A Week on the Beach

We left Ollantaytambo, high up in the Andes, and flew to Northern Peru, just south of the border with Ecuador. We stayed on the beautiful, isolated tropical beach south of the town of Zorritos. It was high season in Ollanta, but low season on the coast. We stayed in a hostel called Grillo Tres Puntas, and we pretty much had the whole place, and the beach, to ourselves. We relaxed in the hammocks and took long walks, ate lots of ceviche and seafood stew, drank quite a few caiparinhas, and lazed away   a few perfect days.

A great way to say goodbye to South America and to Peru after being on the continent for nine months. It has seemed to us that every experience we had was better than the last one. Everywhere we went was the best place we had been yet. This beach was no exception. The water was warm and the breeze was gentle. The pelicans flew by, skimming the waves, and the magnificent frigate birds (that´´s their real name) soared overhead.

Tres Puntas was built by a guy named Leon, from Barcelona, over the course of years. One of the features was El puente rústico. He collected twisted wood and built the bridge, which really didn´t go over anything, but it did afford some elevation, and we often sat up on top to watch the sunset. Leon also loves the hairless Peruvian dogs, and he raises them.

A group of five Australian tourists showed up one day, and all of us went out on an excursion to see the magnificent frigate birds in their nests. The birds truly are magnificent, with a wingspan of six and a half feet, and their ability to soar. They cannot swim, and they never go on land. They soar over the ocean and they skim things off the water. This particular species nests in mangrove trees near the Ecuador/Peru border, and they don’t really wander too far. We drove to Punto Pizarro, then got in a boat, and motored to the mangroves, called manglares. It was impossible to estimate how many birds were there, but my guess was close to one hundred thousand of them. Each pair lays one egg, then the male and female take turns on the nest until the egg hatches. We arrived at the beginning of the nesting season. The males inflate a red pouch on their chests to impress the females. The pouch looks like a red balloon, and it also looks like a heart. We got extremely close to them. Truly a Wild Kingdom outing.

After we left the mangroves, we stopped at a little island for lunch. Very good ceviche.

There were a few other outings that we could have gone on, but we couldn’t bring ourselves to leave the beach. The hammocks were calling, and it was just a little too tranquil and beautiful.

Ready for what comes next.