Blogs from San Martín, Peru, South America - page 3

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 ... read more

Sophie and Paul come to visit As it is currently the local Patron Saint Festival (which goes on for about 2 weeks we think although I am not sure many of the locals are too sure either!), we went for dinner and then straight to Rach´s local bar for drinks - the local drink which involves a lot of sugar, a lot of alcohol, an egg and I think that is it, known as Pisco Sour. Very nice! We then were lucky enough to enjoy some great street entertainment, a little random but the whole of Tarapoto appeared to grind to a halt and it was really good! Then we moved on to one of the Pandia´s in honour of the local festival. This is where a member of the community opens up their house for ... read more

So I work in the orphanage in the mornings, helping the psychologist and then I go off and play in the various different houses that the kids live in, of which there are 6. The kids are lovely as are all the staff that work there. But they just love having kisses and cuddles, I am teaching them Snap! and they love singing ´If your happy and you know it clap your hands! ´ There are about 40 children here and they are very well cared for - however on my return to the UK Rach and I plan to do some fund raising in order to send some money back as obviously things can be improved. So any ideas (so far we have cake sale!!) or support is greatly welcomed!! Each house has 2 rooms ... read more

So I have started to settle in to life here in Peru, got my body clock sort of sorted out! Tarapoto is known as a jungle town and has really only become a safe place to be in the last 3 years. You can see how fast it is developing as it is only within the last year Rach has been here that cars have really appeared on the road - its all motorcycle taxis and motorbikes. Roads are mostly dirt tracks really, but they are trying to get concrete on them as quickly as possible. Food is as cheap as chips! just had dinner on the roadside - 3 of us for under 2 pounds. I had this rice and chicken thing, cooked on the BBQ wrapped in a big leaf (name escapes me). Also ... read more