8 DAYS, 3 COUNTRIES AND A WHOLE LOT IN THE MIDDLE TO YURIMAGUAS

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So time had come for us to start what seemed like a huge mission......to get from Cali in the south of Colombia down to the port town of Yurimaguas in the north of Peru. From here we would then catch a boat upriver, but before that we were going to have to travel through 3 different countries in areas where tourist were not so common and were expecting the possibility of delays at any stage. First stage of the journey was to take a night bus leaving from Cali down to the border of Equador. The bus was over-sized, quite common here, but had pretty comfy seats that laid right back and made for a great bus journey and both of us slept for most of it........so far so good. When we had come up from Quito 3 weeks earlier the next part of the journey had been a complete nightmare after roads had been closed and had taken us 3 times as long. This time we managed to get ourselves on a much nicer bus with air-conditioning and with the usual route being open we made it to Quito without too much stress.....needless to say though that we were both happy to be off the bus and be able to walk around. Quito this time was basically a stop-over to have a good shower, something that didn't happen, do some admin stuff and eat some tasty Indian food again before starting the next part of the journey. The Indian food was to die for again but the rest of our time here was spent mainly on missions. After a day we were back on another night bus heading towards a small town called Vilcabamba, unfortunately for me on this bus ride sleep didn't come easy so I felt like death warmed up when we arrived finally. Vilcabamba is situated in a valley and it is deemed the Valley of Longevity and is famous for it's inhabitants that live to very old ages. The reason for this is thought to be a contribution of a few things: the peaceful life that people live, eating fresh produce that is grown naturally n the area, the climate and the local water that has a perfect mineral balance. Apparantly not only do people live to be extremely old but they have bones of teenagers when old some scientists have found. There are many scientific people interested in Vilcabamba because they want to know what it is that creates an environment where people live so long without doing anything extraordinary to make it happen. One scientist found that the mineral balance found in older local residents matches the mineral levels found in the local water. He also found that with a virtually perfect ratio of calcium, magnesium and manganese it was great for people's bones as the calcium was prevented from leaving the bones once consumed. As a result Vilcabambians never suffer from osteoporosis even though they consume less than half the calcium that people in Europe do and it is not unusual for people to live well over 100 years old. Needless to say that while we were here Sharyn and I drank as much of the local water as possible in the hope that it would make some kind of difference......we´ll just have to wait and see I guess. Other than the amazing water the valley itself was very beautiful, even though at the time we were there it was reasonably dry from a inconsistant rainy season. We found ourselves a great little place to stay after being it recommended to me by a friend. It was an eco-lodge situated near the Rumi-Wilco National Park, named for a tree found in the park, and was run by a lovely Argentine lady. We had a very romantic double room as there was no others and it was nice to stay in comfort even if it was for a few nights. The kitchen was also well set up and equiped with lots of herbs that grew in the garden, so basically it was just a very peaceful and easy place to stay. The town of Vilcabamba itself was quite basic but also quite nice on the eye. It had the typical main plaza with streets coming off from it. We had been looking forward to a little bit of pampering and thought that we had earnt the right to a few massages after long bus rides and even more to come. Sharyn had two while we were there and I just had one full body massage.........ahhhhhhh.....and also made this poor lady wax my very hairy legs. We also wandering around the outskirts of town and further up into the hills which gave us great views of the town. Sharyn had stayed here 10 years prior so we went up to the lodge she stayed at which gave us a chance to not only take in the views of the valley but to see some of the lush vegetation around the area. Other than another walk in the national park for an hour of so we spent most of time chilling out and relaxing before heading off again on what we were expecting to be the hardest part of the road to Yurimaguas.

Another early morning start on a Sunday to get on a bus to the border of Peru and as far along the road as we could manage. Not only was it early but we had to lug our packs down to town thinking that we were late, but luckily the bus hadn't arrived yet. Then along came our huge bus and we were off again on the last road in Equador. Along the way as the sun started to rise higher we travelled through some amazing mountainous scenery which started off a little barren as we were higher in the mountains. Later along the road and when the sun was higher the valleys were so green and lush I could hardly believe it aswell as having many different colourful flowers through out the vegetation. I took loads of photos as the area was just so beautiful and made it easy to be on another bumpy windy dodgy road on the side of yet another mountain. Was loving the experience of travelling through this part of the world and to make it even more enjoyable there was quite a few local people on the bus, who seemed not to know each other, but who were continually laughing and finding something extremely funny. One of those times when you don't know what is being laughed at but it still makes you laugh yourself. After quite a few hours we finally arrived at a small town called Zumba where there wasn't a great deal other than a few shops, lots of dust and some old buses. Here we met up with 2 Swiss couples who we ended up catching a taxi with to the border town of La Balsa. To get there we had to drive an extra half and hour along another picturesque road through mountains in the middle of no where, luckily for us we got to sit in the cabin rather than in the back of the ute in the blazing sun. We arrived in La Balsa to find a tiny town which is solely there because it's a border crossing as well as an empty immigration office. We were told by the taxi driver that the staff were having lunch so we would have to wait for them to finish. That was fine and took the opportunity to spend the last of our soles on absolute unnecessary junk. Finally once the staff member came over to the office we were told that we couldn't get our passports stamped because the boss had taken the key with him and wouldn't be back for a couple of hours. Obviously we weren't happy about this but what made it worse was that he had gotten in the taxi that had driven us there and left without saying anything or helping us. We also knew that with the distance to anywhere close we would be waiting much longer than what we were being told. Luckily Sharyn can speak good spanish and I am still not sure what she said to the staff members but miraculously we were able to get our passports stamped then and there.........I really don't know why that couldn't happen in the first place but I have given up trying to understand how things work in these countries as usually there is no logic involved. So off we went into Peru, which consisted of us walking over a bridge from Equador, just makes me smile how little protection or security they had in this place because we were in the middle of no where and I really don't think they care. They don't care if we don't get our passports stamped so you have to make sure it happens as it can be a problem if you are pulled up by police without a stamp once in the country. It was quite a hot Sunday and the locals were taking advantage of having a big river flowing past their towns. I reckon that the whole population of the two border towns were in the water cooling off and I was completely envious. Again we had some problems with immigration in Peru, basically the immigration guy had gone home to sleep. Well it was a hot sunday and I guess we might have been his only business for the day so why wouldn't you go sleep. This meant that Sharyn and I had to go find where he lived and knock on the door and yell out to him to wake him up. It did take some knocking and yelling before he came to the window looking half asleep and not impressed. After finally getting all our passports stamped we grabbed two taxis heading to the next town of San Ignacio. I managed to get the front seat which was a bonus as Sharyn was squashed in the back with 3 other adults and a small child and consequently was hanging half out the door eating lots of dust. Luckily they were lovely people and happy to have us share a taxi with them, I think we were a bit of a novelty. Again another long, dusty and bumpy road which you should really use a 4x4 on but which a good old fashion station wagon was the mode of transport. By this time we were all exhausted as we arrived in the town of San Ignacio, another town in the middle of no where with nothing really attractive about it at all. We had met up with the Swiss people again and all decided to do one more bus journey to the next town of Jaen. This time it was going to be in a small colectivo, basically a van with more seats made it in and little leg room. All of us were happy when we first got in as we were the only ones in the car and were hoping that we might be it. There is always that slight hope but reality is that they shove as many people in as they can so it is worthwhile for them. Before we left we were moved to the back of the bus, this was ok for the other girls in the group but for me and the guys we struggled to fit behind the seats. Once more people got on the bus it became a very difficult to squash ourselves in and sometimes is physically impossible to do so, these colectivos are definately made for very short people and not gringos. We caught the last of the daylight as we took another stunning road through a valley with a river but once the sun went down all of our attention was put on how much longer we had of what had turned out to be a very uncomfortable journey. I couldn't fit in behind my seat and I couldn't bend my knees up behind the seat with my left knee and I had a completely numb bum and left side, but I felt better when I saw one of the Swiss guys who was around 6'3ft with knees bent up and squashed into the corner. I could feel his tension, agony and frustration as more people kept getting on the bus and I thought that he was just about to lose it on many occassions, he had to put on his music to get him through. One thing we were learning was that when you asked people how much further a town was that their estimation was usually way out and it was sometimes at least double what they had said. In the end we never really knew how long we had to go which made it harder to not lose the plot. Finally we arrived and we all couldn't get out of the damned colectivo quick enough, although it did take a while to make the legs work properly again and I was afraid I might just fall flat on my face. By this stage it was around 7.30pm and we had been travelling for over 12 hours and it was high time for a shower after sweating all day and some food. We checked into the nearest hotel which was so cheap compared to other parts we had been in as Jaen was not used to having tourists around so we were getting things at local price, which was around half the price. Jaen was a hussling town full of motos, similar to tuk-tuks, that make an incredible amount of noise particularly when there is hundreds of them. First thing for me and Sharyn to do was to find out about buses to our next destination as this was not a place you would choose to stay, as it turned out we had to stay a full day here as our bus only left at night time. Nothing we could do about it and I was secretly looking forward to sleeping in and having a lazy day because there was nothing I would feel like I should be doing. Our first experience with people in this town was down at the bus stop where a lady selling food told us everything we needed to know about catching the bus. Even a guy from one company told us it was better to go with another company, this was to be the start of having many people be so kind and helpful it was worth staying here just for that. At dinner that night I was stinging for a cold beer but the restaurant we went to didn't sell them. I asked if I could bring one in, which they agreed to and sent the waitress with me around the corner to the shop to buy one with me so I wouldn't get lost - now that was service I thought. We were getting a hell of a lot of stares from people as we were told that tourists usually don't stay in this town, only pass through, so we were quite odd. This was usually ok but it is weird to have people watch your every move without making any attempt to hide the fact that they are staring at you. It also works against you when you do something stupid like I did later that night while going to get some water. I had two large bottles of water in my hands and as I walked up the footpath I had a moto slow down so the occupants could have a good stare as they drove past. Consequently my attention was moved from watching the path to them which meant I didn't see a small step ahead of me. Not only did I stub my toe painfully but it caused me to go flying forward and with my arms full I could not stop myself and managed to fall very ungracefully on the footpath. Another moto stopped to see if I was alright, I wasn't sure as my toe killed as well as my elbows and really I just wanted to get the hell out of there. So after passing a few more people that had seen me go flying I made it back to the room in once piece to check the damage and to laugh about it with Sharyn. The following day was spent trying to find some fruit salad, many shops advertised that they had it but none came through with the goods, visiting the bakery many times, mainly just to look at the treats, on the internet, reading, eating suprisingly good salad and wandering around waiting for the time to get on the bus. That time came and we headed to the basic bus terminal and waited in the waiting room with chickens in bags and guinea pigs pissing out of sacks, a sure sign we were about to get on another wonderful bus ride. The bus arrived and on the outside it looked good, once we got inside though it was a different story. Let´s just say people have no idea about throwing rubbish out in bins and have no qualms about throwing half empty drinks or food on the ground and as a consequence you really don't want to put your bag on the ground. So off we went in this dirty, sweaty, stuffy bus along more windy roads where the bus seemed like it would tip.......the best thing to do is go to sleep and hope that you wake up still alive and where you planned to be. Luckily for us this happened on this occasion and we found ourselves in our next ugly town in the middle of no where, this time it was Tarapoto. Our plan had been to arrive in time to get a bus straight onto to our final destination of Yurimaguas where we would jump on a boat, but we were to encounter another one of those delays that we had expected. We had been taken to a small office where taxis left from to find out that we couldn't leave until 5pm because the road was closed for works and it was currently 7.30am. Again there was nothing we could do about it so after we had asked many times if they were sure about it we decided to start wasting time. After a walk around the town and something to eat we decided the best way to pass time was using the internet and with it being ridiculously cheap we could sit on it for hours. All I can say is thank god for internet as it is a great tool to use when you have hours to wait around. With a fat, swollen and bruised toe I could not manage to walk too much further around town so we headed back to the terminal to wait out the rest of our time there. Soon enough we were put in a taxi with a french couple and we were off on the final part of what had been days of travel. Within the hour of being on the road we hit the start of the road works to find the road was still closed. What a let down after waiting around all day and it made us feel like we were never going to get there. It was reasonably entertaining as there was plenty of people watching to be done as there was many cars, trucks and jeeps waiting as well. Along with a truck driver sleeping in his hammock tied up under his truck there was people selling all sorts of food, a heap of men trying to change a tire, lots of people watching us, people packed into colectivos (something I have promised not to do again) or on the back of jeeps, people trying to find somewhere to go to the toilet and finally horns being tooted as people got impatient. Finally the road was open and it was on for young and old, which we had anticipated, and all the vehicles just drove as fast as they could and overtook the slower ones. In one word you could sum it up as caos. After around 45 minutes of going hell for leather we were told that we had to stop and that we could not pass through, all of us were hugely dissappointed when we were told that there was a truck bogged in the middle of the road blocking it for all vehicles. It took all my strength not to lose it at this stage as we were so close to getting there but now we had no idea how long we would be waiting. Luckily because there was major roadworks going on there was plenty of heavy machinery that they could use to haul this truck out. After around an hour along came a big bulldozer trying to make it past all the vehicles parked on the side of the road and of course this involved a hell of a lot of men trying to give directions all at the same time. After another 45 minutes or so the truck was finally pulled out and we could all pass through and finally be on the way to Yurimaguas. Again this involved taking corners at high speeds and overtaking other slower vehicles on dodgy parts of the road. By the time we were heading into Yurimaguas I was close to head butting the driver as each corner I would be thrown against the door and the alternatively against Sharyn in the middle of the car. On this trip it was official that I was over travelling on windy roads especially at high speeds and was dreaming of travelling on the flat straight roads that you find in Australia and which usual bore the shit out of me. Arriving in Yurimaguas was a relief but we were surrounded instantly by moto drivers trying to take our bags, makes things very convenient to have taxís waiting but sometimes I just need space especially after being on the road for days in cramped buses and being buggered. After finding our hotel we ventured into town to find somewhere to eat.....dinner ended up being a dissappointing salad consisting of caggage and carrot with no dressing and Sharyn also had some dodgy looking garlic bread but with everything closed we were happy with what we got. So after 8 days, 3 countries, meeting great friendly people, seeing beautiful scenery, many buses, dusty and windy roads and places we never thought we would end up we had finally made it to Yurimaguas on the Rio Huallaga........yeah!!!!

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Photos

ROAD TO JAEN, PERU
This is the side of someone's house........what an amazing view they have!

VILCABAMBA, EQUADOR
Sharyn walking on the dodgy bridge knocked over by raging waters

VILCABAMBA, EQUADOR
There is rumour of old treasure in an area that is marked by four masks.....on the top of this hill is the shape of a face and what people think maybe one of these masks. Some would say that it also looks like Homer Simpson

VILCABAMBA, EQUADOR
The valley was not as green as usual but still there was plenty of lovely plants around

VILCABAMBA, EQUADOR
It seems that here in Vilcabamba people tie up their chickens

VILCABAMBA, EQUADOR
Wild flowers

VILCABAMBA, EQUADOR
Looking out over the valley

VILCABAMBA, EQUADOR
Some odd rock formations we found when wandering around the town

VILCABAMBA, EQUADOR
An old church situated on the edge of a hill with a great view down the valley

VILCABAMBA, EQUADOR
An eco lodge just out of town in the middle of the wilderness

VILCABAMBA, EQUADOR
A hard working donkey

VILCABAMBA, EQUADOR
Some rock formations in the Rumi-Wilco National Park

VILCABAMBA, EQUADOR
One of the valleys in the Vilcabamba area

VILCABAMBA, EQUADOR
A nasty looking tree trunk in the national park

VILCABAMBA, EQUADOR
The sunday market in the centre of Vilcabamba

ROAD TO JAEN, PERU
The sun starting to break through the clouds as we leave Vilcabamba and head to Peru......and the start of our day of amazing scenery

ROAD TO JAEN, PERU
The valley again once the sun has broken through

ROAD TO JAEN, PERU
And again

ROAD TO JAEN, PERU
And again.....it was just so green and lush and hard to stop taking photos of

ROAD TO JAEN, PERU
A couple of guys relaxing out the front of a shop in some small town we passed through

ROAD TO JAEN, PERU
Some chicas hanging out as well