We took a 2 hour bus to Mollendo first thing on Saturday morning with plans to spend the weekend on the beach.
The trip was faster than I had expected given that the tickets cost only 10 soles ($3.50) each. We were on a somewhat generic bus line called Santa Ursula. I was expecting stops in every town along the way, at the very least, if not a breakdown or tire blow out. But no, the ride was quick and easy, and we got to watch a horrible movie along the way.
Mollendo is a beat up, run down, beach “resort” town. It’s a weird mix of standard (basic, cinder block) buildings and buildings that look like they could be in an old Western movie. I believe the earthquake that devastated Pisco and Ica (towns farther north of here) in 2007 also caused a tsunami that hit Mollendo. I can’t tell if I’m seeing destruction from that, or just old wooden buildings.
The beach front itself has been fairly modernized. There is nice promenade with a water park (unfortunately closed for the season) and a recreation center with astroturf soccer fields, tennis courts and a swimming pool. There are also public bathrooms, which is more than I can say for the other beach towns we’ve visited here in Peru.
The beach is also super pristine. There wasn’t a speck of garbage in sight. The water is an amazing turquoise green. The waves coming into shore are HUGE. And after they crash they slide up a flat, clear beach.
Unfortunately, the amazing view of the beach is interrupted by an abandoned, half falling down train station and a set of train tracks about 4 rows wide. The jewel of the city, featured in all of their promotional pieces, is a building called the Castle. It sits at one end of the beach… Abandoned, windows busted out, walls spray painted. Just around the opposite cove are a pair of rusted out cranes. And there was a huge tanker parked out in the water, spewing black smoke for a good part of the day. I do not get it…
We spent Saturday and Sunday drinking beers and taking in the HUGE waves, dozens of crabs scrambling around on the beach, and Peruvian families playing in the water. It was a nice break from our regular touristing. And I got to refresh my tan line.
[...] of playa and sol [...]