Our first swim in the ocean on our South American trip so far – FINALLY! Another overnight bus trip had left us slightly weary but unlike on other occasions, we didn’t have any colonial cities to explore, museums to visit or lookouts to climb to – this time all we had to do was relax on the beach!We arrived in Mancora and more specifically Loki del Mar, our hostel for the next few days. Loki hostels have a reputation in South America as the “party hostels” and their hostel in Mancora certainly lived up to its name. We were shown to our room upon check-in only to find smashed beer bottles everywhere, beds unmade and a horrific mound of toilet paper in the bathroom. This was followed by a quick “woops, sorry perhaps your room isn’t actually ready yet”!
We kicked back on the beach as well as Loki’s fabulous pool and bar area. Come night, we drank at the hostel as well as the local beach bars which are far from classy establishments but a bit of fun all the same. After a couple sleepless nights at Loki though we were ready for something a little more relaxed and headed further down the beach where we had our own beach bungalow.
This place was fantastic and for what you were getting – fantastically cheap as well! We swam, walked along the beach and enjoyed some more incredibly fresh ceviche – if you are a lover of seafood, the Peruvian coast has you sorted!
A few more days relaxing and it was time to say goodbye to Mancora as well as Peru. We lied in the hammocks outside our bungalow and watched the sun go down one last time.