La Balsa to Chachapoyas

 

The whole itinerary goes like this: Vilcabamba - Zumba - La Basa - San Ignacio - Jaen - Bagua Grande - Chachapoyas, and took me 10 vehicles and two days to accomplish, which is probably why a lot of people don't do it. When I crossed into Peru and entered the passport control office, some young people from France, I believe they hailed, were exiting. When I asked how long it took them to get their passport stamped, the answer was, 9 hours. Apparently there had been a power outage and those poor kids were stuck there for the duration. Luckily, for me and three others who had just arrived there, the power came back on 30 minutes before we walked up. Getting stamped in and interviewed took less than a hour for all of us combined. BTW, there is no one to raise that beam, one walks just around it on the the side. Below is the door to the border control office. Hurriedly taken, because they seemed a little touchy. Maybe it was the power outage and our late arrival. Around the corner was the military side, border control, where we were interviewed. Going this way, Spanish is highly desirable. Luckily, the bicycling girl spoke it very fluently and helped out.

 

 

San Ignacio in the morning and my ride to the colectivo terminal

 

The colectivo (mini-bus) terminal in San Ignacio. These places are busy, they connect many small towns, are run efficiently and honestly. The lady with the clipboard goes around making sure that the right passengers are in the appropriate bus and have paid their fare.
Magnificent scenery to go through. I think we followed that river all the way to Jaen.

 

 

Could it be the mailman?

 

I was definitely in Peru, with a Japanese sounding name running for president. Windshields don't have a long lifespan here. The young drivers spend long hours on the road, day after day.

 

One of many villages along the way, this one with a unique way to cross the river.

 

 

Of course there are bridges, such as this new one, but they are few and far between. At this 'T'-section there were people selling food.

 

 

Rice fields. The landscape changed as we got closer to Jaen.

 

A sign of getting closer to Jaen, people waiting for a bus

 

We finally crossed the river and a short time later were in Jaen

 

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