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Published: March 21st 2007
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We next traveled west by boat from Iquitos to Yurimaguas (60'soles, travel time: 2.5 days). The boat ride was typical with no unusual excitement.....a lot of people crammed into a small space with hammocks hanging everywhere like a can of sardines. The views were lush and green, with many sightings of river dolphins.
After arriving at Yurimaguas we found that there was a city protest and everything was closed and nobody was working, not even the motocaros, so walking everywhere was the only option. We wanted to get on a bus to Tarapoto ASAP, however, we ended up finding a room (10 soles) and waiting until 2am to depart. The bus company was new TARAPOTO TOURS and had absolutely excellent service and price (yurimaguas to tarapoto: 10 soles, travel time: 4 hours).
Tarapoto is a larger sized city located in the center of lush green rolling hills, wine country, farms, and friendly people...much better than Pucallpa. The plan was to visit a small town 1 hour from Tarapoto named San Roque, pop 1,500. (Tarapoto to San Roque Taxi: 25 soles, time: 45min).
The District of San Roque de Cumbaza, Province of Lamas, is part of the Department
of San Martin. The Amazonian Subtropical climate illuminated us with its powerful sun during the day and refreshed us with its breezes as it is a Hill Forested area. Windy and rainy days are common between January and April, and the weather gets a little colder near the end of June, just by the time of San Juan Celebration (22th June) which is a party day in all Peruvian forest regions. It was pretty dry most of the time with a few days of rain while we were there. The rivers are perfect for swimming at all hours of the day or night..the water is not too cold, its just right. There are swimming holes and places to dive off rocks as well as many areas where visitors can camp for free. Very well kept, clean city with many options for the adventure traveler.
The climate makes San Roque a happy, friendly, trusted, and productive community. The locals are dedicated mainly to agriculture (cocao, coffee, varieties of peanut, grape, beans, etc). Most of them have their own small farms for their personal needs, and the excess is sold in the market of Tarapoto City. Some other activities are hunting,
fishing, cutting trees to sell wood, cattle ranches, and small businesses like warehouses, stores, etc.. The biodiversity is plentiful and abundant with virgin forests located 1 hour walking. This is a hidden gem and I highly recommend others to visit. Lots of trails, waterfalls, animals, great food, and even better wine....and good people too!
Near the Town is the first Area of Regional Conservation in Peru, Cordillera Escalera, from which sprout the water for the main city of Tarapoto. San Roque acts as a softening cushion to this new protected area, and the locals are working hard to protect the wildlife, maintain trails, roads, and control the cutting of trees. The Cumbaza River, is one of the main rivers that provide water to the city of Tarapoto, with beautiful beaches on its route. Some of them can be found in San Roque.
Inside the limits of San Roque District you can visit the native Quechua-Lamistas communities of Chucnchihui, and Chiricyacu. They live mainly on agriculture and have traditional customs such as the use of their traditional clothes, rural agriculture techniques, and celebrations. There are also a few Medicos (shamans) who work with local plants, and use special diets
Jungle Meat...dont ask
Yummy! Ready For A Amazon BBQ Anybody? to help cure and heal people.
Our group hiked 4 hours to the largest (100 meter+) waterfall and camped there overnight. There is a small house at the foot of the waterfall where visitors can camp out for free. We stayed one night then hiked back the next day, which took about 7 hours since our guide decided to take the scenic route (the trail was strait up for about 2 hours and the trail was covered with dead trees and overgrowth).
There are lots of mushrooms that can be found in the area as there are several large cattle ranches. Ask one of the locals which ones to eat as they look a little different from the typical sh-room (see pic)....the perfect area for this type of experience. So much nature! We found 53 mushrooms one morning, and divided them up between 5 people. That night I connected to why I was in Peru and came to the realization that my work in Peru is done for now.......
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Hey Joel thanks for the update it looks so colorful and plentiful and the shroooms look very scrumptious!!!