Mancóra Take Two
On my second day in Mancora I moved to the cheapest Lonely Planet recommended hostel. Not because I’m a cheap ass, but because I knew there would be lots of backpackers to follow around and try ot make conversation with. And I wasn`t disappointed. Backpackers are generally where the book says they´ll be.
I very nearly didn’t meet them. After check in, I was horrified to find there was a boy in my mixed dorm. I knew it was a mixed one but I still didn’t expect to be sharing with a boy so soon, this was my first night in a dorm, and they take a bit of getting used to (dorms not boys!). Myself and said ‘boy’, Leo, got off to a funny start when he walked in on me chopping up my Lonely Planet. I just didn’t see the point in carrying around pages about countries I’m not going to. Brazil is a lovely place but I didn´t break a sweat learning Spanish just to fly off there.
My two room mates, Leo and Magalith, from France invited me to join their gang. Magalith pointed out that I do a long “Aaaaa” thing when I speak, which I thought was a little rich coming from a French person.
So I mingled and socialized and danced with some Iraeli guys. Almost everyone out that night was travelling alone. People just don’t seem to want to compromise these days. They all said they’d compromise when they’re married but for now they’re going where they want. I nodded along like that was my plan also.
So after making my gang of friends, Mancora turned into a much more happening place. American guy Kevin taught me how to surf, Katy told me how I can make it big as a TEFL teacher. We ate fish, swam in hot springs and danced some more.
I decided to head back to my expensive hotel on the off chance the other two lads with the jeep hadn’t done a runner. They seemed surprisingly happy to see me again and invited all my friends for Indian food. These guys cook while on the road to avoid constant fast food. They turned their toilet into a kitchen and made enough food for ten of us to chew down.
Before leaving Mancora I had breakfast with a Swiss medical student who’d been working near where I’d lived for the summer in Lima. For two months she and her friends had been working in my part of town, San Martin de Porres, but commuting for over an hour from their homes in the uber posh Miraflores. I made it my mission to find this hospital and ask why they make their interns commute for so long when there’s people in SM de Porres who would make great hosts and could do with tourist dollars. I told her I would look into it but for now I had to find a way out of the country. My visa had expired almost a month ago and my lift in the 4×4 was about to pull out.
Tags: 2 - Peru, Mancora, Peru
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