Voici un billet qui resume les details techniques de notre voyage entre Coca en Equateur et Yurimaguas au Perou. Malheureusement pas de photos parce que notre carte SD a subi les assauts d un virus qui nous empeche de la lire sur un PC Windows. N imaginez pas trouver un poste Linux ou Mac dans un cybercafe au Perou !
In Coca:
DAY 1 (arrival in Coca)
- We bought our hamacs from a little shop on the main square. Probably a bit overpriced at 12 dollars each.
- We quickly went to the harbour to inquire about the boat departures from Pantojas to Iquitos. We found a guy who phoned a friend (...). He told us that the next departure would be in 8 days. Given that we expected one boat every two weeks, odds were even. For some reason, we could not buy a ticket for the next day to get to Nuevo Rocafuerte. That was not that bad as we were obviously not in a hurry.
DAY 2:
- Bought our tickets to get to Nuevo Rocafuerte for the next day. 15 dollars seems to be the running tourist price. Could not negociate for less.
- We badly tried to get soles in Coca, but it turned out to be impossible.
Coca - Nuevo Rocafuerte:
DAY 3:
- Amazingly nice trip in a lancha from Coca to NRocafuerte. Left around 8am, got there by 5.30pm. We made a very quick stop en route for lunch. Be sure you get out of the boat fast and eat very fast! Scenery along the way is great! Lots of activity linked with oil drilling in the area anyway. Aboard, we got acquainted with two other travellers from Spain/Argentina, which will soon prove important for the rest of the trip...
In Nuevo Rocafuerte:
Still DAY 3:
- As soon as we arrived, the news that four gringos were arriving in NRocafuerte had already spread. We found a decent spot to spend the night, at the Tangaras (3 dollars each for a sheltered camping spot).
DAY 4:
- We are told that someone from Peru is on his way to NRocafuerte and will go back to Santa Clotilde. The true story is probably that he is coming as a great opportunity (the four of us) to make some extra money had showed up. Anyway, we negociate the whole trip in a lancha to Santa Clotilde for 70 dollars each.
- Money exchange in NRocafuerte is possible at one of the only shop in town. Current rate was 2.5 soles for 1 dollar. Not very good. We did not try in Pantojas, but change in Santa Clotilde turned out to be surprisingly difficult, with very poor rates.
- At 7pm, we got our exit stamp from the immigration.
- We spent a whole day in NRocafuerte. There is a trail (1 km or so, that is the prolongation of "Main street") to the west, heading to a military camp right at the Peruvian border. This is a very enjoyable walk. On the East side, there is a very long grassy road. We walked it for about 1.5 hours. Houses and fields border it. Also a nice walk. Nuevo Rocafuerte is a very small village in the middle of the forest. The only primary forest we found was at the western tip of the trail/road, beyond the military camp (we kindly asked permission to venture to the border). Birdwatching in NRocafuerte is magnificent! Birds are everywhere, very active and noisy, early morning. Check this out on ebird.org!
Nuevo Rocafuerte to Santa Clotilde:
DAY 5:
- Early start at 6.30am.
- Quick stop in Pantojas to have our passports stamped around 8am. We got 90 days without any issue.
- En route, scenery is truly amazing. Rio Napo is almost undisturbed. We only saw few villages. Otherwise, deep primry forest is everywhere.
- Stopped for the night in a family hut around 7pm for the night.
DAY 6:
- Last leg of the trip to Santa Clotilde was shorter, from 6am to 11.30am. Landed right on time to watch the last minutes of France-Germany (Damn it ! 0-1).
In Santa Clotilde:
Still DAY 6:
- Accomodation is pretty cheap there. We found doubles around 20 soles. Very (very) basic.
- Overall, we found that Santa Clotilde was less pleasant than Nuevo Rocafuerte. Could not tell exactly why... There are small roads that climb behind the village, some in forested area.
Santa Clotilde to Iquitos:
DAY 7:
- There is only one (expensive) regular boat to Iquitos. We were told lies about the possibility of a regular cheap, slow boat to Mazan/Iquitos. This regular cheap option DOES NOT exist. The only possibility, besides the 2-3 times-a-month-ferry, is the daily rapido that leaves around 6am (3 hours) to Mazan.
- In Mazan, dozens of tuktuks wait for passengers to make it to the Amazon. It takes 10 minutes, bad negociation got us to 3 soles each.
- On the Amazon side, rapidos leave irregularly several times a day (9 soles, 45 minutes). We ran after a ferry boat loaded with fruits, machines, and a few people on deck (6 soles, 3 hours). Much more fun!
In Iquitos:
DAY 8:
- As there was no boat on day 8 to Yurimaguas (there are departures 3 times a week with Eduardo, plus other companies), we stayed one day in Iquios. It was a very good idea as we had a fantastic day-trip to Allpahuayo Reserve. It is very easy to DIY. Access is straightforward: a city bus leaves every hour from Belen area (inquire at IPeru near Plaza de Armas for the exact spot or ask locals) towards Mazan and pass in front of the reserve entrance. It is very easy to enjoy the reserve by yourself. Trails are very well marked. Primary forest and rare white-sand forest is a great place to explore. Found dozens of birds, two species of monkeys and a weird mammal we still have to find in the book ! Entrance is 23 soles.
DAY 9:
- Reaching the harbour is easy. City bus 16 goes there (1 sole).
- As soon as we got out of the city bus, hordes of touts surrounded us. It was very impressive. The trick is that two boats from two different companies were leaving in the evening to Yurimaguas. We chose the company named Eduardo (80 soles for a hamac spot, and meals -- more on that later). Boat left by sunset (6.30pm).
Iquitos to Yurimaguas:
DAYS 10 to 12:
- Life on board is simple, easy, comfortable. Yes, it is ! We were astounded to find a clean boat, decently clean restrooms, plenty of space on board. Upper deck was almost deserted all the time, which was a very good spot to rest or enjoy the view. Cautionary note: Western stomachs, you´d better forget about the food that is provided on board! It is not very tasty, portions are small. More importantly, both Marion and I got a pretty bad pain in the belly after lunch... It is advisable to bring your own food for the whole trip.
- One particularly enjoyable part of the trip are the numerous stops en route in the small communities.
- ... and still birds by the bushell. The flocks of parrots and parrakeets that fly back to their resting area for the night in the sunset is an amazing spectacle.
In Yurimaguas:
DAY 12:
- After two full days and two nights of navigation, we got to Yurimaguas soon after sunrise on day 12.There, plenty of colectivos and camionetas await to go to Tarapoto. We found a good deal at 10 soles each, traveling very uncomfortably at the rear of a camioneta (2.5 hours). It conveniently brought us to the long-distance bus area.
As you can see, we passed through the area in only 11 days. Circumstances were very special as someone spontaneously left Santa Clotilde to take us there (!!). All in all, it was a fantastic experience anyway, but not that adventurous!