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We arrived in Mancora in the morning around 7am and I was pretty well rested from the night bus which was nice for once. I got a tuk tuk to my hostel which was this small Italian hostel with not many rooms and the owner was sitting in the dining room area drinking coffee. He told me my room would be ready soon and got me settled with wifi and some coffee. I got my room around 11am and then walked around the town to get a SIM card and cash. I went to 3 different international ATMs and none of them would take my card. I spent about 3 hours trying to get cash and a SIM card which was frustrating but this is part of the whole experience, nothing is easy. I had also later found out that it was the Peruvian holiday (like the. Fourth of July) the day before so I'm sure the ATMs were running out of money or had caused problems so I decided to deal with the cash later. I finally went to the beach to check it out and the water was really cold so I didn't get in. I tried to find a surfing spot to see if I could rent a board for the next day but didn't seem like there were many along my walk so I stopped at this rooftop and got a papaya smoothie. On the way back I stopped at the hostel that the Israelis were staying in, the Point, and asked how much it would be to rent a board and they quoted 35 soles which was a bit pricey and I would decide based on the conditions in the morning. It was happy hour so I decided to get a couple beers and Avi and Guy met up with me and we went to get pizza at my hostel which wasn't the best but then we met back up at the Point and played beer pong and smoked a bit and then headed to the real party at the Loki hostel. There was a theme that night so everyone was dressed up and drunk, dancing on the bar. I danced a little but wasn't too in the mood so headed home around 2am and went to bed. I slept in and didn't go surfing so went to get breakfast and check the ATM but still wasn't working so just decided to hang out at the beach for a little and read. I felt like a run since I hadn't gone surfing and went on a nice run around the beach and town and then met up with Avi and Guy for dinner. I got this yummy fish dish and we tried a few drinks and then went to Loki to play beer pong and catch the happy hour. We split a couple bottles of wine and I called it a night early, after walking with a couple guys from Madrid around the town. The vibe you get at Loki is all backpacker partiers with lots of drinking drugs and dancing. Saw mostly Israelis but also Europeans. The next morning I went to get breakfast at this small cafe and it took forever to get food and then met up with Avi and Guy and we chilled and smoked and went to get sushi. I had to leave that afternoon so just went to the beach to watch the sunset and then grabbed my bags and headed to the bus. Since there was no direct bus to Lobitos, I had to go to Talara and then get a taxi to Lobitos. I arrived at Talara around 9pm and it was a s***ty bus station. Thankfully there was a police man there that helped me find a safe taxi to my hostel which was 45 minutes away in Lobitos. The taxi he got me was a tuk tuk so it was an interesting drive because it was pitch black, driving on dirt sands not knowing where I was going and cold. When I arrived to the hostel, I was thankful to see people awake and talking English. I got settled to my room which had a funky smell but it was big with a bathroom and that's all I cared about. I had some time to do some research on my next plan so I sat outside on my computer doing some research and then the hostel people invited me to their bonfire. Thankfully there was this guy from Lime who spoke English and we talked about surfing and where to surf and all that so II could go the next day. There was an Argentinian who was very inviting and funny and just a nutcase. I went to bed after the bonfire and slept in because I needed the sleep. I had a nice breakfast sitting outside with most beautiful view of the beach and surfers high up on the cliff. I went to get my wet suit and board at this other hostel down on the beach and then headed out to surf for a few hours. It was getting pretty crowded with many families, older (60s) and younger (6 years) all in this one point. I waited my turn many times and then eventually went for some and it felt good getting back up again. I took the same wave as this one d*** and he got so upset and said "Thank you" and "Go over there" or some bulls*** and I didn't let it get to me. After a while I was getting tired so I went in to get lunch. I relaxed and then did some yoga with the Lima guy and his friend (who was also a yoga teacher) and then we went out to the other point he was telling me about Piscines. I was a little nervous but was excited at the same time and my board was super heavy so it was a workout walking it about 10 minutes down the beach. We arrived and there were already about 5 surfers out there. The waves were a lot bigger than the ones at the Lobitos point so I didn't go for any at first, trying to get the lay of the land first because there were many rocks. There was this Canadian girl who gave me a few pointers cuz she could probably tell I was hesitant. I eventually went for some and caught a few. It was a pretty rough current but not too bad if you paddled away from the break. The Argentinian eventually joined and we all surfed until it got too dark. There was a photographer there and she showed me some pictures she caught of me surfing so I told her I would come back tomorrow to get them. Within the first few minutes of my nice hot shower the electricity went out. I thought at first that it was my fault because of the hot water switch but later found out that it wasn't me. I ended up taking a quick fast cold shower. It took the electrician like an hour to fix it and he had to go in and out of my room so thankfully the hostel manager let me have a free beer. I ordered dinner and got my free beer. The night before, I had talked to this local guy who was actually from Venezuela and he had told me about the surfing at the bonfire as well but later found out that he only body surfs. He was very interested in talking to me that night but I wasn't so much so hung out with the group and all smoked and chilled. The next day I had to check out and get my bus to Huanchaco which was a lot more difficult than expected. Plus one of the UK volunteers was rude and annoying me about checking out so that didn't help. Redbus wouldn't accept my credit card and there were only a few seats for the night bus so I was getting worried. Thankfully this nice guy had let me use his bank to purchase the ticket and I gave him cash. So I checked out and went to get my photos and then chilled until my bus. The hostel had an interesting vibe from the many guests coming in and out the entire time, as well as the volunteers working there. It was either families, locals from Peru, or Australians or a few dedicated surfers. I had met my first Uraguay guy and he had helped me get some weed. I left around 8pm for the 10pm bus and the taxi was super fast and just going out of control so it was a completely opposite experience going back to Talara from when I came. I had to wait at the station for an hour and it was just not a nice place but eventually got going to Huanchaco. Overall, I really enjoyed Lobitos, it was a cute surfer town with good food and relaxing vibes. The people definitely make a difference and the many hostels had different vibes to them as well from dreadlock backpackers, to scumbag surfers, to dedicated surfers. The 3 points there were awesome and I would go back just to surf, but it does take a lot just to get there.
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