We continued along the well-asphalted road to Tarapoto. The city itself was never our final destination, it was simply the direction in which we were heading. We looked to take as many side roads as possible. To explore and, to enjoy the warmth of the jungle and the myriad of rivers and waterfalls.
““How old are you?” I asked. “I don’t know, I’ll have to look in the little book,” said Mariela, referring to her identity card. ”
We did want to visit one specific village along the way - Lamas. The indigenous people of Lamas are said to be the only Quechua-speaking tribe in the jungles. The woman above is Mariela. She’s one of those indigenous people. We had a funny exchange.
I asked Mariela where the Lamas castle was. She started pointing. I thought she was very photogenic and requested to make a few frames. “Sure” replied Mariela. “How old are you?” I asked. “I don’t know, I’ll have to look in the little book,” said Mariela, referring to her identity card.
As I was about to leave, she asked me for a coin, a tip for the photo. I usually never pay for photos, but Mariela got me. She was so lovely and had a great energy about her. She didn’t ask me beforehand. Maybe that was her strategy, but I didn’t care. How could I say no?
We spent a few days around Lamas. On one of them, there was a little celebration in the native community within the town, called Wayku. It wasn’t much and everyone was wearing those silly masks, so, not very photogenic. Still, an interesting little insight into the culture.
“As I’d already mentioned – I have these blank spots photographically from our time in the jungle. There’s time for photography, but there’s time to enjoy life too. ”
We drove to a village that was about 25km from Lamas. It’s deeper in the jungle, by a clean river, which flows from a forest. Even though we stayed for 6 days, I don’t have any photos from there. As I’d already mentioned – I have these blank spots photographically from our time in the jungle. There’s time for photography, but there’s time to enjoy life too.
Above is an example of another river on the way to a waterfall and hot springs. The place is a huge tourist destination, but it’s totally worth the visit. I don’t know if there was ever a place where I could swim in a cool, crystal-clear river, warm up in hot springs and jump off of a 7-meter waterfall
““Yurimaguas is a special kind of place, with a strong sense of ambience,” she said. It’s the last decent-sized city along the jungle road. It’s also a port city, a departure point to Iquitos, the largest city in the world without road access.”
We finally reached Tarapoto! However, we didn’t even stay there for a full day. Just a few hours over a couple of visits. We stocked up on things that you can’t get in smaller places, and we ate in some of the city’s tasty restaurants.
A new friend in Lamas gave us an idea. “Yurimaguas is a special kind of place, with a strong sense of ambiance,” she said. It’s the last decent-sized place along the jungle road. It’s also a departure point to Iquitos, the largest city in the world without road access. So, we drove to Yurimaguas. I made a whole video about Yurimaguas, which you can watch HERE.
The abundance of coconuts! This is yet another thing we fell in love with in the jungles of Peru.
Mia in particular, would excitedly go to the market, or to the street stalls to get her coconut fix.
While there are coconuts in many other parts of Peru, they’re usually imported from the lower parts of the jungle.
It appears that there are also many different types of coconuts. While traveling, we inadvertently became connoisseurs of coconuts. In some areas they were incredibly sweet. In Yurimaguas… they were good, but I’ve give them a 7/10.
“The people of the jungle of Peru have a reputation for being extra friendly and open. I will say that the mountain people are very friendly too. Can’t complain about their friendliness. But, the people in the jungle are indeed a whole other level of open. ”
A woman by a dock in one of the ports of Yurimaguas. Some times by the river are much busier than others and. There’s more hustle and bustle at certain ports at certain hours. I was usually always in search of action, of something to film, but I enjoyed a quiet moment here. I watched and filmed children trying to catch fish and this woman unloading bananas from a boat.
The people of the jungle of Peru have a reputation for being extra friendly and open. I will say that the mountain people are very friendly too. Can’t complain about their friendliness. But, the people in the jungle are indeed a whole other level of open.
For whatever reason, here, in this part of the jungle everyone seemed to be much more cool with photos. Maybe it’s because they don’t look as exotic, as some of the colourfully dressed mountain people, and don’t have hordes of tourists with cameras running after them.
Yurimaguas isn’t only about the river and the ports. There’s also a market, where you can get a myriad of street-food dishes and before, there used to be a bustling animal trade. Monkeys, turtles, birds and, all kinds of animals used to be sold here, mostly as pets.
Thankfully, the temporary closing down of the market during the pandemic drew attention to the animal trade too. Since then, it’s gone down dramatically, but you do still see some exotic birds for sale.
At one of the busier ports, Puerto Garcilazo, work begins early in the day. Men unload cargo from boats, which come from nearby villages. For many people living around Yurimaguas, the river is the only way of being transported to a larger city.
The most bustling of all the ports I visited in Yurimaguas was El Vado. This is where the big boats and ferries depart from to Iquitos. This is where much of the heavy lifting is done by the porters, as they carry all sorts of cargo from mainland Peru to be sent to the isolated jungle city.
I photographed a few of the porters and I even did a little interview with one of them in the VIDEO. The men get paid 20 Peruvian Soles, or approximately USD$5 for every tonne of cargo that they unload from the truck and load onto the boat.
El Vado is a chaotic place. The porters run back and forth, trying to make sure that they carry out their work in time. At one stage, cows get loaded onto the boats too, using the same ramps as the men. Since some of the animals resist and fight against being moved, they present a danger to the porters and anyone around them.
A woman and her baby wait for their boat to depart for Iquitos. At times, you get your ticket, find your place on the boat, but you wait, and… wait. A French man I bumped into in the port had boarded in the afternoon and the next afternoon he was still there because all the cargo hadn’t yet been loaded.
Porters taking a break and waiting for the arrival of the next boat in the evening.
I spent two days at El Vado. During this time, it felt that there was something happening at the port all 24 hours of the day. Sometimes the action quietens down for one boat, but it quickly picks up when another boat arrives.
It’s amazing what kinds of cargo get carried onto the boats. I saw huge mattresses, large sacks, motorcycles, TVs, and these kinds of boxes, larger than the porters who carry them.
A portrait of one of the porters. As I mentioned, the people of this area seem very chill with having their photos taken. In fact, when they see you with a camera, it almost seems like a natural thing to them to be photographed. They’re generally also very open to sharing their stories and to finding out about a foreigner.
“... it was so hot and so stuffy in the room that they both preferred to “escape” to spend the night in the camper in nature. ”
During our time in Yurimaguas, we spent the nights in a spot next to some agricultural lands outside of the city. I did want to stay in a hotel one day, so that Tanya and Mia could sleep in, while I’d go and do some filming early in the morning. But, it was so hot and so stuffy in the room that they both preferred to “escape” to spend the night in the camper in nature.
One night on the way to our spot, we saw a capybara crossing the road. Nothing unusual for the people living here, but an entire wildlife experience for outsiders like us.
I started to look for the next potential destination after Yurimaguas. Google Maps showed that there’s a settlement further in the jungle, called Balsa Puerto. But, there was no road on the map. I used another map app to see if there was something there.
Sure enough, there was a small road, mostly along a river. It would take us to Balsa Puerto. After that – no more roads of any kind. We’d be going deeper into lands that were inhabited by various indigenous groups of the area. Groups that, until recently had an incredibly limited amount of contact with the outside world.
Slash and burn agriculture is very common in all parts of Peru and it’s particularly common on the way to Balsa Puerto. Every now and then, you see these apocalyptic scenes of smoke and fire along a road.
“Despite the impressive-looking bridge, the infrastructure in this part of Peru is actually incredibly limited. There are no paved streets in Balsa Puerto. Very few shops and, there’s no internet signal - a welcome break sometimes. ”
This is the entrance to the settlement of Balsa Puerto. Not far from this river beach is where we planned to spend at least a couple of days.
Despite the impressive-looking bridge, the infrastructure in this part of Peru is actually incredibly limited. There are no paved streets in Balsa Puerto. Very few shops and, there’s no internet signal - a welcome break sometimes.
The shops that do exist tend to sell a combination of things. Food, shoes, toys, hardware - all under one, usually small roof.
The indigenous residents come here to stock up on whatever they need before heading back to their villages, which are only reachable on foot.
This is what the houses outside of the center of Balsa Puerto look like. Thatched roofs and wood, amidst greenery. Not that I’m complaining. The setting is beautiful. There’s no noise from traffic. No pollution. Great!
In fact, not only was there no noise from traffic, there was virtually no noise at all late in the morning. Most of the people had gone to work on their land, leaving the children behind as the guardians of their houses.
“There are many villages deeper in the jungle. Some are 2 hours away. Others, 2 days away! The people who live really deep in the jungle generally don’t want to interact with the modern world. I was told that they even get aggressive towards outsiders. ”
Above is a family coming back from their garden. Here’s one interesting thing that I heard at Balsa Puerto… Here, distances are measured in time, not in kilometers.
There are many villages deeper in the jungle. Some are 2 hours away. Others, 2 days away! The people who live really deep in the jungle generally don’t want to interact with the modern world. I was told that they even get aggressive towards outsiders. Most of them don’t want to be bothered by the modern world. They want to maintain their way of living.
The fact that there were barely contacted people so close to where I was, felt very adventurous. Albeit, I wasn’t tempted to go visit, since I almost certainly wouldn’t be welcome. It would however have been really fascinating to visit some of the closer settlements, but… we weren’t staying here long enough.
“When the road was built, an invasion of charlatans and thieves started to make their way to the settlement. There were numerous small scams, topped by a pretty big one. ”
Another fascinating, but sad thing about Balsa Puerto had to do with how we got there. The road, which was very basic, made of gravel and mud had only been built 2 years ago. The indigenous residents at Balsa Puerto were, you could say, pure and naive in comparison to many of their fellow countrymen. So, what happened?
When the road was built, an invasion of charlatans and thieves started to make their way to the settlement. There were numerous small scams, topped by a pretty big one.
One day, a group of visitors found out that there were 12 rifles in the settlement’s “town hall”. The locals still hunt, so that’s what they were used for. Well, these visitors came back later, via the new road. Stole the guns and, disappeared. As a result, the friendly and once naive locals are a little more aloof and skeptical when they see new faces.
I’ve already mentioned that the infrastructure is very basic in Balsa Puerto. In addition to that, you also won’t easily find some fruits and vegetables that you get used to in the incredibly abundant Peru. Avocadoes were one of those fruits. We looked for them all over the settlement and once we finally found some, Mia was very happy to pose with one.
Afternoons on hot days see a lot of people coming to the river beach. This, by far wasn’t the cleanest river that we swam in, but it flowed fast enough to keep whatever questionable content moving along, or so I thought.
A couple of weeks later, Mia’s stomach didn’t feel good. The symptoms were very similar to those of Giardia. Thankfully all worked out well after some pro-biotic treatment.
By staying near the river, I was able to get an insight into the everyday lives of the people of the area. Boats full of bananas would come to sell them in bulk. I’d strike conversations with whoever would stop by the shore.
Some families have their farms and gardens in spots inaccessible by transport or on foot. They take the boats to get there, and to bring back fruits, vegetables and animals. Not everything is for sale. Sometimes stuff is simply moved from one place to another, for the consumption of the people.
While Tanya, my wife was doing some house/camper chores and hiding from the heat in the shade, me and Mia explored our surroundings.
It amazes me how everything for this girl is a game. A piece of grass, a stone, or a branch. To my daughter, all of these objects are more than what meets the eye of an adult. I love that she has this imagination.
Even though she has a bag full of toys, that we drag around everywhere in the car, I can see that those things aren’t necessary. It seems that she would be just as happy if she had nothing more than those stones, sticks, and the attention of her parents, which is what we’re both trying our best to give her.
We only ended up staying in Balsa Puerto a couple of days. I wish we could have stayed more, but I did try to make the most of whatever time we had.
I photographed the little, fascinating snippets of life that were around the river and in the settlement.
I was surprised to see that some of the indigenous women didn’t quite seem to understand what I was doing with my camera. Maybe they had only seen people take photos with phones?
Whatever the reason, they’d just look at me, giggle, and shyly look away. There aren’t many places I’ve been to recently, where people aren’t camera aware. When this is the case, it’s definitely a sign that a place still doesn’t get many outside visitors.
“As I started making photos, I still got no reaction. They just kept going about their lives. This was a whole new level of “chill”. They were friendly, but it seemed like they didn’t want to exert any energy on anything other than the necessary. Perhaps it was the 37C heat.”
Somehow, even in our very limited time at Balsa Puerto, I still managed to explore quite a few places. So many things tend to happen when you’re in that traveler/explorer mode. You might end up doing more in just two days than you do in a week, or even a month of regular life.
I made the above photo in a tiny village on the way to a waterfall, which ended up being too far to walk to. Seeing the family at the front of the house, I came over to chat and asked if I can make some photos. Apart from a few giggles from the kids, I got no reaction, it’s like they didn’t care, like “whatever”.
As I started making photos, I still got no reaction. They just kept going about their lives. This was a whole new level of “chill”. They were friendly, but it seemed like they didn’t want to exert any energy on anything other than the necessary. Perhaps it was the 37C heat. We talked a little and I kept moving.
I met a primary school teacher from a larger city in Peru at the small plaza in Balsa Puerto. He was pretty excited to see an outsider and offered to show me around.
In the afternoon we explored some of the neighboring settlements on the outskirts of Balsa Puerto. It’s through him that I learned some of the stories of the settlement, and about the fact that there are many more settlements deeper in the jungle.
Late in the afternoon, after my walk with the teacher, I strolled around Balsa Puerto again, to see if anyone had come out into the streets. Some people did, so I made more photos.
There’s a pretty small market in the Balsa Puerto, but it’s still a place where everyone fulfills their food needs. As a result, there’s a small flow of people coming to the market and returning. Other than that, it’s just incredibly quiet all over.
Balsa Puerto is built on a hill above the river. Almost everywhere you go, you get a nice view of the river and other, densely forested surrounding hills.
At the end of the day, some boats are parked by the shore. Despite the few cases of robberies by intruders, this is still a very safe place, and people don’t bother much about locking their valuables, or their boats.
“Eventually, it quietens down and all we hear are jungle birds and insects. ”
The evening brings a much-needed respite from the heat. The water in the river is still warm and we go in to bathe.
Mia is in paradise! She’s swimming and splashing around in the water more than ever before. We go back inside the camper when it’s almost entirely dark. There’s a sound of an occasional vehicle passing by on the bridge. Eventually, it quietens down and all we hear are jungle birds and insects.
