Piura - Colán II: 11-4-2010

The beautiful Esmeralda beach lined with coco palms and posadas.

Overlooking the beach at a balcony of Hotel Luna Nueva.


The golden sea at sunset.


Me, Dani and Hernan at dinner together.

Overlooking the beachfront through the window of my room. Simply the best way to wake up in the morning!

Seriously I hadn't had a proper holiday for a while, so I decided to go to a beach town up north, Colán. First I took an overnight bus from Lima to Piura, which is about 15 hours! For that reason, I went for a very comfy sofabed seat, including 2 meals and purser services. For about 45US I think it's a steal! Surprisingly, there's wifi in the bus too, so it kept me very busy! The only problem was that my iPhone went out of battery very soon! LOL. Anyway, I rested quite well and got a bit accomplished through my iPhone.

Arrived in Piura around 2pm, and there was little reason to stay there, and so I went straight to the bus station going to Paita, where is the gateway to Colán. The 50-minute bus ride was pleasant with good view and nice breeze. Upon arrival, I immediately hopped on a colectivo heading north to the beach town. In the colectivo I met two new friends, Dani and Hernan. They are locals but happened to head there for vacation as well. We broke the ice by talking about the Chinese culture as they are fascinated by it. And I gave them a packet of TongRenTang Chinese Medicinal drink to try, as they asked me about alternative medicine in China, and I tried to explain to them as much as I could. On the way, Dani showed me the oldest church in South America, which happened to be in Colán.

After millions hours of transportation, I finally arrived! Before I got here, I wondered if it's worth it to travel all the way to somewhere I had never been to nor knew little of it, but once I set foot in this tranquil and pristine beach town, I knew I'd made the right decision. The three of us went to find a place to stay first, and we found a nice hotel called Hotel Luna Nueva, facing right to the beach. There were a pool, hammocks, a restaurant and all the amenities we needed. And it's only 15US per night! I got a room facing the beach with huge windows overlooking the Pacific Ocean beach, and so did they!

Soon after settling in, we went to hit the waves together, which was super fun! Hernan and I both reported that we'd both been turned around in the waves at least twice! The water here, unlike many beaches lined the Pacific Ocean, is tepid due to the warm current of the Niño. Afterwards, we hit the pool and played volleyball together, and again it was super fun. When the sun started to set, we went to the balcony watching it going down into the water of the Pacific. We had dinner as well together. Hernan sneezed a little, so he tried the chinese medicine packet, but I don't think he appreciated the bitter taste! So it was fun, and Dani and I encouraged him to just chuck it all in at once. Fortunately, the food arrived soon and we shared a dish called Parihuela, which is a mixture of seafood cooked with garlic, onion and the Piura-famous lemon (it's called limón but really looks more like lime). It was super delicious, especially the broth which was sublime! Having seafood is the best thing in a coastal town like this. When I thought the night was over after our lovely dinner, Hernan knocked on my door and invited me to have some wine with them at the balcony. Facing the Pacific as well as the city of Paita, Dani, a native of Paita, told me lots of history of Paita, while we all chatted about everything from our families, cultures and traveling to work, food, wine and architecture (Dani a civil engineer and Hernan an architect)! We finished around quarter to one, and it's definitely time for bed!

The next morning at eight, I was waken by the sound of the sea, and overwhelmed by the beauty of it through my window. I went out for a long walk along the long gorgeous beach lined with posadas and palm trees, and some exotic birds and a huge tortoise were enjoying the beach too and taking a rest after some serious swimming and flying around! And the sand this morning was gold in color! Usually beige, but it shimmered with sprinkles of gold sand! Having been to Caribbean beaches, I must say even though there's no white sand and turquoise water, The pristine northern coast of Peru makes one feel super tranquil, relaxed, "grand" & "big"! (Probably due to the wider and more profound Pacific Ocean as opposite to the smaller but more colorful Caribbean Sea). Now I can understand how it inspired Ernest Hemingway to write "The Old Man and the Sea" here. (Well, exactly it was in Cabo Blanco, where is further north but is reported less attractive nowadays)

The owner of the hotel let me have a late checkout til 2:00pm when I'm ready for lunch before heading back to Piura. After enjoyed more beach time and floated in the pool watching palm trees swayed by the breeze, here I am swinging in a hammock and eating a guanábana flavored ice lollies as I keep up my journal, my troubles have swung away and am ready for the next two weeks of work.