The Old Man and the Sea

The cigar-shaped totora boats called 'caballitos de tora' (little horses) fascinated me. They have been used as rafts by the fishermen on this coastline for the past 3000 years.

Huanchaco was exactly what we needed. A break by the sea - rain or shine. We were booked in to a hotel that we could afford called the Naylamp in room #26, which was the only one afforded an ocean view, and this suited us just fine.

The tone of modern-day Huanchaco was set when we went for a cheeseburger in a surfer's burger shack that literally was out of a garage facing the beach. Huanchaco today has a unique vibe. While still famous for it's fishermen and seafood, surfers from around the world now come to this coast to chase some the longest breaks on the planet.

This coast was once known worldwide for its famous deep-sea fishermen and the "Humboldt Current" of the tropical waters that run right up to Ecuador. The marine ecosystem was ideal for reproduction of some very large fish in indeed including marlins, swordfis and tuna.

During the 1950s big game fishing was the rage and nowhere was it bigger than here in Peru.

The hotel resorts and fishing clubs attracted Hollywood guests like John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, James Stewart and Gregory Peck.

Dozens of records were broken during that ten-year span, several which stand today including the biggest record of them all. In 1953, a Texas oilman called Alfred Glassell pulled in a 14 and a half foot, 1,560 pound black marlin - the largest bony fish ever caught by rod and reel.

Our week-long escape was relaxing mostly thanks to the perfect retreat at Hostal Naylamp at the end of the beach.

It was further up the coast from here at another fishing village that Ernest Hemingway based himself during the filming of The Old Man and the Sea to help the Warner Brothers film crew. Hemingway spent long and successful fishing days and managed to capture over a dozen huge black marlin that were captured by the Warner Brothers crew for the film. His largest catch was a whopping 910 pound marlin. In true form, on most days he spent the rest of his time at the local beach cafe where locals this day still remember the "Whiskey Gringo". He wrote letters to Marlene Deitrich, bonded with reporters and made great friends like the barman Paul Cordova who still remembers "Don Ernesto" from the small bar in what has now become a forgotten old ghost town.

Point Break > The point of our journey north was some relaxation while in search for sun, sand and some of the world's most recent archeological discoveries.

A Day Fishing with Ernest Hemingway

The days became routine in Cabo Blanco. Ernest Hemingway got up at dawn with a breakfast consisting of two boiled eggs, toast with butter and lots of coffee. At 8am we embarked. Along with our fishing gear was always a bottle of whiskey or gin. The day was invariably ten hours at sea, and at dusk, everyone met in the hotel to start the evening of chat and conversation. Hearty salads on the table and a culinary delicacy dazzled Mary Welsh, especially the famous lomo saltado. It is a typical Peruvian dish made of beef sirloin, cut into pieces and sautéed to skillet with onions and tomatoes, served with white rice. Hemingway's wife requested the recipe be carefully noted in his diary. Those nights of bohemia invariably ended at 10pm with several empty bottles of Scotch. "Don Ernesto" then took his stool near Paul Cordova, the beloved bartender, while the others went to their rooms to retire.

Lomo Saltado - a staple in all restaurants cheap and upscale - sliced fried beef strips, mixed with onions, chili, tomato and potato chips served with a side of rice.

Unfortunately the weather during our week was more conducive to writing than fair-weather fishing or beach bumming. We too took this opportunity to sit, read and write while overlooking a cold and rainy sea. I loved watching how the surfers would share the tides with fishermen. The first surfboard, according to a local museum, drew inspiration from the caballitos boats which are more of of a kayak-surfboard hybrid really. Yet these fishermen still glide past gringo surfers on their modern-day waxed down boards.

Today the marlin have all vanished from overfishing. All that remain are memories haunting the sea and shoreline. The shopping malls outside Trujillo and the airport are creeping closer to Huanchaco beach. But all in all, life goes on slowly and peacefully in this part of Peru. I couldn't help wondering if

these traditional fishermen in their little horse boats would be around a thousand years more.