This is me: Northern Peru Adventure - Part 3

One of the main reasons I had come to the North Coast was to do some fishing - all I had caught round Huanchaco was Bagre, a saltwater catfish, and though I had caught quite a few of them I was hoping for better luck up here in warmer waters. The Humboldt Current runs Northwards up the Peruvian coast bringing cold waters from the Antarctic, which are the perfect breeding ground for anchovies, the food source of many other larger fish, and Peru's main export is fish (including fish meal produced from the anchovies). At Cabo Blanco the Humboldt meets warmer waters of the South Equatorial current and is pushed away from the coast, with the two currents - warm and cold - running side by side and producing some of the best fishing conditions, and they pass right through the Galapagos Islands. Zorritos was North of this current union and I was hoping to find better fishing!
I had chosen Grillo Tres Puntas Eco Hostel on the recommendation of a friend who had stayed there while doing a visa trip to Ecuador, as the border is only about 50 kms away, and on first impressions I was not disappointed -

The view from the dining area

Some of the bungalows - the front row are en-suite, while the ones in the rear have shared facilities

although I had booked a bungalow that had shared facilities, and they were not quite what I expected, though very much in keeping with the rustic, environmentally-friendly theme of the hostel.

The "bathroom" (open air!) sinks, where I shaved each day. The sinks drained into buckets, which were used to flush the toilets to save water

I gave this toilet a miss - not used to squatting!

Though the other wasn't a lot better with no seat, but did have a lid

One of the showers - the other just had a hose with no "rose"!

Throughout my stay there were not many others there - just a few campers, who also used the toilet "block" - so it wasn't that bad using these, though on a return trip I decided to opt for "en-suite"!

Mockingbird

The owner of the hostel rescues and breeds Peruvian Hairless dogs, and has over 30, though thankfully not all at the hostel. There are generally around 6 on site at any given moment.

Young, very friendly, Peruvian Hairless

One of the adult dogs on the deserted beach looking Northwards

... equally deserted to the South!

Oil and gas rigs offshore all along the coast here - with a traditional sailing fishing boat in front

The Mockingbirds come onto the verandah looking for scraps

Sunset from my bungalow

A little later from the "watchtower" partially obscured by an incoming cloud bank

The rigs are lit up at night, and the gas burn-off flames clearly visible

I went into Zorritos to the market to try and get some squid and prawns for bait, but neither were available at the small market there, but was told that I should be able to get some in Tumbes, which was 40 kms away, so decided to go there the next day. A trip to Tumbes had been on my itinerary but not this soon, so I decided just to go to the market for bait and save my proper exploration for another day.

Brown Pelicans heading North over a very calm sea!

Magnificent Frigate birds abound along the North coast and I took many photos trying to get a decent one

Beautiful prehistoric-looking birds

They glide effortlessly, but very fast on the air currents

Zen garden at the hostel

The road to Tumbes is part of the Panamerican Highway so pretty good, but traffic was heavier as I got closer to Tumbes - this is, after all, the main trade route from Ecuador (and countries further North) into Peru and beyond! I wasn't sure exactly where I needed to go to find the market, but once over the Tumbes river I turned off the highway and headed into the built-up areas.
Tumbes, I later found out, is a city of many colourful sculptures, and I found some soon after I left the highway near the river

Decoration by the viewpoint over the river

The Kiss

Rio Tumbes

The Mother

I found the market and managed to get some bait in the labyrinth of small back allies.

First thing I noticed was a man selling petrol at the side of the road

Most of the small bus and mototaxi routes pass the market, but the nearest petrol station is a long way away on the outskirts of town, so enterprising individuals sell petrol at the roadside - opposite the busy market, and in front of shops! People walk past openly smoking, too!

This lady had open containers, some with just a piece of wood as a "lid"!

Three-wheeler taxis everywhere

Just after a sharp shower.

Armed with enough bait for the rest of my stay I headed back to Zorritos, noting a couple of spots I would like to visit later on. On the way back I spotted a large green Iguana by the side of the road, but it had disappeared by the time I stopped and readied my camera. I did stop off in Zorritos and have a wander round before returning to the hostel.