LenninTours - al toque no mas!

October 8th was a holiday (they happen pretty frequently, with which I am perfectly fine), so we didn’t have SALI classes, and the clinic was closed. Therefore, we – the interns and Alleen, our “boss” – decided to take advantage of our long weekend to travel to Moyobamba. Moyobamba is a town in the high jungle, and we actually have a lot of friends and people involved in our churches and ministries here who are from Moyobamba. Therefore, it’s built up a certain amount of fame, and I was excited to get to finally see it. Plus, it would be the first big trip and opportunity to see another, very different area of Peru.

Some things here seem to make perfect sense, and I look back and think, “In the States, I’d think that was crazy.” For example, leaving at 3:00 on a Thursday afternoon, driving 16 hours in a bus, and returning three days later. I mean, that’s a really, really long time in a bus, and I’m generally not that big a fan of long car rides. But I will say it was definitely worth it. Lennin, one of the members of the Cristo Rey church, is from Moyobamba and was there a couple of weeks doing some work. He met us as we emerged, stumbling and bleary-eyed, from the bus at 7 am Friday, and we didn’t slow down much until we got back on the bus to return to Trujillo Sunday evening. Lennin took pride in taking us on the premier way to see the best of Moyobamba: “Una experiencia inolvidable. ¡Diversión al máximo! LenninTours – ¡al toque no más!” “An unforgettable experience. Maximum fun! LenninTours – “…and I’m not sure how to translate this part. Basically, “just a taste of as much as possible.”

And he lived up to his self-appointed slogan. He took us to some lovely hot springs baths to wake up a bit and then showed us a real jungle breakfast from the market, complete with juanes, cecina, tacachones and maduras con maní (bananas with peanuts and cheese). We all loved the beautiful waterfalls and the hike to get there, and everyone jumped off. It was about a 30 foot drop and a lot of fun, and Seth and Tyler probably jumped from every surface and in every way possible. Lennin also showed us various different sites around the town, some with the personal service of his moto(rcycle), which none of us complained too much about. I’m pretty sure Heidi is plotting to buy one for Trujillo, or maybe to take her back to Moyobamba…I’d tag along! It’d be a great way to see Peru.

My favorite part of the trip was taking the boat along the Río Mayo out to the Tingana Reserve. It’s a 6000 hectare jungle reserve that does a little tourism on the side, but it was rustic and real enough to feel very legitimate. After the boat ride, we walked about half an hour through the beautiful jungle and came upon the open-air main bungalow, flanked by cabins and a couple of treehouses for people to sleep. We were the only people there, along with the people who live and work there, so it was cool to just step into their lives for a day. They were very welcoming, let us relax in the hammocks under a pavilion, and served us some delicious food. (Note: if you ever get offered a yucca empanada, eat it. It could change your life). The next morning included an early morning walk through the jungle, including several sightings of monkey communities swinging through the trees, a couple of swings for us gringo monkeys on a swing our guides Juan and Tito had rigged up at the end of the hike, and canoeing back to the lodge along the river. It was pretty awesome.

Unfortunately, my camera had a run-in with a rock when we were on the way to see some caves later that day and didn’t come out so well. So I have some pictures from the trip, but I’ve had trouble uploading them, so I hope I don’t get too much hate mail for not posting pictures yet. ;) If I get it figured out I will. But maybe you can imagine a little until then… Peru is a beautiful place and people, and this was a great way to get to taste another piece of it.