When I first thought about coming to South America, it was February. I had to get someone to mind the dog. That took a while. When I got here it was July. Started in Argentina cold, Uruguay cold, Quito Ecuador cold, Lima cold, Cusco cold, La Paz cold, Southern Bolivia very cold, Southern Peru Beaches cold covered in sea fog. Right lets find somewhere warm. Columbia, unfortunately not only is it hot in September but it rains every day, likewise for Costa Rica, Salvador, Honduras ect also.  There must be a sweet spot somewhere. With a couple of weeks left to kill I hop on a plane north. Puira is not the most scenic city in Peru, but when I arrive its hot, and the suns out. Auspecious start, and it's near a beach. Peru for some reason doesn't seem to do central bus stations, every company has their own. Lima has about 40 spread around town. It of makes it hard because you have to find the right bus station first. Third out of six isn't to bad, problem the only bus leaves at six am. Now I probably could just wander out to the highway and catch a colectivo ( 12 seat Mini Bus with no brakes and 25 people on board), or take a taxi ($20/100km), but whats the fun in that. Six dollars  later 6am start it is. 

        Next morning it's cold, and nothings open. Even had to wake the night clerk  up to get out the front door no fire regs here. Twenty minutes later I'm at the terminal terrestrial, but no bus. Buses here tend to leave on time because 20% of them break down, and 30% of them get stuck in teachers strikes. Bus rocks up, backs in to terminal, well half way into terminal, and stalls blocking the main road. It's gonna be one of those day's. Bus starts after a few goes but reverse gear is shot. This takes about 20 minutes of repeated stalling to figure  out. Buy this time honking traffic pilling up on the main road. Only the rickshaws can drive past by using the small bit of footpath left open. Bus gives up and leaves, empty. New bus with functioning reverse gear turns up after some time. I dump my gear in the luggage hold beside the live chicken with the luggage tag on its leg. I'm going to Los Organos, a surf beach about 160 clicks up the road. Peru has 3000, km of surf beaches, Ecuador about 1500, got to be able to find something here. Organos looks hopeful but I decide to stay on the bus till Mancora, another 20 km. The tee shirts say "Mancora es de puta madre", and it is. The place is packed out with celbs in summer, in winter its just relaxed. Good weather, $5 hotels, Doof Doof clubs, and lots of restaurants. After a couple of hectic do nothing days, I head to Los Organos. Enough budgeting, for $30 I get a beach front room that looks straight at the surf. It's a bit like your southern Peru town, a lot of things are shut for winter, and I have to walk 15 minutes into town for dinner at night. Get up, breakfast, swim, creviche  on the beach, sleep, beers with the neighbours, pasta in town, sleep, repeat, for as long as you like. Beach fix done, I'm going to jump the boarder check out southern Ecuador.

        The bus leaves late, and Ecuadorian customs must be on strike, because we had to stand in a line for two and a half hours to get into the country. The Peru side twenty minutes. Consequently we missed our connection to Cuenca, this meant another dogey connection further up the road. The best bit was a meal with my fellow passengers while we were waiting. Standard meals here run between $2 and $5 bucks. One am arrival, but the old get the taxi driver to find a hotel worked a treat. Three buck cab fare, and a nice $15 hotel with a good breakfast. Cuenca nice old Spanish style town, central square, lots of churches. tick. The trip down to the coast first heads up through a high pass, that reminds me a lot of Switzerland. The place looks like it would have some great walks, but I haven't heard any thing about it. Guayaquil is the second biggest town in Ecuador and doesn't come with a great reputation so I just want to get in and out. I want to head up north to the beach towns so I can get a boat out to Isla de la Plata. Montanita  sounds like fun, but it could be a bit far so I punt for Selenas the gold coast of Ecuador complete with high rise towers. The bus station a Guayaquil is huge,  3 stories, 100 offices but at least unlike Peru the are all in one suburb. Eventually I find a bus to Santa Ellana next to Selenas, and it's going now. Right now. Race up 2 floors and jump on. A couple of hours later in the bus station in Santa Ellanas, I take the nature break I wanted In Guayaquil. On the way out a bloke is yelling Montanita, Motanita, that's where I wanted to go, so I jump on the bus, funny how some times things just work out.

  Montanita is the Ecuadorian party town, Hostels, Discos, and Restaurants. Unfortunately no sun. I book in for a couple of nights, and while looking for dinner book a boat trip to the Isla. Isla de la Plata ( Island of Silver) is known as the poor man's Galapagos, because for $35 you can see many of the things you can see there. The Silver bit either comes from pirates  treasure there or the colour of the bird droppings, no one seems to know which. Eight O'clock start, though we wait around 15 min for the gringa, who doesn't show in the end. "Chicas siempre tarde" says the guide. Mini van to Purto Lopez, we all get dropped at different places. Then on to the boat.

         I will declare here  that I'm not a big fan of whale watching. I have seen a fair few of them over the years and I am generally underwhelmed. It takes a hour  flat out to get to the island, we had a couple of breaks to watch the whales do their thing. There were lots of them, and they were very active, for whales. The island is covered in birds, we spend a couple of hours walking around with a guide. There are Patas Azule ( blue footed boobies ), Patas Nazca, Frigates, Patas roja, pelicans, and albatross for you twitches. Some of them have chicks, and you can get close enough to them that they peck you on the way past.  Back on the boat we have Lunch then go straight for a swim with the Turtles. Not what I was told to do when I was young but when in Rome. No one died of cramp. We see lots of reef fish and coral, a bit more bird watching and its time for home. Another hour of getting the kidneys bashed.

       When I get back I find the driver but she can't find anyone else. No one got instructions where to meet, and as we all got dropped off in different places, South American organisation  ensues. After an hour of driving around town we are all reunited. Back at Mountania, I make a decision I'm going back south, It seems to be the only place that has decent weather. Two days later I'm Back to the Future in Mancora. A special thanks to Ecuadorian customs for making me and a couple of hundred of my new friends stand in a non moving line for four hours. All up that's a day of my life I will never get back waiting for some useless pricks to do their jobs. The Peruvian side took 20 minutes with half as many people. The only plus was the ride back in the doggy colectivo with the other people I met in the line. Highlight buying black market petrol form Ecuador on the Peru side for 30 cent a litre while the cops watched on. From here it's south with a few more beach stops, till I hit Lima. Hasta Luego.