To The Happy Couple, Thanks For The Free Beer

One night in Máncora, Joel and I had just finished eating at Señor Chino's and decided to go for a walk to work off the food. We heard some music from across the street and saw people gathered around the entrance of the small hall there, and decided to find out what was going on. Working our way towards the door, we saw a party happening inside; people wearing formal dresses and suits, a decorated table and a live Latin band.

As we enjoyed watching people dance and listened to the music, the doors were closed behind us. A man offered us some chairs along the side of the dance floor which we decided to take, shrugging, and then suddenly, another man who looked like the bride's father offered Joel a glass of beer. Without wanting to offend, Joel took it and we continued to watch the party quietly. It wasn't long after that yet another man approached with a large bottle of beer and some glasses for us. We got through nearly half the bottle when we were caught out and shown the door.

At The Discoteque

The next night or so, we headed for a club to do a bit of dancing. Joel pulled up a guy on the street and asked him which was a good club... one that didn't play gringo music. He was after Latin. Joel is all about salsa and cumbia on the dance floor. I don't remember the name of the club, but there were probably only three other tourists inside; the rest were locals enjoying the mix of salsa, cumbia, crazy merengues and reggaeton. Occasionally there was even some old rock from the nineties and songs that sounded like football anthems, turning the dance floor into a mosh pit. It was a great night; the first time I experienced the local night joints here in Peru.