Today being Nestor's only day off from work, we decided that this weekend we would visit a local beach called Chicama as a day trip. Yes, there is a local beach nearby called Huanchaco, but that beach is filled with rocks, so it makes it difficult to walk in the water or even on the beach. We had heard this beach had no rocks and was amazing. So we get on the bus at 9 am this morning for the two hour bus ride where we only have to pay 5.50 soles ($2.11) for one way. Very cheap!
My main purpose for coming to Chicama was to teach Nestor how to swim in the ocean. He knows how to swim. Don't worry about that. He just wasn't sure about the ocean, especially since the water moves. I ultimately want to get him to try surfing once, while I'm here. So I thought Chicama, with it's rockless beaches, would be the perfect place to start to learn how to swim in the ocean.
Upon arrival, this is our first view of the beach:
Very promising. It looks nice. The water is calm, the sand looks super soft, and there aren't many people, especially considering that today is Sunday, most people's day off. We immediately walk to the water to test it and see how cold it is. And for me, it's cold. I can't handle cold water very well, so I immediately am a bit disappointed. After this, we find a spot to lay down. Not one minute after getting comfortable, the wind blows (as it usually does at the beach). Remember how I said that the sand is super soft, meaning that it is fine? Well, this presents a problem. Every time the wind blows, sand comes with it. So I was trying to talk to Nestor once, and sand was blown in my mouth. Not what I was expecting. We tried to build a little wall to protect us from the sand, but that didn't help at all. After laying there for an hour, we decide to get in the water to rinse off and try swimming. Nestor jumps right in, but me, I struggle to overcome the coldness of the water. Every time it splashed me I would give out a little scream of surprise. After a few minutes, I got used to it more or less (although my skin was covered in goose bumps). We got out of the water and left the beach to find a bathroom to rinse off.
This is what we found upon exiting:
Seems nice right? Well, see that man sitting in the door? He charges you money as you enter. 30 centimos (12 cents) to use the bathroom without toilet paper, 50 centimos with toilet paper (19 cents), and 1 sol to take a shower (38 cents). It's not much money, I know, but still, to charge to use the bathroom? I've never heard of it.
Overall, it was a good day, and it was nice to get out of Trujillo, even if it was just for a few hours. It was nice to explore somewhere new where neither one of us had been. We both didn't know what to expect. We were disappointed that the beach wasn't as nice as we thought with all of the sand, but it was nice to be able to spend the day together.
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