Mandango

Hiya! Chiclayo keeps getting better. Started the day off by switching hostals and running errands. Found one for only 10 soles, which is like $3 to you and I. (I left the room just a few minutes ago after finding a little cockroach, only to walk into the nicest internet cafe I{ve seen so far to be confronted with a HUGE cockroach....sweet!) Then Lena and I explored the monday mercado in the city which was filled with the regular goods (everything from fruit to sandals to blank cds) as well as the huge corner we were looking for, dominated by shamanistas and their ancient medicinal herbs and magic potions. Most of the stands looked the same, dried greenery and brown shrroms, little bottles filled with secret ingredients supposed to bring good luck, cures for love and illness, etc. We did have an interesting exchange with some curious teen girls, who after only a short conversation jotted down both mine and Lena{s phone number, in hopes of exchanging stories in the near future. Then it was off to the beach, Pimentel. It was windy and we were shielded from the sun by some serious cloud cover... much needed relief. Met some aussies who arrived today in search of the narliest waves. Fun to run into other travelers, as we are all looking to exchange information and stories and wish one another luck. We also met many very friendly Chiclayanos here today. Many were interested in chatting about this, that and the other, which is great for me becuase I need to improve my comprehension. It was brought to my attention more than twice throughout the day that we speak Castellano, instead of the Spanish they speak here. Interesting to be called out for speaking the SPANISH spanish, instead of the South American indigenously'rooted language.

While K and H were hiking Itzcayluma, a Canadian named Simon and I hiked Mandango. We walked along each of those thin little ridgelines you can see (in the pic on the left) including the ones in the foreground, and those on topo of the green topped rock platforms that draw your immediate attention. It was a bit vertical, as in I was on my hands and knees for a good 3k, but well worth the incredible view, as you can see form the pic on the right!