30/08/2013 Day off Huanchaco

The fishing boats in the back ground are called cabalitos (little horses)They are made from reeds and were depicted on Mochica pottery ( which we saw in the museum in Lambayeque). Apparently they ride the breakers like surf boards.

We have been utterly lazy today and thoroughly enjoyed it! It's out of season in Huanchaco so it is not very busy, ( as predicted there was quite a lot of cloud all day and I think we were lucky yesterday when we first arrived and found it lovely and sunny). Most of the tourists are South American with a handful of others and it definitely has a holiday feel about it. We managed a few little walks on the beach and a few forays out to restaurants to stock upon calories. Tomorrow we are starting with a 95km ride on the coast before we turn left off the Pan American climbing on ripio for another 20 kms and then have to find a wild camping spot . It'll be nice to start climbing into the Andes again , but I'm sure we'll curse it too. From all accounts Canon del Plato ( Cordillera Blanca) should be beautiful and peace should return after the busy traffic days on the flat coastal roads. The prospect of slowly climbing from sea level to a pass at 4800 m ( the height of Mont Blanc! ) is more than a bit daunting though. We have been scouring google earth to see if we can find any little towns where we might be able to find food and water along the way. Shame they haven't found a ready available alternative to water to carry with you. Fluid is just so heavy to carry. Temperatures should be between 20 and 25 degrees during the day (lovely) down to freezing at night (not so lovely) Don't think we are going to get a lot of internet access over the next few days so I'll have to keep you in suspense until the next opportunity!