Day 51/164: Rest day two in Pacasmayo

Needless to say I felt considerably better this morning than I did yesterday. I had a late start and was not at all motivated to go to the hotel breakfast which is two hard white rolls, with smelly cheese and jam and coffee. The coffee is not too bad, you get a thermos of hot water, coffee syrup, and milk, and mix it yourself. Plus if you wanted to pay extra you could get very average scrambled eggs or fried eggs, plus wait about 30 minutes for them.

Instead I went back to the cafe where I had had lunch yesterday, and had an omelette and coffee – I tried tea there yesterday but yuk! It had a spice – maybe cinnamon – added to it.

Then I went off to the supermarket to get stuff for next few days: more bug spray, sunscreen, water, and snacks. Plus I got stuff for a picnic lunch up on the hotel 5th floor balcony. I was tempted by the Gran Rosé (with a name like that surely it was meant for me), however it was not chilled so I got a red wine from Chile instead.

At the supermarket either the manager, or one of the employees, has OCDC – all the tins, bottles and packets were facing the same way and the labels all lined up!

Supermarket stacking: Everything in the whole shop – the packets / cans etc – were stacked with the labels all pointing the same way

I had a very nice leisurely picnic up on the roof balcony but could have done without the piped music, still you can’t have everything. Great view and warm but not too hot. However I am back to riding tomorrow so enough lounging around, it is time to be off to sort out bags etc.

Well, what a disaster the laundry has been for some of the riders! Clothes are back that are more smelly than before they went (believe me with the rider’s gear, that is pretty smelly), clothing still wet, and also clothes missing. We have a box at reception for clothing that we got that does not belong to us, so thought I should check through it and found a pair of socks that I did not know I had lost. One of the riders (Peter) found a towel in the laundry he had been missing since Quito.

TDA staff enjoying a rare day off. From left: Luiz the lunch truck driver and bike mechanic, Cristiano the tour leader, Antonio a bike mechanic who joined us in Quito.

I had dinner at a restaurant just up the square from the hotel, where a few of the other riders had gone to and had said was ok. Well, it was worst meal of the trip. I got the fish fillet and it was two small squares of rock hard fish on a bed of still frozen plantain, rice and a limp lettuce leaf. It was a miserable helping and most of ii was left on the plate. However, as I had had a reasonable lunch I decided not to try my luck elsewhere.

Peru has a drink I have not seen anywhere else, sold by Coca Cola and very popular with the locals, called Inca Kola! It is bright yellow and does not look appealing, but I am curious so I bought a bottle at the supermarket. To be fair to it I thought I should at least drink it cold, so as I had the very rare privilege of a fridge in my room I put it in my fridge until after dinner. Verdict: well, I think it may be an acquired taste.

Inca Cola (Editor’s note: Apparently Peru is the one place that the trademark isn’t owned by Coca Cola)

We have three days riding until the next rest day.

Boats on the beach

Hotel we are staying at in Pacasmayo. It is 5 stories.

Promenade outside the hotel in Pacasmayo to the right (with back to the sea)

Promenade outside the hotel in Pacasmayo to the left ( back to the sea)

The Grand Hotel (Photo and caption credit: Sue’s blog)

Day 50/164: Rest day in Pacasmayo

Not surprisingly I did not wake up feeling the best I ever had. I felt a bit like I had after the farewell party in Venice! Very seedy but thankfully unlike then I did not have a canal boat trip that I had to go on that day.

I had breakfast, then more water, and then went for a walk around the town. Jackie, who had joined me drinking the pisco sour, came to breakfast wearing dark glasses and also feeling fragile.

View of Pacasmayo

Walking down hill my legs were sore and I am very thankful not to be riding today. Interesting town, I walked down to the pier. It used to be where people and goods were unloaded and then shipped across Peru. A number of dogs, cats, pelicans, and vultures, were hanging hopefully around the fish market at the pier.

View of the pier from the hill in town

View of town from the pier

Cats sitting by fish market on pier in Pacasmayo

Pelicans keeping close eye on fish market in Pacasmayo

Fishing boats

Vultures in Pacasmayo

This place is now very popular as a surf beach, and as a claim to surf beach fame it can create waves that you can ride for up to 4 minutes. According to the surfers that is very rare.

The amazing surf on the beach here (Photo and caption credit: Sue’s blog)

TDA staff head down to surf (Photo credit: Sue’s blog)

For such a small city there are a lot of tuk tuks, and every time you cross a road you have to look out. Just like in Cartagena, and the rest of South America so far, pedestrian crossings mean nothing. I had lunch at a shop in the plaza square, then headed back to the hotel to catch up on the blog!

At 6pm I headed down to the laundry to pick up my washing. I have been very fortunate and all my washing is back, even though it is damp and had to be aired in my room. Some of the riders have some or none of their washing. One of the riders got a bag back with his name on it, but nothing in the bag was his. A number of people the washing had not been started and they were told to come back the next day!

We are going to have a box at the hotel to put all the laundry that is not ours in and hopefully washing can be reunited with the correct owner. Always a problem relying on a local provider but there was not the option here to do our own. So far I have been lucky and have only lost one pair of riding shorts.

I watched a lovely sunset and had dinner at the hotel. I thought I had ordered something like a tortilla but when it arrived it was a lump of beef in a thick cheese sauce! Was quite tasty, I had a nice glass of red wine with it and retired for an early night (early for a rest day at about 8:30pm, was an hour and half past riding day bedtime).

Sunset over the waves (Photo and caption credit: Sue’s blog)

There was a street fair / party that started after I had gone to bed and I woke up a few times with it still going on but managed to go back to sleep. If I had known it was going to be on I may have stayed up a bit later, but probably not.

It was nice to go to sleep with the luxury of another rest day and not having to set the alarm clock for the second day in a row.

Possibly a distant relative of Benji’s

A vulture airing its wings

Another picture of vultures in Pacasmayo

Late afternoon light (Photo and caption credit: Sue’s blog)

View from Sue’s hotel room corridor this evening (Photo and caption credit: Sue’s blog)