The Beaches….and the little town of Mejia.

In summer everyone in Lima wants to go to the beach. On Sundays, people from all walks of life descend the shoreline cliffs and flock to the beaches below.

On weekdays, the throng of beach enthusiasts thins out, making the beach a convenient sandy escape from the bustle of busy city life.

To avoid the crowds, at weekends there is a procession of cars heading south to beaches in villages such as Punta Negra or Punta Hermosa, fifty or so kilometres from Lima.

Another favourite beach is “El Silencio”. On this long beach, the traders walk for hours trudging up and down the crescent of sand selling their jewellery, buckets, water wings, paddling pools, temporary tattoos, ice creams and chicken sandwiches.

(Click and scroll to see small images full size.)

The “Ambulantes” on the beach, El Silencio.

Those who are wealthy, travel a little further, to their elegant white summer houses in “Asia”, one hundred kilometres south of Lima, where they enjoy their private beaches and hang out with their own little bubble of people. (See separate post……….The Asia Beaches – The Story of Contrasts in Peru.)

And away from Lima? The most popular holiday resorts can be found in the north, a ninety minute flight from Lima. It was here that Ernest Hemingway did his merlin fishing. The weather is hotter , the sea warmer and the beaches are wide and sandy. There are top class hotels as well as modest hostels, restaurants and eateries, something for all tastes and pockets.

But really the whole of the Peruvian coast is a beach as it is simply the edge of a desert that runs throughout the length of the Peruvian coast from the frontier with Ecuador to the border with Chile.

The arid desert is only interrupted by a few small towns which exist where rivers come down from the Andes creating a few kilometres of green fertile land.

For me, I enjoy these deserted beaches in the south of the country. There are few towns and you can walk along kilometres of empy beach with not a soul in sight, accompanied only by the seabirds and crashing waves.

As you walk along, breathing the sea air and listening to the constant explosion of the breaking rollers, there is a great sense, not only of solitude, but peace as well.

One’s only company ……. the sea birds, who own the beach. They seem to ignore you until the last minute before flying off with a flurry of wings until you have walked beyond their claimed domain.

The waves penetrate the beach leaving foam and bubbles in little troughs in the sand. The sunlight sparkles on the water leaving fascinating patterns, before slowly sinking and disappearing into the sand.

With a crash the next wave comes. I only have water up to my knees, but the power of the water almost knocks me over. My camera tells me to be more careful.

A couple of hours later, returning along the beach the little town of Mejia comes into view.

I stay here in this sleepy town with my great friends, David and Marie who I have known for decades. I now have the habit of making my way to Mejia every year in March.

By then, the summer season has ended. In the summer months, January and February, Mejia is popular with visitors coming from Peru’s second largest city Arequipa, which is situated in the mountains about three hours away by road.

However, in March, the summer holidays are over, the kids are back at school and Mejía goes into a peaceful hibernation for the rest of the year.

There are only about a thousand regular habitants. It is a pretty town, where the town centre is largely made up of old traditional wooden houses.

There are no large shops, just the odd bodega. There are no banks or ATM machines in Mejía. For anything other than daily needs, you have to take a twenty minute ride in a “combi” (mini-bus) to the nearby town of Mollendo.

Everything stays the same! The only difference I notice in this shop since last year is that the headlines have changed and the mannequin has changed her dress.

A short climb from the beach, and just a block before coming to the old blue church, is the bodega known as Maria’s

Maria passed away in 2008 and now her niece Milagros runs the little shop. In the photo is Milagros’ mother, Sara, who also helps her out.

The shop has been serving the local residents for over 100 years. Little has changed. The decor is the same, the rough wooden floor, the permanent open door with a cloth hanging over the open doorway to keep out the sun.

David remembers coming to the shop as a small boy and choosing his sweets from a closed display cabinet on the counter. The same cabinet is still there, just as he remembers it over fifty years ago. The only difference is that now there are two ice-cream freezers standing in front.

The empty beaches, the quiet sleepy town, the old wooden walled shop, all come together to create a sound feeling of tranquility..

I do still enjoy, the bustle of Lima beaches, so near to where I live. I also enjoy the fun and sun of the resorts in the north. I have been grateful as well, for the generous invitations I have had over the years to the luxurious enclave of beaches in Asia.

However, for me…..I am never more happy than when I am trudging along the southern beaches heading for Mejía, knowing that there is a cold beer waiting for me in Maria’s………ah…..the simple things of life!

And I think maybe David will have beaten me to it,……Yes…on arriving to Maria’s, there he is in the same old chair……the Hemingway of the South! Cheers!