Victim of Peruvian Time

I had it all planned out.  From Tarapoto I was going to catch a combi to Yurimaguas and sling a hammock onto a cargo ship headed for Iquitos.  I would have three days to just relax (minus having to constantly watch my backpack and obsessively applying mosquito repellent), enjoy the river, catch up on my travel journal, read a couple good books. Not so.

The combis only leave once full, so my combi to Yurimaguas yesterday left over an hour late.  We then got pulled over by police three times.  I guess they do regular checks along that route since Yurimaguas, with the port, has a lot of smuggling.  Obviously, I did not make the boat.  I was stranded in ugly, sketchy, rainy Yurimaguas with absolutely nothing to do but wait.  

I got an overpriced prison cell of a hotel room and tried to find some food.  Many restaurants were open but let me know that they had no food. Confusing.  The only place open AND with food was a dirty chinese restaurant. With no other option, I grabbed some unidentified take out and found a place to buy a few pastried and went back to the room to watch Animal Planet convinced that I would be able to catch a boat today. Wrong again.

I took a moto-taxi to the port again and there was a boat with a big sign saying it was leaving 'HOY!'. So with some annoying "guides" and people who "work for the boat company" (yeah, right) I got on the boat, bought my ticket and set up my hammock.  I had about three hours before the boat was supposed to leave (which i figured meant at least four) so with all my belongings, except my hammock, I went to examine the small port restaurants and find some breakfast. Turns out they were all bars selling only beer, except for one place that charged a fortune for a disgusting looking bowl of soup and I was getting a lot of unwanted attention for being the only girl around so I settled for buying a ton of cookies from a little stand. On the way back to the boat, an angry cow waiting to board charged into my side, knocking me over. With my flip flops sticking to the mud and my heavy backpack, I'm extremely lucky I didn't actually completely fall in the mud, but it was close.

Back on the boat I sat in my hammock eating my breakfast cookies and half listening to this jungle guide offering me tours of this and that...Then a man walks by and says something to this guide who then informs me that the boat will not be leaving today. It will be leaving tomorrow (which, if you haven't caught it yet, in Peruvian time, could mean next Monday). They do let you sleep on the boat until it leaves, but this town and especially this port are pretty sketchy and there's no way I'm sleeping on this boat while it's still docked here.  Spending another day (or maybe more) in my cockroach infested hotel room is not an option either.I've given myself some extra time to get to Iquitos, but I would also rather be there as soon as possible.

I ended up taking down my hammock going downstairs and asking for my money back.  Surprisingly, I didn't have to fight for it.  As I'm getting my money back, I notice the only other girl and only other tourist on the boat.  I ask what she's doing and let her know the bus isn't leaving until tomorrow and that I'm thinking of just catching whichever mode of transportation will leave the soonest, going back to Tarapoto and trying to find a flight to Iquitos. Meanwhile, a moto-taxi driver approaches me and offers to drive me to the car, combi, or bus station. When I ask him how much it will cost (knowing that you can get anywhere in this town for 2 soles), the boat ticket man says 5. As I start giving him a piece of my mind, the moto-taxi guy tells me he'll of course take me for 2 soles. We get off the boat and start walking toward the moto, all these random guys surround us and try to stop me saying that there are no other boats and no other planes. They even start holding on to the moto and make a move to hang on to me and my bag, but of course I bark back.  Luckily this moto-taxi guy was pretty decent (most of them are crooks, but I think this guy figured out that I knew what I was doing) and got me out of there quick.

On the way, he informs me on my different transportation options. Buses leave every couple hours but we don't know the schedule. Not ideal. Private cars cost about 90 soles and I'm not tempted by the idea of a three hour car ride in the middle of nowhere with a driver who has only about a 50% chance of being honest. Combis cost 10 soles, but only leave when they're full. It could take ages. There are smaller cars that fill up with four passengers which would probably leave sooner and only cost 20 soles. Perfect. Better though, once I agree to be taken to that terminal, we pass a combi with some room left and that is already on its way. The driver sticks his head out to ask if I'm going to Tarapoto. I get the moto and the combi to stop and rush off onto the combi while more crooks are trying to get me to come with them on another apparently invisible combi. I couldn't have left Yurimaguas sooner. Finally.

The way back wasn't the most comfortable. The view is beautiful but the roads are windy and I'm soon surrounded by four people throwing up in plastic bags. Still, it was comforting to know that I was on my way to Tarapoto where the atmosphere is laid back, the town is pretty decent, the people are nice, and the hissing as I walk by is kept to a minimum. Once we arrived, I got another moto to drive me to the Star Peru agency in the center.  Of course, while I'm taking out my bag he runs into the agency and tries to get involved telling me that there's no flight today. I told him to take his 2 soles and leave. And then two lovely women helped me book one of the six seats left on tomorrow's only flight to Iquitos. Back to my cute cozy hostel where I know a friend I met when I was here last is still staying. Everything is finally settled. I will be making it to Iquitos tomorrow. My room is cockroach free. And there are restaurants who do serve food everywhere! Burger please.

Later, as I was walking in the Plaza de Armas, I ran into the British girl from earlier on the boat and we grabbed a gigantic and delicious orange juice nearby.  She's also my age and traveling alone and has been trying to get that damn boat for three days.  When she saw me leave she started thinking "What am I doing here?!" and caught the next bus back to Tarapoto to book a seat on the same flight to Iquitos.  It makes me feel a lot better that she left the boat too.  I was feeling pretty lame for giving up on the cargo ship adventure, like it made me less of a real traveler. Though, i guess thinking quick and finding a fast solution is part of it too.

I didn't get any pictures of Yurimaguas. The town itself isn't postcard material and, while the river was nice, the sun wasn't out and I didn't feel too comfortable taking my camera out in the port.  I do however have pictures of Tarapoto and the awesome time I spent with couchsurfers/peace corps volunteers in their villages (Olmos and Sincape) and Chiclayo, but I'm not patient enough to try to upload them right now...maybe while I wait for the plane tomorrow!

-S xo