Mancora

I enjoyed a very relaxing Christmas Day in Piura. But, while banks and many stores were not open, Christmas was hardly noticable and it all seemed more like a regular day: In the morning, I was at a cafe, when an elderly guy came in to have coffee while reading the morning paper. Outside, the street was being paved, and the clothing store next door was as crowded as a typical Macy's on Black Friday.

I left Piura early today and had a second breakfast in Sullana,

Until I reached the turnoff to Talara (where I had a humongous fish for lunch), the route was mostly flat with only some mild climbs. Then the road turned to the north-east, and the mix of desert and agriculture changed to desert and oil fields (owned by various Peruvian as well as foreign companies, such as Petrobras); the interesting terrain was interspersed with pumps and pipelines.

As I stopped for water at a gas station in El Alto, I inadvertently disrupted a casual Sunday afternoon drinking contest that seemed to have been in progress for a while. A few minutes later I was handed a beer and I was glad that there were only about 30 km left on the road to Mancora.

Mancora is quite a lively place and known for its surf as well as its party scene. The plan for tomorrow is to get to Tumbes, maybe further across the border, depending on how lively Mancora turns out to be.