Im now in Mancura Peru which has been like a vacation within my vacation, but more on that later. Banos was the shit i had a great hostal called Transelvayna with a middle eastern resturant downstairs. In Banos i did a lot of hiking around the town to catch some sweet views of the town and the volcano. I also did white water rafting on some really sick rapids for only $30. Also worth mentioning was mountain biking along a route called ¨rout of the waterfalls¨and it was indeed as i spotted nearly 10 waterfalls that were at least 10 meters in height....fucking unforgettable. After all that hiking, mountain biking, and rafting, I kicked back in some natural thermal pools that Banos is famos for. Also partied there a lot has it was the weekend and i met a bunch of texans studying at Durango university and doing some kind of south american program...it was nice to talk with some texans again...it had been a while since i encountered any.
So then it was off to Cuenca, Equador where i stayed for a day. Pretty boring colonial town. I went to a Indiginious Museaum that was cool and checked out some Inca ruins.
Then it was off to Mancura, Peru....but first i had to cross the border. Now, all border towns are shit holes, and south american border towns are no execption. As soon as i step off the bus, im flanked by 20 money changers...i told them to fuck off but they were rather persistant. Finally, i thought it was a good idea to get a little Peruvian money so i exchanged $32, and i recieved a 100 sol fake note and some real smaller notes. Of course, i didnt find out the notes were fake until i tried to pay my taxi driver, who was also trying to rip me off, offering to take me where to Tumbes for only 20 sol, then fuckin telling me to pay 40 sol ($12) fuckin cunt.....immigration was unevenfull, and once again i entered a south american country without a forwarding ticket (Get that! you cock sucking aeropostal pieces of shit...give me my $155 dollars back)
I think i will buy my tickets for home soon, hoping to fly out of La Paz but someone told me that they might not let people in at the Peru/Bolivia border...i hope that isnt the case, cuz then ill have to back track to Lima...cuz i sure as shit aint flying out of Santiago or Buenas Aires which costs an extra $500 that i dont fuckin have. Money is now a big concern, and looms heavely over every decision that i make. I have $1400 USD to make it until Aug. 22nd...including a $200 Machu Pichu trip. I now have a strice budget of $20 a day and may have to start fasting more if i want to do touristy stuff. My only other big ticket items will be some snowboarding in Chile/argentina and mabey a tour of the salt flats in Bolivia. Im already tired of white rice too....i think dipping into the credit card will be inevetable. As it goes now, i have to make some fuckin headway, and i now have to calculate the value of each town to decide if i can visit it or not.
That being said, Mancura Peru is a real fuckin treat...its sooo chilll. my hostal is Sol Y MAr and its right on the beach and only costs $4.50 a night. Every night its a party and ends with a huge bonfire on the beach. Locals and Forigners mix it up real good in this little surf town. The water is cold and the waves are not that impressive, but still fun beach town non-the-less. Really cool vibe, and has truly been a vacation within my vacation...because traveling is hard work....bus scheduels, cold showers, hangovers, taxies, fuckin airports (the worst part of traveling). Ill holler later, im headed south.