Missing Ecuador Already

We were warned about the border crossing near Tumbes a few times. Its dangerous, lots of robbers, and its very confusing.
We arrived fully alert, ready for anything, but this sweet old guy took it upon himself to help us through the whole process. We should have known. He even told us to watch out for people trying to scam us. He took us though Ecuadorian customs (which is a 5 min cab ride from the boarder) and then to Peruvian customs (also 5 min from the border). When we first asked he said he was going to charge us 1$ each. Great!! right?? Then all of a sudden were driving away... were in the car for a bit and Vikki asked where we were going. Tumbes!! Ok, great, how much now?? 30$. Vikki and I were so mad. We stopped talking to him, and then I called him a liar. We were able to talk him down to 20$, and thankfully he was bad at math because he settled for 50 soles (20$ is 60soles)

We got to Mancora just as the sun was going down and found the hostel Sol y Mar, which is just up from the water and very clean. It seemed like the perfect place, pool and all, until we tried to interact with the people who worked there... they were the most unwelcoming bunch of people I have come across so far in my travels. Not to mention the bad 40 hits pumping until 3 in the morning, and the shotty roof that squeaked its way into my fit full sleep.

We didn't last long there, and just moved into a beautiful place on the main drive in town. There is no pool, but the owner is actually capable of smiling and making us feel welcome.

Mancora does not have the most beautiful landscape, but there is surf and sun. We plan to stay a few days soaking up some rays!