After 3 months in Ecuador, we headed to Lima, Peru to apply for our Visas to Bolivia. Mancora is one of the stops we made on the way to Lima.

 

 

Crossing Ecuador – Peru Border

 

We took a bus from Guayaquil, Ecuador south to cross the Ecuador-Peru border. Surprisingly it was much easier and faster than the Colombia-Ecuador border crossing. That was a full day affair.

 

The funny part about the bus to Peru was the processing was like an airport departure. We had to check-in the luggage 2 hours before the departure. While boarding, the bus company employee placed a video camera in front of the bus door, checking the ‘hand luggage/bag’ one by one. But, this is a good bus company with pillow & blanket, the seat is comfortable and the meal was good.

 

Bus Company: Cruz del Sur
Route: Guayaquil – Mancora
Ride: 8-9 hours
Meal: Lunch (Chicken/Beef/Vegetarian)
Cost: USD 41 on 2 level of the bus, USD 50 on 1st level of the bus.
Luggage: Free Checked–20kg (*They will weight your checked luggage, and charge, extra 1 kg is USD 1.50). They didn’t weight our carryon.

 

 

Mancora food heaven – at least for me!

 

Mancora, Mancora! Surfing, nice and cheap food, and a youngster party. This is what I felt about Mancora. The weather here will be windy while you watching the sunset on the beach, so bring a scarf or light jacket will be perfect. Mancora is a small town, you can walk the town by yourself or take the motor-taxi for 2 Soles.

If you visit Mancora in right season which is June – December, you’ll likely get the chance to take a trip to see the unforgettable sight of humpback whales breaching from the water. The boat tour price is 60 Soles which is USD 20. My goodness! This is so amazing in Mancora but I wasn’t in the right season. Well … that is life. We need to move on.

 

 

 

When running on the beach in the morning, there are hundreds of frigates birds standing on the electric wire. Mancora is like a little Galapagos. Frigates everywhere. Morning is the time to visit the pier, one of the best things in Mancora. Watching the fisherman handling the fish, while hundreds of frigate birds are flying around the boats. But, watch out for the ‘bird bombs’ from the sky. Haha…

 

Mancora right side is a Punta Sal beach which everyone said is a beautiful beach with luxury hotels in Mancora. Left side is Las Pocitas beach and itself also have few beautiful hotels.

 

 

 

 

We spend a day in Las Pocitas beach in Hotelier. We watched the beautiful view in front of Hotelier while we caught up on our travel blogging. There are a nice breeze and food, it is a nice working place for us.

 

 

 

 

 

Our host told us that the Lighthouse has a beautiful sunset. Lighthouse is just a lighthouse but what impressed us is the history of Mancora. The owner of the bar lighthouse explained how Mancora turned from green to desert in his lifetime. Really sad.

 

 

 

Mancora has many places that offer set special menus, with starter, main course & juice for the price of 10-15 Soles ($3 to $5 USD). The price varies depending on which kind of restaurant you choose. Local restaurants are cheaper than international. I even tried restaurants with no name, so just go there and try your luck.

 

Cafe Del Mundo : Great breakfast & lunch. The lunch set came with garlic bread, a main, and a choice of starter, and fresh juice. The chef is from France, so the food was high quality. The food is amazing, the best & cheap western food that I ever have so far.

Kiba Mancora : Variety set lunch & dinner menu. Starter, a main & fresh juice. I love the ceviches and the fish with quinoa. It’s very delicious and healthy.

 

 

 

Mancora is a good stop before heading to Lima and most of the time I was just working on my blog. Just come here in the right season June – December for amazing Whale watching. 🙂