Huanchaco, surfers town

Upon arival to Huanchaco we discovered that it was low season so it was very empty and many restaurants lining the beach were closed. The weather was dull and the climate was also quite mild. At first we were a little put off by the quietness and emptiness of the town but by the end we realized that was the thing we most loved about the town.

We quickly became friends with a local boy named Guillermo who worked at the local surf shop. He took us out to a fabulous seafood restaurant, which became our favourite place to eat. FYI: the food in Huanchaco was a seafood junkies personal paradise. All restaruants served cerviche, chicharrones (deep fried fish or shellfish), rice with tons of seafood on top, and at night they would bring a grill out for meat and fish. Definetely no complaints in the food department from me. Unfortunately Andrew had a case of jelly belly while there, so he was on a plain diet.

We decided to take a tour of the ruins that were near called Chan Chan and Huacca del Luna which are part the pre Incan civilizations Sipan and Moche. They were pretty amazing, some areas had such detail remaining and even had colour. Unfortunately like most developing countries there just isn´t enough money to maintain the ruins properly. That´s the sad part about some of the ruins, with the elements and other factors who knows how long they will be around for.

Our hostel Naylamp was an amazing hostel, the staff were super friendly and the food was amazing too. Everyday was a source of amusement... our "very American neighbours" were a father and son (25) travelling Peru together. On any given occasion they would just corner you and talk your ear off about any topic, but there favourite being Lake Tahoe, California where they were from.
Across from us were a couple from Halifax, Canada named Leslie and Allan. (Hi guys told you we would give a shout-out) After meeting them there on our first day in Huanchaco we became fast friends. Andrew and I both say it was nice to hang out with some nice new people for a while.... give each other a break!!!!!

SURFING:
Andrew enrolled in a 2 hour private surf lesson with Chicho a local surfing guru. With 20 years experience, he guarantees that if you don´t stand up on your first lesson it´s free. After half hour theory lesson on the beach Andrew and Chicho went into the water. He did an amazing job at surfing... and like Chicho promised he was standing up and surfing. After that moment.... Andrew became hooked on surfing. Allan our Canadian friend was also a surfer and he even brought his board from home. So everyday Andrew and Allan would go surfing and Leslie and I would chat on the beach.

MY 31st BIRTHDAY:
Trujillo is the main town in the area and for my birthday we decided to go shoe shopping. The Canadian couple and us took a local bus into town. Apparantely there is a shoe factory close by and the town is known for having chep shoes. Honestly, there were so many stall with shoes that never ended it made your eyes hurt. Even I, at the end of our excursion had had enough shoe shopping! So after a nice day of shopping we headed back to Hanchaco for a nice grilled dinner of seafood.

~Nicola

Click on picture below to see the album in Picasa.

Huanchaco, Peru