Welcome to the Jungle

We have arrived in Tarapoto, and it's been a busy couple of days. We have been meeting people, travelling around, and looking for a house rental. 

How is it so far?

... Hot, humid, loud, and busy... But fun! 

We were happy to find that our boxes of goodies made it. The heat and humidity hit us hard stepping off the plane. People say you get used to it, but I find that hard to believe. 

So far Max enjoys watching the chaos of the motorbikes and moto-taxis cruising by. Our hotel is located in the centre of the city so it is very lively. 

Max is also enjoying all the moto taxi rides around town, especially when we hit the unpaved roads. The bumpier the ride the better in Max's world. 

We visited Takiwasi, where Spencer is going to be working. It's on a beautiful property just in the outskirts of the city, nestled in amongst beautiful plants and trees. While walking through we heard scurrying overhead and sure enough there were tiny little monkeys leaping from branch to branch. 

Max was mildly interested in the monkeys, but extremely impressed that the roads were made of sand and he could draw on them.

I have already discovered my home base in the city, a little créperie. They make delicious crépes, croissants, and bread. I'm pretty sure I'll be here everyday! 

We have met some of the other Cuso International volunteers while we have been here. We travelled to Lamas which is a small town about 49 minutes outside of Tarapoto. We had the best Frappiccino at Oro Verde café which helps find a coffee growing cooperative that some Cuso volunteers are working with. We went to lunch with Jo Su (who is in change of volunteers in Peru), Kristi (who volunteers at Takiwasi), Rubén and Lesley (who volunteer at Oro Verde), and Tala (Kristi and Rubén's 3 year old daughter). Max and Tala were shy at first and he reluctantly shared his trains. 

After lunch we took the kids to Wayku (an indigenous village in Lamas) where they could run around. 

Kristi and Rubén invited everyone back to their house for coffee and chocolate. Tala was very excited to show Max all of her pets (2 cats, chickens, a roosters, and Carlotta... A giant hairy spider living near the front gate!) 😳

Tala shared her toys with Max and even showed him how to hold his pencil properly. 

That evening we all went to dinner at Patarashca, a restaurant in Tarapoto that specializes in Amazon river fish... It was delicious! 

Max and Tala kept each other busy having races and counting stars. 

Spencer has been busy trying to find us a place to live. We rode around in a moto taxi for an hour looking for signs on houses. It was good to get a tour around but we didn't find much. 

We looked at a place close to Takiwasi that Spencer's new boss used to live in, which is a good possibility. This morning  Theresa, one of the employees from our hotel, took us to see her neighbour's house. It was really big, but no yard. Then Theresa invited us up to her house to meet her family. She had two very chatty parrots. 

The people here are so friendly and helpful. I think it's going to be a very nice year in the jungle.