4 October 2009
After San Ignacio, we make our way to Jaen by collective taxi (this is a shared taxi taking 5 passengers, 2 in the front, 3 in the back). As we near Jaen, we experience a paved road for the 1st time since entering Peru, uff what a relief. Jaen is a hot, dusty town full of mototaxis but nevertheless fun and buzzling. In Jaen we debate what our next step will be: go to the coast and then make our way southwards (the most common tourist route) or, as our new friend Helder suggested, go visit Moyobamba (land inwards towards the Amazon).Moyobamba it is. We get on what we were told is a 7 hour busride but turns out to be closer to 10 hours. The ride is extremely scenic. A bit hard to enjoy though as the bus stinks to high heaven, we spend 10 hours wondering what in hell could smell so bad . . . but we survive and arrive safely.
Moyobamba is a pleasant and friendly town with very few tourists, mostly Peruvians. Helder suggested that we visit a youth home, Hogar Santa Isabel, which he used to work for in Moyobamba. Josep, the founder, owner and manager of the Hogar is most friendly and hospitable and spends a full day with us. His lovely assistant, Eliza, picks us up in the morning and drives us to the home, which consists of a beautiful tropical garden with a little stream running through, the accommodation for the kids, a kitchen, and several meeting rooms which are rented out for events and workshops. The Hogar provides accommodation for kids from remote villages that are in a difficult family situation (often children of single mothers). The kids, boys aged between six and seventeen go to the schools in Moyobamba. Most kids spend the weekends with relatives, in order to keep social ties outside the Hogar. The kids (14 in total) have to help with all the chores - this is not a free lunch! The kids help in the kitchen, with the cleaning, the gardening, etc. And they do a great job – the garden looks much better than the botanical garden of the town. 
We are invited to have lunch with the kids, and then to join them on an outing. Josep drives us and six of the boys to a beautiful spot in the forest: an underground source feeds a freezing cold pool, and a river that springs from it. We swim in the pool and the river – the boys are having tons of fun. We also stop by a beautiful lake, which is a nesting ground for garzas (white water birds). During the drive, the kids become very lively asking us tons of questions and singing to a tape of classic 80's songs: Culture Club, Madonna, and some long forgotten hits. The boys ask us to translate the lyrics. We all have a blast. 
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