No Fixed Plans

Our adventure officially started with an overnight bus at 9pm. I tried to get some sleep, but it wasn’t the most restful night knowing we had border control in the middle of it.

We arrived at border control at around 2:20am, and the staff decided to take their sweet time (at one point we were fairly sure one of the two was asleep). By the time everyone had made it through, it was already 6am. Safe to say we were all exhausted.

We finally arrived in Máncora at about 8:30am and jumped into little tuk-tuks that took us to our resort. After dropping our bags, we all headed straight to breakfast before spending the morning relaxing by the pool. It was exactly what everyone needed after such a long night of travelling.

At 2pm, we went on an orientation walk around town where our guide showed us where to find the ATM, where to exchange US dollars, and where the local police station was.

We grabbed lunch afterwards, although it took so long that our food didn’t come out until nearly 4pm. After eating, we wandered back to the hotel to relax before everyone met up again for dinner at 7:30pm. We were all still pretty tired from travelling, so it ended up being an early night.

I woke up around 8:30am and wandered down for breakfast at 9am. Most people had already eaten, so there were only a few of us left.

After eating, most of our group signed up to go on an ATV tour. We headed out in the afternoon, starting around 4:30pm, and it ended up being the highlight of Mancora, however about six of the ATVs broke down during the ride, so there were plenty of unexpected stops while everyone swapped vehicles or waited for repairs. Even with all the mechanical issues, we still had so much fun driving through the dusty trails, on the road (which we all questioned whether it was legal) and on the beach. 

By the time we got back around 7:30pm, we were absolutely covered in dirt. We all showered and spent ages trying to rinse the dust out of our clothes before meeting up for dinner together.

After dinner, we watched a bonfire being lit on the beach, which was such a nice way to end the day. Then it was straight to bed after another full day.

Everyone was up for breakfast at around 8:30am, and we decided to spend our last day in Máncora taking it easy.

We hung out by the beach for most of the day, soaking up the sunshine, swimming, chatting, and making the most of our last few hours there. It was such a chilled atmosphere and the perfect way to finish our stay.

Although we officially checked out of the hotel at 6pm, we stayed around until it was time to leave later that evening. We had dinner at the resort before heading off, and one of the highlights was watching four people from our group learn how to make Pisco Sours. It was so entertaining, and of course everyone had to taste-test their creations afterwards.

Finally, at 10pm, we hopped back on another overnight bus, ready for the next stop on our adventure.