Perú I

Early morning at Lobitos. Glassy conditions and a fast wave that walls up perfectly! I arrived in North Perú and spent a night in Mancora. Unfortunately the waves were less than kneehigh and I was sick of partying, so I decided to head further down south to Lobitos! A good decision, plunging into the tranquility of a tiny village inmidst the desert. Lobitos offered a good wave, one restaurant and a lot of time to read! I stayed at the Surf Natural Hostel, owned by Perúvian Kike und Verena from Vorarlberg, Austria! Tiny world...
http://www.facebook.com/people/Lobitos-Surf-Natural/100000981849565

If you turn your head away from the waves, there´s not much to be found! The vast coastal desert of North Perú!

Next stop was Pacasmayo! Felt good to have some social interaction again, good times with Crazy Dave, Asaf, Carlos, Bill, Brent and Aussi-Dave.

Asaf from Israel shredding at El Faro. Pacasmayo is a mellow wave that can get big and allowes rides up to over a minute! It  is usually said to be breaking twice as big as famous Chicama, which lies two hours south. My intention was to wait here in Pacasmayo until a swell big enough to make Chicama work would hit the coast!



My Weapon, a Webber Afterburner 6´0" Epoxi, double concave with fishtail. It´s been heavily scarred but it´s a speedmachine! I love this board! I posted some footage of my surfs in Pacasmayo! Asaf was so kind and lent me his waterproof GoPro which I have attached to my head during the first ride. The second video was taken from the shore and shows a medium size wave that day. Some really long rides were possible at El Faro and if you kicked out of a wave then mainly because you knew it would be a loooong paddle back! 





Chill after surf...



And another amazing sunset!



Pacasmayos ghetto-graffiti!





Pedro, the fastest Mototaxi-driver in all Pacasmayo! You want weed, you need cocaine, care for some hookers? Pedro is the man who will set you up! And Pedro doesn´t break for speedbumps! Here we are racing down the Panamericana to see a little oasis in the desert.



   

Getting to know the backcountry since there aren´t any waves today.

Where there is water there is life! Even rice is grown here!

Sheepsheep! This one´s for you Mum!



After ten days in Pacasmayo the time was ripe! A swell was coming in to fire up the famous wave called Chicama! It´s said to be the longest wave of Perú and you´ll even have a hard time finding a wave this long anywhere in the rest of the world! It´s a magical place! In the right conditions the wave can be ridden all the way from that headland in the middle of the picture to the beach on the right end of the picture and further! That´s more than two kilometers! I kind of screwed up the panorama shot, but anyways I caught those three perfect lines on the right side of the picture, typical for the wavemachine Chicama... 



 

Once again I got lucky! It was amazing to whitness what a perfect wave mother nature creates here! All in all North Perú hoasts some world famous, world class surf! I´m absolutely stoked!