Tarapoto to Chachapoyas

Moyobamba was such a pleasant small town a that I ended  up staying five nights. The birding was surprising. I said to myself that a red-capped cardinal would be a great find and within 5 minutes 2 popped into view. I smiled and thanked the bird gods. The more I explored the more beautiful Moyobamba became. But I need to move on so for $3.50 I caught a car to Tarapoto. The vistas along the Rio Mayo kept me looking out the window. We arrived and I took a mototaxi to Hotel Boca Raton. $24 a night and I had a good room with a large bathroom. The front desk told me they could help me with my birding pursuits but, again, they didn't know what they were talking about. The taxi drivers had no idea of the locations I pointed to on Google Map. So I dipped on a few species that were only 30 minutes away. I was very disappointed. I took a walk. I heard glass bottles being shaken about. They must be empties being loaded in a truck. I followed the sound and BINGO, a bar!  Across the street 2 more. Tarapoto is for me. Good food too. I watched the futbol championships between the two Madrids. Great crowd of people for the game. But birding was lacking so I  decided to splurge and go to PumaRinri Lodge and bird there one night. I stayed 2 nights. Again, I dipped on the species I was looking for but it was a very relaxing place. They gave me the best room- a kingbed, second floor with a balcony on the river Huallaga. Frogs sang me a sleep-song. A tropical screech owl woke me up. Food was good. As I uploaded pictures a very venomous snake crossed just beyond my feet. I saved it from the staff of snake killers. One young guy was about to hit it with a heavy stick and I yelled 'No!' They looked at me like I was nuts. I have learned how to assert myself in Spanish.
I am always amazed by the currents of the rivers. Swift and turbulent water. Again I was at 750ft in elevation which meant the river had almost 2,700  miles to reach the Atlantic but would only drop by that amount. Thank you river gods. But time to move on again. The owners have 3 hotels including Gocta Lodge. I would take their transport back to Moyobamba, then a van filled with folks and a spitting driver, including a fighting cock which shit everywhere, to Chachapoyas. Left at 8 am and arrived at 5:30 pm. Long day of travel and I don't enjoy days like that. Chachapoyas sits on top of a mountain above the Utcubamba River valley. It has been a dissapoinment. Hostal Revash is nice and cheap but the town is just a tourist trap. No birds. I found a nice bar, or 3, but I am ready to move on again. First, I must see Kuelpa so I am going at 8am tomorrow. I just came back from a bar called Reina and had a local liqueur called Pur Pur. I had a cat named PurrPurr. Lived to be 26 even after I had shut her in a freezer for 4 hours when I was 4 years old. She made the first page of the local paper. The bars here make their own liqueurs from so many different fruits. Aguardiente, all of them. Yummy. Going to sleep now and I will continue this after Kuelap (Quay-lap).

                                                               NEXT DAY
Went to breakfast at a small tienda and came back to the hotel for 8:30am departure. There were 8 of us- 2 'Mericans, 3 French and 2 Peruvians. We drove along the Utcubamba valley and then headed up a steep dirt road for 2 hours. The whole trip took 3 hours. It was a little scary. A French company is building a cable car system from the town of Rio Tingo and they hope to finish by November. It will make it a 2 hour trip from Chachapoyas. This will make it much easier to visit and increase visitation significantly. There were only about 150 people while we were there. Anywho, Kuelap was started around 550 AD by the Chachapoyas. The ruins are about 1,460 years old. This place was fascinating. It is a land-fill on top of a mountain built to ward off invasions. It is truly a fortrace with 3 entrances through narrow gullies. Our guide, Agusto, is a native and he spoke Spanish, English, French and German. The best guide I have ever had. Very knowledgable. There were 400 round houses built for the higher echelons. The peons lived in the valley. They buried their dead then dug them up years later and put their bones in a hole within each house. They were conquered by the Incas in about 1500. The Incas were a marauding, cruel group of bastards who borrowed all the customs of those they conquered. Even the spiritual aspects of living were taken from other peoples they enslaved. I was in awe the whole day. And we were so lucky it didn't rain. Kuelap is not as beautiful as Machu Picchu, but it was much more interesting considering it was built 1,000 years sooner. The views were stunning. There was a kid-25- named Mike from Montana who is touring Perú for a few months. We buddied-up for the lectures. After we got back to town we went out for a few drinks. He was a bright guy, math and engineering and I enjoyed having someone to speak English with. The town of Chachapoyas was a dissapoinment but the surrounding areas are beautiful. There are sarcophagi from the Incas nearby but I did not visit them.
I woke up this morning with the intent of heading toward Cajamarca. I am in Chiclayo tonight. I just didn't feel like a very long trip through more narrow mountain roads. I will have to skip a few birds but the Great grebe is next on the list. My car driver was and old shit and scared the hell out of me. We nearly tenderized a small pig and 2 chickens. It has been a long day. I walked around Chiclayo and sur-nuf they were parading a statue of Jesus and Mary around the Plaza. I like Chiclayo much more than Chacha. I will hang around the coast another week or so. It is cool here along the Pacific because of the Humbolt Current. I love a cool beach.

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