This past weekend, we took a two hour bus ride through the mountains to a beach town called Mollendo. The road to Mollendo has what seemed to be about 70 switch backs and shear drop offs that left you feeling really queasy. If you allowed your mind to wander, you could easily imagine the bus at the bottom of the cliff engulfed in flames… so I read a book.

Once in Mollendo, we checked in to our hotel called “America,” owned and operated by one of the most pleasant people named Americo Chang. It was only 36 US dollars for two nights, and we had the best view with three walls of windows over looking the town. After unpacking, we relaxed on the beach and ate at a restaurant called Maro Antonio, which Brad found in his Peru travel book by the Lonely Planet book company. We ordered an assortment of food and beverages, but the one thing we ordered that stood out was the Ceviche, which consists of raw fish cooked in the acid of lime juice and covered in some pico de gallo. After dinner, we headed out to the beach again to watch the sunset over the Pacific ocean (which never happens on the east coast since the sun rises over the Atlantic.) Even though it was a beautiful sight with the red sky and the rocky cliffs there just just below us, where we watch the sun set, there happens to be a sewer pipe emptying into the ocean. Oh well, it’s a good thing you can’t smell the photos.

The weekend was a blast. We ordered some really good ice cream from another spot listed in the Lonely Planet bookand played some frisbee in an empty square all by ourselves when some shady guy walked up and rustled around in the bushes, and then, after checking a few bushes, he just left. When we were leaving the square, Axshel (our Peruvian friend) checked the bushes and found a wallet. It turns out the guy was ditching a wallet that he pick pocketed. The wallet only had an ID in it, and in Peru it’s difficult to get another ID. So we took the wallet with the ID in it to the police station later in the day.

Quick side note: Peruvian street dogs in Mollendo are way more chill than street dogs in the city. And of course, it’s because they live at the beach. They go swimming when they want to, they chill under anyone’s umbrella when they wish, and just do what ever they pretty much please.

It was a great weekend, and I would definitely spend another weekend in Mollendo.