Day 236 - Saturday 13th May 2006

Arriving at 9.00am in Mancora (north of Peru) about 18 hours after leaving Lima, it was clear it was going to be a hot day! I jumped into a golf cart taxi and told my caddy to take me to a hotel. He drove me down the main road and after a couple of minutes we arrived at my concrete monstrosity of a hotel.

I checked in and although tired from the journey I changed and headed straight for the beach. This being my first experience of the Pacific since Nicaragua, and my first in South America, and my first beach of any kind since Argentina I jumped straight into the water.

Refreshed I lay on the sand and continued to read my mammoth book, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I stayed where I was for a few hours until I began to feel a little peckish. I fancied ceviche, the raw fish dish, and here was apparently the place to eat it. Almost every restaurant boasted of serving it, however the shacks on the beach drew my attention and I made a beeline for them. I ordered the mixed ceviche served with chilli and lime, which turned out to be an absolute treat.

Engrossed in Atlas Shrugged but needing to retire from the Equatorial rays of the sun, I returned to my hotel and sat in the shade of the bar, beer in hand, reading.

I managed to pass most of the day this way, and in doing so, also got through a fair chunk of my book. I had originally picked the book up in Bariloche however I didn’t start it until Bolivia, but still my reading had been neglected in favour of lash the previous few weeks, and travelling alone again I had the opportunity to get back into the quiet life!

During the late afternoon and early evening I strolled about the town (along the high street in truth – the town is basically the high street) and along the golden sandy beach. I managed to find some Valium tablets for long bus journeys (the pharmacies wouldn’t sell me any in Lima, but I had no such problems in the smaller town.

I did consider heading out after dark for a few beers, so I went out for dinner and enjoyed two golden nectars with my rice & seafood, but I began to feel the effects of my 18 hour bus journey so called it a night at about 10pm.