Tumbes Peru
In the far northernmost corner of Peru there is the border district of the country called Tumbes. Here the cold Humboldt current we have been traveling along with during this entire voyage so far makes a swing to the west as warm waters from the northern hemisphere tropics flows south along the coasts of Colombia and Ecuador. On the bridge of the National Geographic Endeavour the water temperature was recorded at about 24 degrees C, up about 7 or 8 degrees from last evening. Also during the night the officers had to weave their way through thousands of fishing boats attesting to the high productivity of this northern end of the cold current. And as the anchor was lowered off the small community of Cancas we could see that fishing was still vital to the people. Boats of all shapes and sizes were anchored or coming out to greet us, including wooden rafts only large enough to hold a couple of men. The day was monumental to the local area, as we were the very first passenger ship to visit - ever.
Going ashore just after an early breakfast we landed on the small pier where, to our surprise, possibly the entire community had shown up to welcome us, including two brass bands and all of the school children lining the dock and waving Peruvian flags. From the dock we divided into different vehicles that would take us to our chosen excursion for the day. To begin with, everyone traveled northward along the familiar PanAmerican Highway, having used sections of this ribbon of a road on many of our previous excursions. This time the road follows right along the coast giving us an opportunity to see the beaches used by local Peruvian and Ecuadorian vacationers during the summer. Also we learned about the agricultural importance of the region where rice, bananas, and shrimp are farmed commercially.
The excursion to Peru’s only mangrove sanctuary was the most popular among the group. This group stopped briefly in Tumbes before continuing on in smaller vehicles to navigate a rather rough road leading across the dry forest plains between the distant mountains and the ocean. Awaiting us were a variety of local boats: a couple with motors, a couple large fiberglass canoes and a couple of true dugouts, the later were propelled by manpower. After a rather long process of boarding we began our trip along the mangrove channels. During the trip we learned not only about mangroves and saw some of the birds that rely on the ecosystem, but we also had a unique experience of seeing how a few local people make their living harvesting crabs and black clams in a managed and sustainable fashion. It was unbelievable that a person could walk through the morass of tangled roots and mud and then be able to locate and catch crabs hiding deep in this water-saturated environment. Having seen the vast squares of shrimp farms as we drove to the sanctuary, we all were very impressed and certainly thankful that Peru has protected such a large area of this very productive mangrove ecosystem.
On another excursion a group journeyed to one of the other protected areas of the region. In the Tumbes District over 30 % of the lands have been designated as some type of protected reserve. The Amotape Reserve encompasses a large area of dry tropical forest. In order to get to a corner of the park the group had to travel along a back road through small pastoral communities which gave us an opportunity to really see how rural life looked. The road ended on the edge of the Tumbes River as it passed out of the rolling hills to the east. We then started our hike up a rather steep incline through widely spaced “carob” and ceiba trees. As we walked, we learned about this unique area and its importance to a number of endemic flora and fauna. The area was quite a contrast to the desert landscape we had seen on previous days and also a surprise since it almost looked like the open savannas of Africa. From a viewpoint high above the river we could see up the valley stretching eastward into Ecuador. It was encouraging to see the vastness of the forest on both sides of the river and how Peru has protected this dry forest and the adjoining humid forest across the river to the north all the way to the Ecuadorian boarder. As a last part of the hike we ventured a short distance along a dry stream bottom where chunks of petrified wood were scattered among ancient granites. This path was also the supposed route of Inca messengers and later Pizarro’s men on their quest to conquer the New World. We felt good about conquering the trail and the midday heat.
A third group had chosen to start the day slightly later so they could see more of the town of Tumbes and the surrounding area. Tumbes is a relatively small town of about 200,000 people living mostly off fishing, farming, military, government, and services. So far tourism has played an extremely small part in the community, which we could tell by the grand executive reception we were getting everywhere. At all times we were escorted by the local police in order to expedite our traveling through this busy town. At the very nice central hotel we transferred into local transportation called MotoTaxis consisting of a motorcycle in the front and rickshaw compartment for the passengers. Colorful balloons tied to the side however gave away our identity as the first expedition ship guests to their town. During our unique tour of the central plazas and downtown area we also had the honor of being greeted by the mayor in the city’s town hall. All of these groups eventually converged on the hotel for an excellent lunch at a very Peruvian mealtime in the middle of the afternoon.
A small contingent of our group decided that the warm waters and soft sand under the hot sun was attractive. This group lounged quietly at a small resort called Punta Sal just a short distance from the pier. This lovely spot is famous because of the sport fishing activities that occur just offshore and possibly more significantly it is the favorite vacation resort for the current president of the country.
Back on the ship as the sun dropped lower in the sky, the official paperwork was completed that meant we were leaving Peru, a lovely country where we have had a chance to enjoy not only some of its natural wonders, but also some of its warm and friendly people. Over these last days in Peru we have acquired many photos and pictures in our mind’s eye, knowledge about the country, and of course souvenirs that might stimulate remembering our unique experiences. But the day was not yet finished, as a huge group of feeding blue-footed boobies and brown pelicans and common dolphins quickly revived everyone’s excitement about coming out on deck for sunset and later a fine BBQ dinner under the tropical twinkle of stars and a growing moon.
In the far northernmost corner of Peru there is the border district of the country called Tumbes. Here the cold Humboldt current we have been traveling along with during this entire voyage so far makes a swing to the west as warm waters from the northern hemisphere tropics flows south along the coasts of Colombia and Ecuador. On the bridge of the National Geographic Endeavour the water temperature was recorded at about 24 degrees C, up about 7 or 8 degrees from last evening. Also during the night the officers had to weave their way through thousands of fishing boats attesting to the high productivity of this northern end of the cold current. And as the anchor was lowered off the small community of Cancas we could see that fishing was still vital to the people. Boats of all shapes and sizes were anchored or coming out to greet us, including wooden rafts only large enough to hold a couple of men. The day was monumental to the local area, as we were the very first passenger ship to visit - ever.
Going ashore just after an early breakfast we landed on the small pier where, to our surprise, possibly the entire community had shown up to welcome us, including two brass bands and all of the school children lining the dock and waving Peruvian flags. From the dock we divided into different vehicles that would take us to our chosen excursion for the day. To begin with, everyone traveled northward along the familiar PanAmerican Highway, having used sections of this ribbon of a road on many of our previous excursions. This time the road follows right along the coast giving us an opportunity to see the beaches used by local Peruvian and Ecuadorian vacationers during the summer. Also we learned about the agricultural importance of the region where rice, bananas, and shrimp are farmed commercially.
The excursion to Peru’s only mangrove sanctuary was the most popular among the group. This group stopped briefly in Tumbes before continuing on in smaller vehicles to navigate a rather rough road leading across the dry forest plains between the distant mountains and the ocean. Awaiting us were a variety of local boats: a couple with motors, a couple large fiberglass canoes and a couple of true dugouts, the later were propelled by manpower. After a rather long process of boarding we began our trip along the mangrove channels. During the trip we learned not only about mangroves and saw some of the birds that rely on the ecosystem, but we also had a unique experience of seeing how a few local people make their living harvesting crabs and black clams in a managed and sustainable fashion. It was unbelievable that a person could walk through the morass of tangled roots and mud and then be able to locate and catch crabs hiding deep in this water-saturated environment. Having seen the vast squares of shrimp farms as we drove to the sanctuary, we all were very impressed and certainly thankful that Peru has protected such a large area of this very productive mangrove ecosystem.
On another excursion a group journeyed to one of the other protected areas of the region. In the Tumbes District over 30 % of the lands have been designated as some type of protected reserve. The Amotape Reserve encompasses a large area of dry tropical forest. In order to get to a corner of the park the group had to travel along a back road through small pastoral communities which gave us an opportunity to really see how rural life looked. The road ended on the edge of the Tumbes River as it passed out of the rolling hills to the east. We then started our hike up a rather steep incline through widely spaced “carob” and ceiba trees. As we walked, we learned about this unique area and its importance to a number of endemic flora and fauna. The area was quite a contrast to the desert landscape we had seen on previous days and also a surprise since it almost looked like the open savannas of Africa. From a viewpoint high above the river we could see up the valley stretching eastward into Ecuador. It was encouraging to see the vastness of the forest on both sides of the river and how Peru has protected this dry forest and the adjoining humid forest across the river to the north all the way to the Ecuadorian boarder. As a last part of the hike we ventured a short distance along a dry stream bottom where chunks of petrified wood were scattered among ancient granites. This path was also the supposed route of Inca messengers and later Pizarro’s men on their quest to conquer the New World. We felt good about conquering the trail and the midday heat.
A third group had chosen to start the day slightly later so they could see more of the town of Tumbes and the surrounding area. Tumbes is a relatively small town of about 200,000 people living mostly off fishing, farming, military, government, and services. So far tourism has played an extremely small part in the community, which we could tell by the grand executive reception we were getting everywhere. At all times we were escorted by the local police in order to expedite our traveling through this busy town. At the very nice central hotel we transferred into local transportation called MotoTaxis consisting of a motorcycle in the front and rickshaw compartment for the passengers. Colorful balloons tied to the side however gave away our identity as the first expedition ship guests to their town. During our unique tour of the central plazas and downtown area we also had the honor of being greeted by the mayor in the city’s town hall. All of these groups eventually converged on the hotel for an excellent lunch at a very Peruvian mealtime in the middle of the afternoon.
A small contingent of our group decided that the warm waters and soft sand under the hot sun was attractive. This group lounged quietly at a small resort called Punta Sal just a short distance from the pier. This lovely spot is famous because of the sport fishing activities that occur just offshore and possibly more significantly it is the favorite vacation resort for the current president of the country.
Back on the ship as the sun dropped lower in the sky, the official paperwork was completed that meant we were leaving Peru, a lovely country where we have had a chance to enjoy not only some of its natural wonders, but also some of its warm and friendly people. Over these last days in Peru we have acquired many photos and pictures in our mind’s eye, knowledge about the country, and of course souvenirs that might stimulate remembering our unique experiences. But the day was not yet finished, as a huge group of feeding blue-footed boobies and brown pelicans and common dolphins quickly revived everyone’s excitement about coming out on deck for sunset and later a fine BBQ dinner under the tropical twinkle of stars and a growing moon.
