We decided that if we were going to stay in South America for a little while it would make sense for us to take some Spanish lessons and what the heck why not some surf lessons too! The fishing village of Huanchaco was perfect do to both of those as well as sunset yoga classes on a rooftop and visit some nearby ruins. A week in heaven.
My first surf lesson I was terrified as I have a small fear of water of over my head for no reason at all. We squeezed into our wet-suits and headed out to the water. The ground was filled with tons of sharp rocks so Jon and I tentatively made out way out during high tide, stumbling every step of the way. We were grateful when we finally got out far enough to actually get on our boards only this was worse. We were shocked at the amount of strength it took to actually paddle out. Our instructor pushed us along with waves crashing down over us. We repeated this process several times as we crashed down trying to stand on our shaky legs and I thought, what the hell am I doing torturing myself like this. I had already cut my feet several times and swallowed several gulps of salty ocean water. Then it happened, I actually stood up on the board and rode a wave. It is a thrilling experience!
Me heading out with a reed boat (the whole thing is made of reeds) bailing and finally riding the wave. Jon bailing and finally riding the wave which looks small next to him.
Spanish classes were something else entirely. Jon did not even know one word of Spanish and I had forgotten most of the stuff I learned in school. We were in class together; I think so that I could get a good laugh when Jon botched up his pronunciation. We ended up spending 15 hours over the week in verb congregation hell. I’m still not sure I know it but I have a whole notebook full of information. Poor Manuel, our teacher, was so patient while Jon tried to run the class by saying “ok, I think that is enough for tonight.” Or the last night when he was starting to get sick again and belched loudly and excused himself the entire class while I giggled like a 4th grader and Manuel pretended not to notice. I think Jon can correctly say hola now.
What we ate, Huanchaco was a budget lovers’ food paradise. We ate really well here cheap. We had amazing organic breakfasts including coffee and fresh juice for under $5 each. For dinner and lunch they had outstanding “menus” which included a starter, meal and juice for 10-12 soles or about $3.50. We even found a place with burgers grilled in front of you for under $1. The street food here was amazing as well! While here we tried arroz con mariscos (rice with seafood), ocopa (potatoes with a spicy peanut sauce), causa (mashed potatoes with different fillings then fried), picarones (pumpkin based rings of fried dough served with honey, pure deliciousness) and mazamorra morada (purple corn pudding with cloves and pineapple). Unfortunately, we also had the most amazing bakery right next to our hotel, we tried almost everything including the mile-high lemon meringue pie.
From top left: Jon at one of the infamous street meet stands serving Corazon (chicken hearts), picture of the stand with the delicious picarones and the mile-high lemon meringue pie.
Where we stayed No 1, Casa Fresh, a friendly hostel directly overlooking the beach with a great terrace. We had a private room with and ocean view and a bathroom for about $20 a night not including breakfast. They offered all kinds of tours, Spanish classes, surfing, restaurant recommendations and were extremely helpful. We were supposed to stay in a dorm but when we saw how small the space was and realized we could not leave our stuff everywhere we opted against it. They only had a private for 4 nights which is why we moved to No 2. Casa Fresh is looking for a manager staring in February 2017 if anyone is interested 🙂
Outside the hotel.
Where we stayed No 2, Oceanus, a squeaky clean family run hostel a block from the beach with the best cremoladas (a type of rough sorbet) in town. We had a freshly renovated private room (we were the first to stay in it) with a bathroom for about $20 a night because it was a holiday. However, it is normally $12 a night, not including breakfast.
Outside of the hotel and a camu camu cremolada.
Journey with Christina 