Tarapoto, Peru

After an overnight bus to Lima, my plane to Tarapoto was rerouted to Pucallpa (there were Tstorms in Tarapoto) we got to fly over Iquitos and the Amazon river. I finally arrived to Tarapoto late in the evening and spent the first two hauled up in my hotel room (RioSol) doing work and relaxing. The weather had been quite treacherous and uninviting for exploring. While I had hoped to do some white water river rafting here, I do not believe I will. Perhaps I will save my first rafting experience to share with a special someone who has already been before. ;)



After splurging on my nice hotel for an extra night I transferred to Luna Azul hostel. Half the price... half the luxury. Though the room is clean enough with a fan, tv and minifridge... I cannot believe they wanted to charge s./75 for a night (only 15 soles less than RioSol... thats about $5). The staff here is quite pushy but friendly enough.




Cataratas de Ahuashiyacu y Lamas. The hostel staff speaks VERY little english and my spanish leave a lot to the imagination. Somehow we arranged for a young guy to drive me to the waterfalls and then to Lamas. He spoke not a lick of English so it was an entertaining 4 hours in the car with my ridiculous spanish comments. Finally a day of really nice weather... the Cataratas are gorgeous... definitely feels more like the Amazon rainforest than I have seen yet. The water was cool but not too cold and several locals were lounging around in the pool at the base. I went for a quick dip.



Next we headed to Lamas. I really think this town can be skipped altogether. It was either an off-day or the whole town was alseep and a bit of a waste. We drove up to El Mirador which gave a nice view of the surrounding jungle mountains and Tarapoto. Apparently this is a beautiful place to see Tarapoto at night. Passing back through the town a man was carrying an entire dead pig slung over his shoulder and wide open. GROSS! Not only was the sight the site of the dead pig a bit much but to think people were going to eat something transported in such a way made my stomach turn. I asked my 'tour guide', Cesar if we could stop for some lunch in Lamas. I had Yuca fritas and some purple corn drink. Quite tasty and quite expensive as Cesar rudely stuck me with the entire bill!



Highlight of the day..... a short nap, I ventured to the market to get some snacks. On the way I ran into my Dutch friends (still not sure if they are a cute older gay couple). Surprised to see me we had a nice little chat on the street and back on my way to the store. I found fresh gingerbread. YUM!! and washed it down with my favorite liquid yogurt duranzo! Bought some cookies and some fruit. Now back to work for the evening.

No Huacamaillo Falls, no white water rafting... I must say Tarapoto is a bit of a disappointment. But I did get to see the Amazon jungle a bit. Sadly, it was brought to my attention that there was yet another tragedy in Peru. A ferry departing from Iquitos sank a few days ago killing at least 12 of the over 170 on board. The boat had a legal limit of 150 passengers, but stopped to pick up more passengers and livestock down the river. These ferry boats are a common way for budget travelers to see and travel down the Amzaon river sleeping in hammocks on the deck. I am happy to have not seen quite so much of the jungle.

I went shopping for lunch at the market, some rolls and cheese, Inka Chiffles Picante (aka. spicey Yaca chips), some plums and a coke. mmm. Of course I picked up another loaf of fresh gingerbread for the morning and flights tomorrow. I stopped at the art market on the way back and bought a couple bracelets for a few soles and now time to get to work and make the day at least a productive one. :)

Tomorrow I leave for Lima midday (wish for good weather and smooth flight out this time) where I will spend a few hours before hopping on my plane to Munich.

A minor update.... I have just had the most hilarious Spanglish conversation with the kid that works at the hostel, who happens to be studying law. We discussed the corruption in Peru and how the law school works. I would summarize here, but I understood only fractions of what he was trying to tell me. He and the other girl were having their lunch and he asked if Id like to have some. Then he laughed at me for being vegetarian and insisted that I must come eat at his house tonight if I like the spicey food. We'll see. He told me that Tarapoto is best city in Peru because it is calm and relaxed and it is why he moved here from Truillo. The girl, who speaks NO english, just kept laughing at his excitement to talk to me. Highlight of Tarapoto.