Norte Peru and its trails tribulations and perfect surf

First up apologies as it seems my card reader has bit the dust and so no photos, even though we have lost, including video of me pulling into some mackin pits at El Hueco. Currently in Lobitos....


We diddn´t get big swells at the big left (Chicama), but have hit some solid swells on other fine lefts since. At the moment we are housed up in Lobitos, in some chirtian peruvian dudes house. Its sweet for about $5 a night we just live there like a flat, he works all day so its just us and a couple of other surfers, and an insanely hot girl (taken unfortunatley). At the moment I am just completly zonked. I have been surfing every day now for so many days I have lost count, I think maybe more than ten. My shoulders are a world of pain and all my cuts have blossomed into beautiful sea ulcers, but I have pulled into (and made it out of a lot of) more epic barrels than in the rest of my life. Have been surfing the spots of El Hueco http://www.wannasurf.com/spot/South_America/Peru/North/el_hueco/index.html and Punta de Lobos.
The days are hot and the sun is blinding in the desert sands. The town of Lobitos is almost totally dead, a small colonial town deserted when the oil began to run out, so it is full of huge empty buildings full of bats with huge vultures overhead, the horizon is dotted with vast oil rigs out to sea and the sun sets through them is a big red ball every day. One always feels completey spaced out during the day, and the sea breeeze is so strong surfing is out of the question. I routinely get up at 5.15am to hit the waves, a punishing routine.
My spanish is slowly improving and speaking what little I do know comes now without effort, the words are packing in.
We went up past Cabo Blanco and Mancora. Cabo is a cool fishing town with heavy waves, mancora a tourist spot which is a bit dead now in the low seasonj but good for parties, with Micah and I gong out till dawn hanging at the beach.
A dude from Lima called Carlos came with us as far as Mancora. He was a funny little dude who was obsessed with surfing and white women, and as such always talked aout one or the other. Machisimo is commonplace here.
The food here rules, with Chicarron de mariscos being my personal fave, battered and deep fried squid and shellfish served with a special sauce. MMm mmm. I also dig the fried maize the give you beforehand to munch on while you wait, salty and good, better than peanuts by far.
Our car, Jesus, thankfully is running okay, but guzzles the gas and must take all hills in either first or second. We caught a taxi to talara today because its actually cheaper than driving the ten km.
Micah hired a rod and I have a handline so we fish a bit but si far have come up with naught but a tiny stingray. Bum. And micah still beats me at chess. Bum.

Kahlil

Jesus, the 1974 Datsun!

We have bought a 1974 Datsun!
Bring on the fear and loathing of driving on the right, the Panamerican highway, and access to 6 foot peeling lefts!
Lima ain´t such a bad city...

The joys of peruvian bus travel! (By Micah)

The days and nights have blended into one perpetual skanky busride, sleeping in bus terminals, with the odd hotel room strewn in there... My bladder is permanently full and pressing on my ning nong, surrounded by loco peruanos and endless desert, once more. I have one forearms length between my headrest and the one in front of me, my neck is killing me, let alone the spanish movies and joke shows that grip my brain relentlessly! My feet are stuck in highland socks and shoes, but I havent the legroom to remove them. I´m so thirsty I have a headache but i darent put one extra drop in my bladder. The ticket collector looks more hungover and seedy each time he walks the aisle. After 36 hours spent shaking in a cold delerium, and 21 pumpkin soup plops later, we have left La Paz for Lima. Kahls foot aroma wafts past my nose intermittently, reminding me of that queeziness... please lord, get me off this hellbus and into the oceans clean tubes!!!!!!
and to boot my pack is soaked in a foul smelling liquid upon arrival, which has proved impossible to remove...ya ya ya!

Laid Low in La Paz

We have mad it out of Cochabamba finally as the blockade has been lifted. Unfortunately we are now stuck in La Paz with Micah working his way through an evil bout of gastro.
La Paz is cool and I can¡t wait to get to the coast.

Much love to everyone else sacttered about the globe.

Kahlil