For anyone who is following my blog, you will know that we have been living abroad for the last decade or so…six years in China, three years in Thailand and now we are finishing off our third year in Peru. After a decade, the expat honeymoon is kind of over. We are used to shopping at local markets, living in another language and doing without many things that we used to think were so necessary. But we never get tired of exploring our new surroundings, especially beaches in the middle of what would be a freezing Canadian winter if we were still there.

Over the last few weeks we have visited several beaches all within an hour’s drive of Trujillo. Trujillo is the third largest city in Peru after Lima and Arequipa. Located on the coast about 300 miles north of the capital city, it is known for its year-round spring climate, Paso horses, Marinera dancing, and rich cultural history that is showcased in several popular archaeological sites in the region. And it also is home to some of the best money counterfeiters in the world so everyone in the district is pretty good at spotting poor quality bills and coins.

We live in Huanchaco, a small fishing/surfing village just minutes outside the city. With its consistent surf, cold water and often rocky beach, it has always been more popular for surfing than swimming. But you don’t have to go far to find picture perfect vacant sandy beaches that seem to go on forever. Here’s a few photos of what you can expect if you visit any of them.

Huanchaco

For most of the time, Huanchaco is a laid back beach town. But on weekends and holidays, crowds descend on our little town and jam up the beachfront road and the beaches for fun in the sun. There are tons of restaurants from small coffee and ice cream shops to upscale dining establishments. Ceviche, a spicy seafood dish made from fresh raw fish cured in citrus juices, is the most popular item on the menus and it is said that this famous dish first appeared in this area.

Colorfully painted buses ply back and forth between Trujillo city center and the small town of Huanchaco. Stand on the main beach street and one is sure to pass within five or ten minutes. The fifteen or twenty minute journey costs 2 soles, about $0.60USD.

Las Delicias

Only minutes south of Trujillo, the small coastal neighborhood of Las Delicias has also been drastically affected in recent years by coastal erosion. It has historically been a more upscale residential area of Trujillo. The luxurious homes found here are constantly affected by the force of the sea.

The small beach that still remains is the central focus of the area. You won’t find a lot of commercial establishments here but it is a great place to spend an afternoon near Trujillo if you don’t want to deal with the tourist commercialism of Huanchaco.

Puerto Morin

Now this is a beach! Only 30 miles south of Trujillo, it’s difficult to find a rock on the beach that stretches to the horizon in both directions. Puerto Morin is a small Peruvian village that has next to no development with this beach at its doorstep. This what never ceases to amaze me in this part of the world…spring temperatures year-round, out-of-this-word beach and a very cheap cost of living. And a city of one million people only a half-hour away!

El Charco

If you drive along Huanchaco’s main beach frontage road and keep going north another half hour or so, you will end up on another wide expanse of sandy beach. There’s not much here except a beautiful beach that stretches for several miles and a handful of small restaurants but it is another easy place to get to if you live in the area. It’s surprising how few people actually make the short trek to get here. Again, you won’t find many people except on weekends and holidays. Even then, there will always be lots of room for your beach chair!

Chicama/Malbrigo

I’m still not sure which name this place goes by but most people refer to it as Chicama. Located less than 50 miles north of Trujillo, it is renowned for having one of the largest left breaking surfing waves in the world. So the town itself caters to the local and international surfing crowd with lots of hostels, restaurants and a brand new malecon or boardwalk. This is one town that is trying to attract tourists and so far is on track.

It is probably one of the cleanest beaches and towns I have seen here, at least on the day we went. There was an army of town workers cleaning the public washrooms (some of the cleanest I have seen anywhere in my travels around Peru and the rest of the world) and boardwalk area while we were there. And the streets were being upgraded and paved. The only detriment was the constant wind…very strong wind. I’m not sure if that is a common occurrence or if we hit a bad day.

The distance from ‘the point’ to ‘the pier’ at Chicama is about 2.2 km, which locals confirm has been ridden on a single wave, although the whole cape upon which the waves break, to their most westernmost end, is 4 km long. Although other waves break further up the cape from the main section of “the point”, (including “Malpaso” (up to a few hundred metres) and “Keys” (up to 600m or so) apparently nobody has ridden a single wave the length of the whole 4 km cape at Chicama, as deep water does not allow a single ride along the length of the first 1.8 km or so. (Wikipedia)

It’s about a 90-minute drive from Trujillo but well worth it.