So this is it guys... the last blog.
We´re in Lima and our flight leaves tonight. Our bags are packed- well Lauras are, Hannah and Becca are still thinking about it. Slightly frustrating coz we still have the whole day to kill and we really just want to get back and see everyone now. On the plus side we have located a market where we plan on spending all our remaining soles on brightly coloured jewelery that we will probably never wear when we get home. We seem to somehow, despite a complete lack of any real budget, to have ended up with pretty much exactly the right amount of money to get us home (in Lauras case she will ahve about 3pounds to spare) which was pretty lucky really!
After our last blog in trujillo, the only other exciting thing that happened there (we discovered why we were pretty much the only tourists- there really is very little to do) was the discovery of Harry Potter in English. Had to trek round 3 different cinemas before we found it but it was all worth it when we got there and Hannah even screamed with excitement- cool eh?
Buzzing after Hazza P we headed off to our final bus on the way to Mancora in high spirits. They were dampened slightly however when our taxi pulled up and all the doors of the bus depot shuttered and apparently locked up for the night. Our taxi driver (bless him) saw our desperation and hammered on the iron doors for a whole 5 minutes before someone came to greet us. In the end, as usual, it all turned out fine and we were soon on our way to the beach.
We had been looking forward to Mancora for ages and were all so happy when the bus pulled into a beautiful little beach town, leaving the clouds of the rest of the west coast behind. As usual we had been disorganised and not booked ahead but this time it actually turned out to be a problem coz it was Peruvian Independence weekend so everyone had headed to the beach. After a desperate search we found Hostal Willy which surprisingly was still empty and after depositing our bags in the cramped room and changing into bikinis we headed straight for the beach.
It was here that Hannah and Laura underestimated the intensity of the sun (this wasnt helped by the doxycyclin that we´ve been taking for malaria which makes your skin extra sensitive to the sun) and after 2 hours spent laughing at Becca reapplying suncream literally every 2 minutes, they ended up horribly burnt themselves. Didnt get much sympathy from Becca though. We spent the next 2 days going round with some very random burnt patches including eyelids, ears, hands (who burns their hands?!) and backs of knees. Needless to say from then suncream application was a very serious business and took about half an hour each time. Becca was never laughed at again.
On our first night out in Mancora we were to be seen walking round with about an inch thick foundation on to cover the burns. A great look, especially since it still looked like a 5 year old had applied pink eyeshadow to hannahs eyelids. Was still a good night and packed out with Peruvians celebrating independence day although it ended in tears when Hannah managed to fall down some stairs upon leaving a club and sprain her foot. As if she wasnt already in enough pain a random peruvian decided to give her foot a very rough massage which was not a pleasent experience.
The next morning (well afternoon we didnt wake up till 1pm) we moved hostals to Loki which is a party hostal which had a pool which is what we most wanted coz becca doesnt like sand and Hannah and Laura dont like listening to her complain about it. The next 4 days were spent by the pool sunbathing, dancing at the beach bar on the night or recovering from hangovers. Great to start with but we have to admit we were bored by the end- there is literally nothing else to do in Mancora. Plus the prospect of going home was making time drag frustratingly slowly. Nevertheless it was a great end to the trip and chilling out was great after so long on the move and with the prospect of our busy schedules when we get back (laura doesnt have a day free until the 25th of august!).
Considering the lack of money situation we opted for economico class for our bus back to lima. We didnt realise when we did this just how extreme the lack of leg room would be. We were confined in about 30cm and the bus was a sauna. Not pleasent but the mantra´´this is our last ever Peruvian bus journey¨¨ helped us get through it. Deciding to learn from our Mancora hotsal search, we booked ahead this time. Unfortunately none of us thought to write down the address of our hostal. We then spent 3 times as much as we should and over an hour searching in the wrong district of Lima. Only one day of our trip left and we still havent learnt! In the end we found an internet cafe to look up the address and got a taxi to the next district. We were then told that theyd overbooked and didnt have room for us even after all that forward thinking (why do we even bother?). We were redirected to a nearby hostal which turned out to be cheaper, quieter and in a nicer area so this cheered us up. Our last day was spent sitting on the beach in Barranco playing the game where one person throws up and rock and the other 2 try to hit it with smaller rocks- thanks alastair and andrew for teaching this one. Our spot was just outside a really posh restaurant so we think we provided alot of entertainment for the snooty guests.
We found a really nice restaurant for our last meal with Louis, the most over attentive waiter you will ever meet, who gave us free drinks and desserts. It was sad to think it was the last time it would just be the 3 of us sat round a table for a long time, although it still hasnt completely hit us that we will be home tomorrow night.
At the risk of sounding cheesy and sentimental, we want to say what an amazing experience this has been and we want to thank you all for following us and for the support you´ve given us. We really dont think we would have got through some of the harder times without you all at home keeping us going. This has been the best decision we could have made to come away and we would recommend it to anyone in a second. So excited to see you all.
Lots of love always,
The girlies xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx