I somehow ended up having a bit of a classic vacation in a beach resort town called Mancora. The original plan was to hang out in Chiclayo but we arrived and went to the small nearby coastal town where we thought we wanted to stay but did not get good vibes so we checked out a museum and caught a bus North to Mancora.

I have been learning to surf and have collected a lot of scrapes and bruises from getting bashed by the waves, my surfboard, and ground into the sand. The waves are big and difficult to navigate, but my surfing has improved 500%. Yesterday I did not last long in the ocean because the waves were twice as tall as the people surfing in them and you can only get beat up by such waves before going back to the sand.

So aside from using half a gallon of sunscreen and getting fresh fruit juices on the beach I have managed to collect some jewelry since everyone here sells handmade jewelry. The guy who gave us surfing lessons when we first got here also makes jewelry to sell & he showed us his artwork this morning & we both bought a couple things. Then when we were sitting on the beach a lady came over and asked us for some peanuts. We had a big bag that we had bought in Yurimaguas and since we did not want to carry them anymore we were trying to eat them. We told her to take as much as she wanted and she offered to trade us some jewelry for the bag of peanuts (apparently peanuts are not very common here since they need to be imported from other parts of Peru). So I got a pink shell bracelet & Cammie got some earings and I think everyone was pleased with the trade.

Then I started thinking about the value of other goods in a small coastal town that really only produced seafood and shells. So I decided to try and barter my hammock. It was easy; someone offered to exchange gifts and I picked out a necklace and they got the hammock and I think I by far got the better deal.