After spending two days in Lima (see previous posts about the food tour and evening in Barranco, we headed to Puerto Maldonado, which would be our access point to the Peruvian jungle experience for a couple of nights. First day of this segment was busy, flying down from Lima and then visiting a handful of the region's typical eco-lodges. The hot jungle is not particularly my comfort zone, but it was interesting.
Part one was the short flight from Lima. The PM airport is small and efficient. Land, deplane on the tarmac, figure out which of the 2 baggage belts is yours, then get on your way.
I took a very quick video of the ground transporation area. First time I can recall seeing tuk tuks as an option leaving an airport.
From the airport we then had maybe a 90-minute ride to "Puerto Filadelfia". First hour of that is via local paved roads. Final 1/2 hour is a dirt road, but it's in pretty good condition. We rode in comfort, taking this recent model Hyundai van with solid a/c.
You can get the gist of the scenery for the first hour in this clip:
And below is a glimpse of the dirt road segment. Honestly it was a more comfortable ride than what we later experienced heading from Cusco to Ollantaytambo on 'paved' roads.
We emptied out of the van at Puerto Filadelfia, which is where we'd meet our boat shuttle over to the first lodge. Best I can tell the 'puerto' is this one building that can set you up with a quick coffee or bottle of water. It's also a covered place for the tuk tuk drivers to hang out under.
Here's a look at the Tambopata river that we'd be heading down:
We had help getting our bags down to the boat, which was appreciated.
Had to grab a quick video of my first boat ride in the 'Amazon' (guess it technically counts as being in the general Amazon rainforest region, but the river is the Tambopata).
Our first stop was Chuncho Lodge (note: google suggests it is a 5* property; it is not). Chuncho is the gentleman giving us some backstory during that boat ride clip above. According to Chuncho he was single-handedly responsible for getting Puerto Filadelfia built. After spending about 90 minutes with Chuncho, I can believe it. But I also believe Chuncho is a classic entrepreneur / sales type, so there might have been some extra mustard on that hot dog. Regardless, his property is lovely and charming and seemingly in a state of perpetual improvement. Here are few common area shots:
Chuncho treated us to a nice traditional lunch which was tasty. And the staff we engaged with were all very warm and helpful. Vibes felt like a family place where they take good care of you. If I were to head back to Puerto Maldonado for some jungle time, I'd be comfortable staying with Chuncho.
After saying goodbye to Chuncho we hopped another boat, this time heading to Wasai Tambopata Lodge.
Once you get up those stairs and you get an immediate impression that you're at a lodge of a different level.
Wasai is a bigger hospitality operation than Chuncho. They also have a 'lodge' (hotel) in PM proper, which is where we stayed the next night. (Strong a/c there and comfy beds. Not the best restaurant offering.) We got a property tour and saw that if you're looking for jungle comfort in an aesthetically pleasing setting, Wasai is a great option.
We had one more stop on the day, which was Refugio Amazonas. Refugio would be our base for the 'night' since it is further up river and somewhat closer to the Macaw clay lick experience we had on the schedule starting at 3:30am (!) the next morning. Our friends from Wasai dropped us off and after a good walk through the jungle at dusk, we arrived at the Refugio door step.
And for me, that was the high point of the Refugio Amazonas experience. The property is beautiful. And the common area lodge / restaurant is inviting. However the 'room' design is very open. Your 'room' has a net ceiling, but comes with zero in the way of exterior walls. No screens / windows / walls. Nada. So whatever is out in the jungle has full access to your room. While there is netting around your bed to protect against bugs, my guess is if something larger wanted to get into bed with you it could. And that includes some of the larger bugs that were racing around the bathroom. The design also implies (guarantees?) that if you turn on any light whatsoever (e.g., your phone, laptop, maybe a bathroom light to try and pull out your toothbrush), you are immediately flooded with flies, moths, etc. If your idea of communing with nature extends to the point of inviting into your pitch-black airspace whatever is in that jungle, then Refugio Amazonas gives you that opportunity in a very stylish fashion. I guess I was lucky in that I only found 3 massive cockroaches and a frog in my room. But then, I was only there for 6 hours. I also had to listen to one of my neighbors come back to his room around midnight -- maybe after enjoying some drinks in the lodge's bar -- then cough loudly a few times before going to bed and snoring loudly the rest of the night. Again, no walls, no ceiling, no audio privacy whatsoever. I'm sure people have heard less pleasant sounds coming from their fellow lodgers. But since I had just six hours to potentially rest before being off to the next activity, the disruptive snoring was unpleasant enough.
So, that will wrap up my thoughts on my stay in the jungle. For what it's worth I do also post some lightweight content on IG, like these shots from my walkabout in the town of Puerto Maldonado.
After a pretty full day of exploring and touring, my colleague and I still rallied on our last night in Lima to visit the Barranco neighborhood for dinner and shopping. Barranco was not on my radar during previous visits to Peru (one in 2006 focused on Machu Picchu, the others quick business trips circa 2015 in a previous life chapter). But in my prep for this trip Barranco popped up multiple times as a 'must-visit', so I needed to check it out. Though I didn't have time for as full of an exploration as I'd like, based on my quick spin through the area it would definitely be my preferred base for any future stays in Lima.
Barranco lies along the coast just to the south of Miraflores and is known for being a bit more relaxed, bohemian, comfortable, and creative than its chic, busy neighbor to the north. This post from Tara at The Better Beyond provides a nice summary. And you can sift through various YouTube videos as well to get an idea of the vibes. From our location near Parque Kennedy (INNSiDE by Melia) it took roughly 15 minutes via Uber to arrive at the Parque Municipal de Barranco, which we used as our jumping off point to roam around.
My first target was La Feria Unión de Barranco, which closes at 9pm on Thursdays. I wanted time for a quick lap to see if there was anything I needed to bring home with me. It's a cool place with a variety of indie boutiques, cafés/food stalls, and stands selling elevated versions of traditional souvenirs.
My colleague (who is younger and cooler than I am) was pleased with what she was seeing, and picked up a sweater or scarf of something if I recall correctly. I found what I was looking for, too:
I have had my eyes peeled for a new mouse pad the past few trips I've taken but surprisingly didn't see anything. Guess mouse pad souvenirs are not in fashion anymore. But this trademark yellow Inca Cola number is now brightening up my office, replacing the dingy 2010-era Aol pad that was years past its expiration date.
Pleased with our market visit we followed the lights and murals over to the famous Bridge of Sighs.
El Tio Mario called to us like a beacon, so we allowed ourselves to be drawn in and enjoyed a traditional meal with friendly service.
While the food's appearance may be alarmingly simple, man it was tasty and hit the spot after a long day. Not pictured is the aji salsa I asked for to give it a little punch.
For dessert we tried the classic Suspiro de limeña which was delicious.
Bravo, El Tio Mario.
We walked the meal off taking in the sights for a few blocks heading north along Avenida San Martin before hopping an uber back to the hotel. Had a flight to the jungle at 10am the next morning. So that finished the evening. And I'll finish this post with a couple more vibe shots from our walkabout.
I recently spent two weeks touring through Peru, revisiting a few places (Lima, Aguascalientes, Machu Picchu, Cucso) and seeing some for the first time (Ollantaytambo, Puerto Manldonado / Tambopata, Puno / Lake Titicaca, and Arequipa). Like most trips to Peru mine started in Lima. And the agenda for my first full day on the ground was a combo food & history walking tour of Lima's centro (and the barrio chino to an extent). I love a good walking tour and street food, so I was looking forward to this. It did not disappoint.
Since the tour was in the centro and I was staying in Miraflores, I first had to take an uber downtown. The ride took about 45 minutes and my uber cost ~$10 USD. Not unlike what I'd probably be looking at for a ride into the centro area of la CDMX. I arrived with some time to spare before the tour so I did a lap around the blocks adjacent to the meeting point and perhaps unsurprisingly felt that the vibes of the area were familiar. Lot of traffic, lot of people, hole-in-the-wall food joints, and blocks of small businesses selling similar items, making it easier for shoppers to pick up all their lighting products on one street, musical instruments on another, packaging materials on a third, etc. Reminded me of home.
Once our group had assembled the guide kicked us off with some context of what lay ahead. It's a busy area and the atmosphere may not be everyone's comfort zone. If you embrace the chaos and realize that while the surroundings are modest they are not particularly dangerous, then you're on the path to enjoying your experience. Our group was pretty game. It was me and two couples in their early 30s if I had to guess. One from Holland and the other from Canada.
First stop was a classic: Choclo con queso.
It was from a little stand near the intersection of Jirón Cusco & Avenida Abancay that seemed to be doing pretty good business.
This was a simple, tasty way to begin. Describing food is not really my strong suit. If you haven't had Peruvian choclo I'd say it's like regular corn, but meatier. There is a density to it that you don't get with 'standard' corn, or even Mexican pozole corn best I can recall (side note: there was a period here where we binged pozole, as we lived around the corner from Potzocalli, but now it's been a few years since we've had a bowl. Maybe we're due. 'Winter' is starting, so the time is about right.) I did not snap a pic of the salsa picante they offered along with it, which was very nice. Had no problems getting salsas with heat and flavor as I traveled around Peru.
Our guide led us eastward on Cusco toward the next stop, which was for papa rellena.
Strong 1-2 punch to kick things off here, and right in my wheelhouse. The papa was filled with some carne, onions, olives, little huevo duro. Good stuff. And some salsa for extra flavor and moistness. Plus a touch of lettuce to keep things fresh.
With a nice base of choclo y papa in the first 15 minutes, we ventured further east into the market and the Chinatown area. Would have enjoyed some time browsing / shopping everything that was on offer, but had to settle for a few pics and video clips.
Our next destination was Restaurant Cevicheria Renzito. Very much a local place where most of the group enjoyed the ceviche. I chomped a few plantain chips with my chicha morada and let them split my share of the fish & crab.
From there we navigated deeper into Chinatown. First passing through an impressive indoor stretch of hardware, lighting, and other miscellaneous goods ...
... before emerging out on Jirón Paruro, which was lively.
Where we tried a ... min pao. Which is a type of dumpling that I think I have previously just referred to as 'dumplings'. I went with the pork option, which was a little dense and not super flavorful. Soy sauce saved it somewhat.
Maybe I ordered poorly and there were better options to be had. But for me this was a miss. Very cool exploring the area and whatnot. But from the food perspective, meh.
Onward to the Mercado Municipal, where we got some background on the mercado itself, the alcoholic chicha drink, and tasted a lucama smoothie before being released on our own to explore for 10-15 minutes. I took a few pics and found a coffee stall where I bought a medio kilo of what was supposedly the closest thing to a robust french roast.
I'm drinking the coffee now and it's a little milder than I expected, but pleasant. I'm happy with it. Those $/56 soles per kilo calculate out to about $280 MXN / kg, which I think is a touch higher than what you'd pay for something like the Cubano roast at El Jarocho, for example. But it was generally in line price-wise and my suitcase smelled of coffee for the rest of my trip. So I consider it a good purchase.
We exited the market out to the intersection of Jirón Huallaga & Jirón Ayacucho, where you'll find a slew of mobile food stands selling anticuchos, picarones, and more. Anticuchos refer broadly to Peru's answer to the kebab. But our tour was going to try the beef heart version specifically, so I passed. Did take a pic of the stand, though.
The picarones -- donut-like treats made from pumpkin and sweet potato dough! -- were more up my alley. Good stuff.
Our last stop was at Bar Cordano, where we enjoyed a fairly standard ham sandwich and some fruit that the guide had picked up back at the mercado.
It was a good stop to sit down, make use of the bathroom, and recap the day, which was overall a great and worthwhile experience. I continued on with the history-focused extension of the walking tour, which I'll probably just leave for a few pics on instagram. But I will include this snapshot of a dog snoozing comfortably in front of a government office.
