The journey continues with Tingo Maria, a small town nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains and jungle, very beautiful with a nice tropical climate. The nature here is the experience with huge waterfalls and pools that you can bath and the energy is impressive. When you lie in these waters the sheer beauty of the geography and the nature is so beautiful. Sometimes you have to walk maybe forty-five minutes with a walk up to the origin of the waterfall, as you can have different levels, but this is all part of the experience.  Some of the falls visited were, Honolulu and Santa Carmen. There are also some great caves, one in particular was Lechuza’s, it was so big and deep that when you looked to the entrance you had a picture view of the outside. You also had a constant bantering from two types of birds which lived right inside, called the Guacharos and the Murcielagos, they added a lot to the atmosphere. Close by was a Sulphuric pool, which you could bath in and relax after your visit.  A further great visit was a lagoon, which I crossed called, The Milagros, here I spent time learning about the many medicinal plants and trees which grew here.

Then it was onto Pucallpa and the temperature went up a notch, it was pretty hot. The town itself lies on the river Ucayali and it is a very active port. There is a lot of petroleum and wood brought in by boat, with an important connection to the remote communities located inside the jungle. You can also journey to Iquitos by fast boat in two days, or a cargo and passenger boat which takes about a week. It stops at many villages on the way, if you have time it’s a fascinating experience, you sling a hammock on the top deck, pay about 200 soles ( US$ 60 ) with three meals daily and just watch the world go by!. Pucallpa is a big town and well known for the Shipibo Tribe located at the settlement of San Francisco and well known for Antisania and Shamanismo. Many people from abroad come here for the Ayawaska Experience, which is treatment by sacred plants and administered by the Shaman. These experiences can be from a week to three months, treatments can be for, traumas, depression, cancers etc. None of which I would deny, but only that you need to be sure who you put your trust in, not all have a deep and profound knowledge of how to use these sacred plants. You also cannot help but notice the beautiful and mysterious art which this town offers and all based around the Ayawaska, the origins come from the many experiences these artists have had under the influence of these sacred plants.

After Pucallpa, I travelled south to Constitution, still very hot, a small town on the river Palcazu. I stayed in a hotel in the centre with a café below, selling amazing fruit juices, fruit salads, ice creams and sandwiches. With the heat it was nice to sit and watch the people moving about outside as it had no front walls, I only stayed a night and then the next day travelled to Villa Rica. This journey was about four hours, half of which was flat and hot, after which we began to climb through the mountains. The road by this time was a dirt track and we had to drive through several waterfalls that crashed onto the road and then flowed down the side into a savagely moving river of Palcazu The mountain side was thick jungle and part of the,  ‘ Parque Nacional Yanachaga Chemillen’,  which is a protected area with very few people living here, but as we got the top, again you had the deforestation caused by the local communities. On arriving to Villa Rica which was nestled in a small valley surrounded by trees and mountains, we stopped for a little while and explored. It’s a small place, quite attractive and well known for its coffee, most people who come here visit the plantations. Anyway, we changed vehicles here and carried onwards to Oxapampa, which was another hour and fifteen minutes. We climbed further, the road was okay, but not tarmacked and eventually dropped into another valley, which was the entrance to Oxapampa.

Bye the way do not forget to check my web, have launched a wide range of Seat in Coach, with fixed departures monthly that you can join too, plus two fixed departures in Peru which I will be personally guiding as your tour leader.  We have also given some very special offers on these programs. Sure, you will enjoy…!

Stay safe and look out for my next blog about my new experiences in Oxapampa and the new places I will visit.