Cocaine Capital: Tingo Maria

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Tingo Maria might be the capital of coca growing but a gringo can still walk down the street safely without being offered any white powder.

After staying in the lovely city of Huañuco for two days it was time to make my way, 6 hrs by car, to Tingo Maria by means of a collectivo (shared car: s.45) The nice thing about taking the road less traveled is I get to visit with the real Peru...such nice people: relaxed, helpful, and friendly. Unlike the furious fast frantic city of Lima.

The ride to Tingo Maria took about 2 hours and was quite the adventure. The roads were unfinished and very bumpy and I didn't enjoy banging my head against the window. But after awhile the body gets used to it (or goes numb)...

We were all dropped off on the side of the road downtown and I looked for several minutes to find a good hotel. What I found was a basic room(calling it a good room would be an understatement but nothing went missing from my baggage and that is all that matters). I had no problem with the 1.5inch roaches, spiders under the bed, missing door-nob, open non-flushing toilet that smelled pretty foul, nor the drunk man pounding on the doors at 12am. I put the ear plugs in and slept like a baby in a sagging soggy mattress.

Tingo Maria is a small town that sees little white folk like myself. The only foreign people that come to town are heading to Pucallpa. The city seemed relatively safe and seemed unchanged since there are so few tourists that pass through. I did see the Cave Of The Bats...the largest cave in Peru. They say it has no bottom it goes so deep. Beautiful parrots, fuzzy bats, and some other kind of weird flying thingy...all competing for space and making lots of echoing noises throughout the cave. I was the last person there, so had the place to myself. It was great walking into the belly of mother earth! I will post photos when I can sometime in the near future....

Next, I will be going to Pucallpa via another collectivo (car FULL of people, boxes, and bags) and an 8 hour ride down an unimproved roadway. Through the high jungle and into the Amazon basin. ....the adventure continues...

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Photos

Fresh Coffee?
This is as fresh as it gets!! Freshly roasted and ground coffee in the local market.

The Only Other Gringos
Local Market in Huañuco Peru. Very interesting children stand motionless for hours selling clothes....

Strangest Museum in Peru
A cat with two mouths, and a sheep with 8 legs. one word: WEIRD

Fast Sheep
Wouldnt you run fast if you had 8 legs?

Tingo Maria
Lots of Moto-taxis and delicious inexpensive food carts. still no runs.

Ant Nest?
A lot of Ant nests in the trees here in the jungle.

JUNGLE RAIN STORM
Very Heavy Rain!

Comments

[Aunt Mary Boston]

If you get Altitude Sickness, it's ok to drink Coca tea.
Great to hear from you. Your Mom has been helping me getting my equipment so I can receive your messages. I'M SO PROUD OF YOU ! dO KEEEP A JOURNAL. You do have a talent for writing. Maybe a book will be in the works. I'm fine and missing you drink Coca tea. I'm proud of you and hope you are keeping a journal. Maybe a book is in the works? I'm missing you. Love ME

[Norah]

amazing
it is just so hard to imagine you are really there and all these experiences are happening for you. it is very exciting. you mention the bugs etc so casually and just make the best of it all. i can picture you bouncing along in the car or bus and your head banging on the window or top lol - oh i saw victor in your car driving along division taking his friend to kaiser - he seemed to be driving straight and turned into the kaiser parking lot with his signal on. he is advertising for you all over town - hope by driving the car he has people contacting your web site. they will be surprised to see another face other than his. all is well with me - i saw the surgeon yesterday and he said see you in 3 months. he said he will be following me for 2 years. went to the casino in lincoln city last sunday and won $200 over and above what i took. not bad eh? going to stay at the chinook winds resort from may 21 - 26. ocean front main floor room - hope a fews days are nice weather. i heard from irma and will write back to her soon. stay calm, cool and collected and look forward to more of your journey joel. love from portland .... norah

[Yamileth]

The Belly of Mother Earth
Being in that cave sounds really beautiful. It must have been very special. I look forward to hearing more about your interaction with nature and your quiet moments of serenity during your solo soul searching journey. Mucha Suerto, muchos besos y abrazos, mucho amor. :) P.S. It would take me quite a while to get used to the 1.5 inch roaches though! Seems that you handled it well!

[sethberto]

Hey brother!
Good to hear you are getting around down there. I want to go too!

[Mom]

What an adventure!
Wow! How fun and exciting to see and do the extraordinary! Can't wait to see your pictures! Keep us posted ;) Love, Mom