Did the Peruvians discover surfing...our Tortora experience.

Just outside Trujillo, in a little town on the Pacific coast of Peru called Huanchaco, the fishermen of the village have been going out every morning in a canoe type craft called tortoras for thousands of years. These are made of reeds and have an upward front to make the fisherman's outward journey easier over the shore break. The paddle is made of a bamboo pole cut in half. This and the heavy weight of the water logged reeds makes the tortora craft a tough one to maneuver in the breaking waves. Needless to say Peaks and co. had to give it a bash and I'm happy to say I didn't let the Gringo's down until the ride back. But my efforts were overshadowed by a mate (Alex) who got caught in the current and ended up 200 meters down the beach, so we had a long drag/stumble/walk back to the starting point with chuckles from the crowds of locals on the pier.