Wahoo Peru

Well we have finally arrived in Mancora just 36 hours from door to door and a total of 22 hours flying time and 5 stops. Did it seem that long – not really. The time went pretty quick and with many of the flight being pretty empty it allowed for a good 8 hours un-solid sleep.

Arriving at Talara in the North of Mancora we were picked up by Skip from Peru Kite Camp http://www.perukitecamp.com/ in his 4 x 4 mini van. He drove us the one hour trip to Mancora and dropped us off at our hotel Samana Chakra www.samanachakra.com. The hotel is right on the beach and is promoted as a yoga and well being hotel which is exactly what it is. Gary and Johanna are the owners and Johanna runs yoga classes 3-4 times a week. Gary has grown up with surfing as his routes and now also enjoys wave kiting. The food served here is deliciously fresh and extremely healthy, so all in all makes an fantastic combination for anyone into a well balanced holiday.

The first day in Mancora was cloudy and we had no wind, so we took the opportunity to visit a natural hot spring near by where it is said to have curing properties. I’m not sure about the curing properties, but our skin felt mega soft when we got out of the natural Jacuzzi and then made a quick escape as a coach load of older people rocked up and tried to wedge 20 of themselves in a hot spring just a couple of metres square in size.

The landscape in peru is something else. It is like something out of starwars where we are. Apparently some large percentage of Peru is the amazon, but there is barely anything green in sight up here in the North. The hills are made of massively compacted dust and in El nino years you can see where huge volumes of water channels through the land leaving dead and empty river beds all around. It only happens every 12 years ago or so with one due in the next 3 or 4 years, but evidence of just how dramatically the land changes is all around.

Yesterday, day 2 we awoke to a pretty dismal sky and damp air. Not what we had expected in Northern Peru considering we were so close to the equator. The wind was blowing from the wrong direction and we were unsure of the likelihood of a session, but Skip from Peru kite camp rocked up with his 4x4 and positively helped us load our kit on board sure that he would find us some wind. Well Skip seemed to be the local weather man because an hour later we arrived at a famous surf spot over here called Lobitos and within an hour I was pumping up my 12m.

Lobitos seems like an amazing location and despite the fact that Skip says we have yet to score it I was out kiting amongst the surfers in cross offshore winds. It was pretty gusty but the wind was perfect for riding the wave. This day the waves were few and far between, but the set waves was around head high and the forecast is for much bigger this weekend. I took my Naish 5’5” wave board with my 12m Torch 4 and tried to get to grips with it, but with few waves I couldn’t help taken out my twin twip for a bit of freestyle in the butter flat waters on the inside.

The forecast is to get better and better over the next few days and the swell forecast is awesome. This morning (day 3) we already have beautiful sunshine which is a good sign of strong wind and Skip will be here within the hour to explore some more.

Will keep you posted