Mancora May 31 - June 3

We arrived in Mancora around 9.30am and were immediately surround by tuk tuks (it almost felt like we were in Asia). It felt so nice so be somewhere hot finally, we just wanted to find somewhere to stay, have a shower and get into our summer clothes. So in the tuk tuk we jumped and headed for a couple of places we had heard of, only to find out that it wasn't so nice in person, or the pool was closed, or it was full of Israelis. In case I haven't mentioned this before, Israelis have got a terrible name for themselves as tourists regardless of where in the world you are. We had yet to encounter any problems before coming to South America as all the Israelis we met were in couples and were friendly to us. However, we finally believe the reputation once we got to South America, when they travel in groups they do become very, very loud and rather obnoxious and arrogant. I don't like to tar them all with the same brush, but having been on a couple of tours with them and encountered them in hostels, I have to admit that I can understand why they have ended up with a bad name for themselves.

Anyway, we eventually ended up at a hostel called 'The Point' which is in fact a chain in Peru and Bolivia and often known as the party place. The one in Mancora is a bit more tame with a nice bar onsite that doesn't get too crazy and a good pool, as well as being right on the beach. It was a bit further out of town but when a taxi is only 20p you can't complain about that too much! We were told not to go out in the dark without getting a taxi and if we were to go on the beach, do not turn right as that is the locals area. We weren't too worried about this and obviously would adhere to the advice as almost every city in South America has a no go zone. We didn't know the full extent of the danger until one night a young lad told us he had been mugged by a guy with a machete as he had turned right on the beach. Apparently there had also been a lad mugged at gun point as he had gone deep into the locals housing area! Lucky that we are sensible girls I guess!

After refreshing ourselves the bikinis were dusted off and we finally got onto the beach for the first time in South America. It was so nice to relax in the sun, reading a book and listening to the waves. The afternoon involved moving to the poolside to soak up more rays before a well needed siesta after our busy day! We headed out for some good food in the evening, which was nice and cheap compared to Cusco and headed back to the bar for a couple of drinks. It was a pretty quiet night in the bar but even so we discovered that the guy in our room was a bit of a coke addict so waited until he had done his thing before hitting the sack for the night.

The second day was pretty much the same although the pool was annoyingly closed for cleaning so we spent time on the beach. That evening there was a pub quiz at the hostel so Zara and I formed a team with a couple of English lads, one of which was a geographer which was a great advantage to us when the first few questions were on geography. Needless to say that we did the British proud and won the quiz, the prize being a cheap bottle of rum. The bottle was finished pretty quickly, but most of my share went between the rest of the team as I wasn't keen on being sick or hungover. Being merry was enough for me! Zara on the other hand seemed fine until about 1.30am when it suddenly hit her and talking became very slow and slurred. When we made it to bed, she fell on the floor and was all giggly, rather amusing to me and our roomy!

As expected Zara didn't feel too good the next morning so I left her to sleep for a while before more relaxing by the pool. I tried the local specialty of Ceviche for lunch, this is raw fish which is marinated in lime and spices. I was a little cautious, knowing how weak my stomach is but when in Rome... I surprised myself and really liked the dish, but in the end the lime was too overpowering and I couldn't finish it. The evening was spent eating some good home made italian food in one of the best restaurants in Mancora, followed by a couple of drinks back at the bar before an early-ish night after the previous nights escapades.

It was nice to have a break from the city lifestyle for a few days, it was a shame we couldn't stay longer to top up the tan, but we will just have to pray for good weather in Rio before we return. We met some decent people in the hostel too, but most of them were staying longer or heading to a different city.