29 September
We enter Peru on a little used small borderpost by a river. On one side of the river is Ecuador, we cross the small bridge on foot and are in Peru. After going through the Peruvian immigration, we stand around the deserted border crossing for a while when finally a moto-taxi (yes this is a motorcycle converted into a taxi by attaching a seating area to the back) comes along to take us along the dirt road to our hotel. The hotel is only known as hotel de la gringa (because it is owned by an English lady). We are the only guests but it is a very nice place and the English owner very friendly. One of the main reasons that we enter Peru this way is because we're visiting a reforestation project in this region. As part of the management of the Zurich Foundation, Natasha worked together with the NGO Practical Action who co-managed this reforestation project. We are keen to get in touch with Helder, who will be our guide for the next 2 days. We soon learn that there is only ONE phone, which is on the "avenida" of the nearest town called Namballe, and apparently this phone seldom works. So the nice English lady drops us off in front of the PHONE, and to our surprise the "avenida" is a small dirt road with some village shops along (well, what did we expect? Champs Elysee?). It is our lucky day, the PHONE works, we speak to Helder and he confirms that he will pick us up the next day. We then have dinner in the town's only "restaurant" i.e. a nice lady's living room. While she cooks our dinner, Gaudi entertains her baby granddaughter who started crying as her grandmother disappeared into the kitchen.
We enter Peru on a little used small borderpost by a river. On one side of the river is Ecuador, we cross the small bridge on foot and are in Peru. After going through the Peruvian immigration, we stand around the deserted border crossing for a while when finally a moto-taxi (yes this is a motorcycle converted into a taxi by attaching a seating area to the back) comes along to take us along the dirt road to our hotel. The hotel is only known as hotel de la gringa (because it is owned by an English lady). We are the only guests but it is a very nice place and the English owner very friendly. One of the main reasons that we enter Peru this way is because we're visiting a reforestation project in this region. As part of the management of the Zurich Foundation, Natasha worked together with the NGO Practical Action who co-managed this reforestation project. We are keen to get in touch with Helder, who will be our guide for the next 2 days. We soon learn that there is only ONE phone, which is on the "avenida" of the nearest town called Namballe, and apparently this phone seldom works. So the nice English lady drops us off in front of the PHONE, and to our surprise the "avenida" is a small dirt road with some village shops along (well, what did we expect? Champs Elysee?). It is our lucky day, the PHONE works, we speak to Helder and he confirms that he will pick us up the next day. We then have dinner in the town's only "restaurant" i.e. a nice lady's living room. While she cooks our dinner, Gaudi entertains her baby granddaughter who started crying as her grandmother disappeared into the kitchen.
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