling really lazy and a few people offering to sell maps etc. Don't pay for a guide, only official guides are allowed to take you through the site. The entry fee to get in is 11 Soles (covers entrance to 2 other sites and the museum) the price includes a guide (you can't go through without one), tipping the guide is not included. My guide had worked there since 1963, he worked with the archeologists in helping to uncover the site, then in restoration and now as a guide. He also spoke 3 languages, a pretty amazing guy. Chan Chan has been pretty hard hit by nature, it's amazing that it has lasted as long as it has, I am pretty sure adobe is not meant to last that long. The city covered 20km in it's prime, unfortunately now there is a lot of it that just looks like hills of sand, you can see some brick in it but most of it is lost now.

The city was built by the Chimu around 850AD, they were conquered by the Incas in 1470AD. The entire city had a 50-60 foot wall around it made of bricks with a layer of smooth finish over the top. In the section that tourists can visit the walls have carvings on them, animals, fish etc.. The site runs along the Pacific Ocean which had the tallest walls to protect the town from the winds. It is an incredible place, what they have managed to recover and restore is beautiful and they are still working on the site so there is stuff still to discover. They have found evidence of human sacrifices and the elite of the society were buried with their toys and in some cases their wives and servants. The site was looted by the colonials so may of the artifacts and traces of what the people may have been like, how they lived and how their society operated are lost. There is much speculation by the intellectual types and a variety of theories based on what has been found so far.

As mentioned the ticket for Chan Chan also covers the museum which I did go and see, it is a short 5 minute walk down the road. It was okay but nothing fantastic. One of the other ruins is in a suburb, kind of weird, right behind a park, also okay but very small. I have been running into these Inca dogs while I have been here, no fur and kind of ugly, they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, some of them have a little tuft of hair on the top of their heads. The guy that ran this place had 4 adult ones and 4 puppies. The puppies are not as ugly as the grownups but still only a face a mother could love. You do have to be very careful about comments, the folks that own them think they are beautiful and they get offended if they hear you call them ugly.. Guilty, had to do some fast back-peddling in bad Spanish. I did not make it to the other site included in the ticket, it is way off the beaten path. I was just being lazy so I have no information to share on that one and none of the other travelers had gone either so might be worth the trip.

I did go to another site, temple of the sun and temple of the moon (Huaca del Sol & Huaca del Luna), these are dated at 100BC - 650AD they preceded the folks that made Chan Chan, these were the Muche. The Huaca del Sol has not been excavated and you cannot go into it, seems there is not enough funding and it was mostly destroyed, the Spanish diverted a river to wash it away to try to get the gold out. At 135 feet above the plain it is the tallest adobe structure in the Americas. The Huaca del Luna has been partially excavated but they don't have plans to do much more, they are afraid that they may weaken the supports and damage the ruins. Both temples were looted long ago, the Spanish got there first and then modern day robbers have taken over.

I took the bus here with a Swiss hostel mate, a longer journey than I had thought it would be. Despite reminding our bus wrangler (the guy that yells at you to get on and off the bus and takes your money) he forgot to let us know when our stop for the connecting bus was so we went by it and had to backtrack. On the upside he felt really bad and gave us our money back. So back we went and then had to wait for a collectivo up to the site. Funny how you can ask 4 different people what van to catch and you get 4 different answers. Sucks because they don't really stop the wrangler just yells their destination as it is going by so you have to be quick and understand really garbled Spanish. Finally got it, $1.90 Soles and a 1/2 hour ride and we are there.

The entrance fee is $11 Soles and once again the guide is included, you can't go without one. You get to watch a 20 minute DVD on the excavation of the site, it is done by a company called Backus they also own the beer company and a bottled water company, kind of like a town in a Dean Koontz novel, makes you wonder what else they own.

This is a much smaller site than Chan Chan but I liked it better. The Muche liked color, most of their paintings are in color and it has held up over the years. The Luna Temple was the religious and sacrificial temple. Seems the Moche would organize fights between men and the loser got sacrificed by being strangled. There's a match you hope you win. The valley between the temples is were the folks lived and worked, some of it is still visible but not much. None of the artwork that has been uncovered in Luna has been restored, what you see is how they found it and it is amazing, definitely go and see this if you are in the area it is well worth the trip and like Chan Chan a portion of your entrance fee goes towards funding the excavation and preservation.

Back to the hostel for my last night, fire in the pit, some beers and some really cool people. Brit girl and Swiss guy who I did some of the tours with. NY rasta surfer dude, Bellingham surfer dude, Brando from Boston and the 5 traveling girls, Brit guys and Danish couple and Ecuador climbing guy. Was a pleasure sharing time with you. Happy travels.

On that note another plug for the website, www.losttrekkers.com a free people search. If you are looking for people you met on your travels place a free ad to find them.

Cuenca Ecuador Mancora Peru

Cuenca: Currency US $
Bus Banos to Cuenca - $10.00 - 8+hours - 1 transfer
Hostel Cuenca: $12.00
Bus Cuenca to Machala - $4.50 - 4 hours
Having to watch yet another Claude Van Damme movie in Spanish - Priceless
Bus Direct Machala - Ecuador to Tombes - Peru $4.00

Peru: Currency Sole - $1 US = $2.83 Soles
Collectivo Tombes to Mancora - $6 Soles - 2 hours
Hostel in Mancora: $32 Soles
Surf Board Rental: $10 Soles
Bus Mancora to Trujillo $35 Soles - 10 hours

I left Banos on the 11am bus, you know you ask if it's direct and they always smile and say yes. A nation full of professional poker players in the making. Surprise, not direct and our driver got lost twice, the locals had to tell him were to go. My pet peeve about Ecuador buses is not the crazy driving, the getting lost or the constant stops.. No it is that they love Claude Van Damme movies, Patrick Swayze bad ones are also a favorite. The one that he plays the trucker in and of course Road House. I guess it is partly because there is not a lot of dubbing or acting talent needed. But really, did Knock Off really need to be seen by a wider audience?

The bus change went rather smoothly, myself and a British Couple who have been on the road for a year were in it together. Our next bus arrived in 10 minutes and off we went, again really nice scenery while it was daylight, it gets dark pretty early in the Andes, 5:30ish, we got into Cuenco at around 7pm. I decided not to do the night bus and try to get to Mancora early in the morning. I had heard that Cuenca was a nice place so I decided to spend a night and check it out, the center of the city is a UNESCO world heritage site. I did check for tickets out to the border before I left the bus depot and there were several going out in the morning, good I had choices.

I read in the Planet about a hostel called El Monastario that was right in the town square block, it was cheap and convenient, the taxi from the bus depot was $2.00 and took about 25 minutes. The taxi dropped me at the door which was in an alley, the door was a gate with a buzzer, the hostel is located on the 6th floor. Yea an elevator! Haven't see one of those in a long time. I dropped my stuff off and I went for a walk went around the corner and to my horror discovered that the hostel was part of the church, you would think I would have figured it out with the name and all but I can be a little slow sometimes, I had nightmares about nuns all night.

I check in, get a private room, with bathroom and TV, kitchen and with free WIFI and coffee at a cost of $12.00 US. I drop my stuff and off I go to check out the town, found a coffee shop deli place right on the town square so settled in for a Latte and fruit crepes with chocolate, em em good. I then went for a wander around the 5 block radius about the town square, I was also searching for non itch stuff, on my hikes in Banos I forgot to use the insect repellent and I got a few bites that were driving me crazy. Forgot to look up the word for itchy before I went out and left my dictionary in the room so had to pantomime the whole thing out for the folks at the pharmacy, unlike ours everything is behind the counter and you have to ask for it.. Look out Academy, but got what I needed in the end and it worked so what is a little humiliation? Cuanca is an old colonial town, got to say they are nice but I have pretty much hit my limit on colonial towns. They are in a rivalry with Quito old town, as Cuenca is smaller I think it has the edge, more of a village kind of feel to it, some really great buildings. That was pretty much the extent of my time in Cuenca, the impression I got was clean, safe and interesting.

6:30am my alarm goes off, a coffee and I'm off to the bus depot to catch the 7:45 bus which should get me into Mancora at 6ish. I have to make a transfer in Machala for the direct bus into Peru to Tombes. This time a double feature the Patrick Swayze classic were he is the long haul trucker & the Claude Van Damme futuristic one were he is up against the big weird eyed guy, what a treat. This bus driver is suicidal, steep cliffs, sharp corners and he is playing to win. The locals were terrified and yelling at him, calling him loco, I actually watched both movies in order to avoid watching the road. If it's your time to go may as well go out watching bad B movies.

Made it to Machala and had to kill 2 hours before the direct bus over the border. There are other buses that just go to the Ecuador border but I had heard it was a pain in the ass and 3.5 km between it and the Peru border that you need to get a mototaxi for so I figured I would save myself the hassle. The bus stops at the Ecuador border, you get off it waits, you get back on it goes to the Peru border, it waits and off you go to Tombes. I have to say it was one of the largest market borders I have seen, the Ecuador side was just tons of street stalls and so many people selling stuff they were blocking the road to the border. If only I had a bigger pack sigh...

I did have a bit of a problem, a couple of guys on the Peruvian side tried to tell me there was a $20 charge to enter Peru. They station themselves in the actual immigration building and dress up in "official" outfits, but they are not officials they are scam artists. There is no charge to enter Peru, it is FREE which I knew, they dropped the price to $2.00, I declined their assistance. Then there are the money changers who are also located in the immigration building but they are not official. I had checked online and knew the Sole was at $2.83 soles to $1 US dollar so I figured I would change $5.00 over so I would have cab fare and to pay the collectivo to Mancora. The guy offered me 10 soles, totally unreasonable and I tire of people thinking I'm an idiot so I didn't even try to negotiate, told him I knew what the exchange was and walked away while he was yelling out his new rate. So I had no Soles and they don't take US $'s in small towns in Peru. The bus company has it's own depot (CIFA) and that is were the bus drops you. I caught a mototaxi and had him take me to the ATM then to where the collectivo's are that go to Manocra, I was in luck one was leaving for Mancora right away and was it ever packed. 14 of us in there for the 2 hour ride. The driver knew where my hostel was so he dropped me off right in front of Loki.

I had found Loki Hostel in Mancora online, it is new and looked good, a bit of a party place but I didn't really care, it had WIFI was on the beach and free coffee, I am such a whore for the gratis caffeine. Little did I know what I was getting myself into, champagne backpackers. The kind that have suite cases with wheels and they have truck loads of makeup, blow dryers and they dress up for dinner, a new outfit every night the smell of Axe wafting through the halls. Totally not my kind of place and the average age was about 23, but the people watching was great. Unfortunately by the time I figured it out it was too late, I had committed to 5 nights, lesson learned. It was clean, there was a pool and the staff and the guys that run the place were very nice. It is like a Club Med or Sandals for backpackers, lots of organized fun, again not my thing but the kids seemed to like it. That being said I need to mock.. A different bikini every day, really? At a beach town but never leave the side of the pool? Huge suite cases with wheels, and some of them were guys. These people wouldn't know a chicken bus if it ran them over. Okay I feel superior now. If you are not the type of person described above then the Loki is not for you. There are 2 other hostels on either side that are 1/2 the price both looked very nice.

There are lots of street stands for artisans, I bought a few things from the artisans and the prices were reasonable, I didn't even try to bargain for a better price.

I did meet some artisanos and hung out with them, more my kind of people, got to love anyone who juggles fire. Mancora is a nice town , they are doing some major renovations on the waterfront so at the moment it is not looking so good but give it a few months and it will probably be beautiful. They do have an issue with trash, as in they just toss it where ever they want so the beach would be much better if they stopped doing that. The locals at the stores, artisano stands and restaurants are great, very nice people.

The town does attract some bad people, lots of the folks on the beach are looking for anyway to scam the tourists. I got nailed, a local surf instructor that I had talked to in passing for a few days sat down at my table on the beach, I was having a beer. He helped himself to it, there wasn't much left in the bottle so I didn't really care. He left and came back with a couple of more bottles and told me he bought them. Turns out he didn't he put them on my tab so surprise when I went to pay and he was gone. Live and learn. Next up the mototaxi dudes, they quote you a price that is double what the locals pay which I am okay with. I don't expect to pay the same as they do, why should the fact that they have tourists drive up their cost of living? Most of them don't make much money so for me $.50 doesn't make much difference. But when they go to drop you off they want to charge more money. I had heard about this from other tourists so I made sure I had exact change if I need to take a mototaxi. I only took 2 my whole time there and both times they tried it. I handed them the amount we agreed on when I got in and just got out and walked away. It is really not worth arguing with them, you would be there for hours. This only works if you have exact change, if you need change from them you are screwed.

I rented a surf board from the Loki surf shop, the reception folks told me it was $10 Soles for 1/2 a day, they charged me $10 Soles for 2 hours and I am pretty sure he just pocketed the money, I didn't fill in any paperwork. Mancora is know for it's surfing not that it would make any difference in my world, I am not good enough to know the difference but I did notice there is only the 1 break and it is very crowded. I've since talked to a few real surfers and they said unless you are out there at 5am not much point in going as it gets too crowded and you can't catch many waves.

The other bad experience was my bus out of town. I got a ticket from an agency the day before I was leaving for a night bus that left at 9:30pm. At 8pm (an hour 1/2 before my bus was to leave), I stopped by the bus depot to drop off my large backpack so I could go to the store and get some bus munchie food. There were 2 women there, neither of which sold me the ticket, they get all confused and check my ticket (which is actually a receipt) and then one runs out and comes back 15 minutes later. Turns out they forgot to buy my ticket from the bus company, but they assured me that everything was fine. The ticket that I paid for was for a semi-cama (reclining seat), this is not what I got, I got the back of the bus where the seats do not recline but by the time I got to my seat the bus was already on its way. So I got 9 hours of sitting up totally straight with the person in front of me's seat in my lap, oh and no bathroom. Screw ups happen but these evil people sat and smiled and joked with me the whole time they knew they were screwing me over. Not an offer of this is the only seat do you want it or would you like to take another bus? No offer of any kind of refund.. So don't buy bus tickets from the agency across the street from the church in the green & white building, they are bad bad people.

The bus I thought I was getting. Not to be

All in all I did not like Mancora, the scummy element was too much for me. I don't want to treat locals like they are going to rip me off and I don't want to be mean to people. Basically I don't want to be the kind of person you have to be to not get ripped off in that town, it's like you have a target on your back and everyone has an ulterior motive for talking to you. If you want a beach town I am in Huanchaco and although touristy there does not seem to be the same scammer feel to it.