Juanjui

Tarapoto to Juanjui was less than 2.5 hours. Despite the weather forecast, Glenn Gonzalez and I still haven’t seen any rain.

After the intense heat of Tarapoto, we managed to find a hotel with a big swimming pool and spent most of the day in that. In the evening a school party took place in an outdoor area at the hotel opposite the bedrooms. It started and ended very suddenly, as everyone showed up and left at the same time. They played some very loud reggaeton and announced end of year prizewinners or something like that.

Glenn Gonzalez and I luncheoned over the road from the hotel and a hungry dog turned up and looked into the restaurant with such a sad expression that I gave it the leftovers of Glenn Gonzalez’s food. He and I then headed into town to buy some dog food and had to ask in about twenty different shops before finding any. When we got back to the restaurant, the dog had gone, so I’m now carrying 400g of dog food on my travels with me.

It was announced while we were in the swimming pool that the president of Peru had dissolved congress and decided to take it from there on his own. He immediately imposed a 10pm to 8am curfew, which was a sickening blow for the early departure routine Glenn Gonzalez and I have established. However, before the day was out, the president was impeached and succeeded by his assistant (I think), who’s said she’s not down with dictators, and the curfew order was history. Glenn Gonzalez and I were back on for a dawn departure.