Peru is one of the most geographically diverse countries on the planet. This is a big reason why I’m attracted to it so much. It’s why I don’t mind being stuck here during these times of the pandemic.

I’d already been to many regions in Peru, but, I still had not really spent time in the jungle. So… that’s what I wanted to do. It’s what my family wanted to do after spending almost two months by the coast.

I’m writing this a looong time after the events in this photo diary/blog took place. Our last day at Mancora, where we spent most of our time on the coast would be my birthday – 23rd of June…

We decided to spend the night before my birthday in the camper, on the beach in a place called Organos. That night the moon was almost full. The sky was clear. It was magical. Not a bad place to spend the eve of my 40th.

Before it got dark, we left the camper behind a dune and walked along the beach to an awesome little restaurant in the village. As we walked back, the sun had fully set. But, the almost-full moon was so bright that we didn’t even need a flashlight to find our way back.

The next morning we stayed on the beach for a few hours, and then headed for a small party at our friends’ hotel. That’s where we spent almost all our time in Mancora and we wanted to have this last afternoon together.

After saying goodbye to our friends we immediately headed for the interior. The idea was to first get to the high jungle region called Chachapoyas via the shortest possible route.

Coastal parts of Peru are mostly very dry desert areas. As you head away from the coast, some vegetation starts to appear.

Algarrobo trees are a very common sight along roads. For a while all you see as far as vegetation are these trees, some small bushes, and nothing else.

The sun is pretty merciless in these parts of Peru. Temperatures are regularly over 30C. The air is dry. Any live beings try to cool themselves in the shade.

But, it doesn’t take long for the scenery to change. A couple of hours drive away from the coast all types of greenery start to appear.

There are surprisingly many clean rivers around Peru. Rivers would become a major theme for us in the jungle, but here we were still unsure of whether they were contaminated or not and didn’t risk going in.

We didn’t have much of a plan along our way to Chachapoyas. We just wanted to visit whatever worthwhile places were in the vicinity of the route.

The first place was going to be a cluster of natural pools in the hills of Piura region. However… after arriving there we learned that due to a landslide, it would be impossible to drive to the pools. We’d have to leave the car in the nearest town and go on foot.

I had no idea whether this town was a safe place to leave my car, and I wasn’t really in the mood to walk any extended distance in the heat with my daughter, who could get into “whine-and-meltdown mode” at any time in the heat.

We decided to explore the surroundings. There were supposed to be other natural pools further ahead, but… we soon found out that they were destroyed by the same natural disaster.

So, we kept driving. The scenery was beautiful. I followed a dirt road to see if we could find a nice spot to spend a couple of days. The locals directed me towards an area that was just perfect. Happy Mia, happy wife, happy me.

A drone always provides a better understanding of just how amazing a place is. My wife had been missing the greenery while we were on the coast. Now we were surrounded by greenery. There were beautiful, hilly landscapes everywhere we looked and, it was quiet… only the sound of birds would wake us up in the mornings.

This wasn’t the jungle yet. The area is considered the outskirts of the jungle. Interestingly, the vibe overall reminded me of South East Asia. Like Indonesia or even rural Thailand.

One day we decided to take a walk up one of the hills. We met a couple of these guys along the path.

We stayed at the same spot for 3 days. We might have even wanted to stay longer, but… my girls managed to spill water on my Macbook Pro. The water got into the charging ports and, well…no more charging.

Since a laptop is one of the more important material possessions that I absolutely need – we had no choice, but to turn back for the nearest city – Piura, to try to fix it. After that was not to be, I bought one of the cheaper new 13” Macbook Pros. It’s actually amazing how this is possible here. In Peru, you’re kinda never too far from a fairly developed city, which is very convenient when you’re traveling for years.

We resumed the journey towards Chachapoyas and headed towards Jaen, a city with… not the best reputation, as far as safety goes. For the night, we drove as far away from Jaen as we could – to find a spot park the camper and sleep.

One of the main challenges for most overlanders, I think, is to find a good, safe spot before sunset. You just never know what kind of a place you’re in if it’s dark.

I’ve ended up spending nights next to garbage dumps, hideous construction sights, or even next to make-shift settlements, where people were totally shocked to see my car in the morning – all because it was too dark to see the nuances.

It was challenging to find anything away from large settlements, which are generally considered unsafe in this area. But, we finally came across a spot by the river, mostly hidden from view from the main road.

Car parked, roof lifted. We even had good internet signal, so Mia had a video chat with my parents. But then… just as we were about to sleep, I decided to check what people had said about this area on iOverlander – the app to find camping spots and all sorts of useful advice for those who are traveling the world on wheels.

There was a mention of regular robberies of those who camped at a spot less than just 1km away. People ask me how I keep safe during my travels and the truth is, most places are nothing to be concerned with. But, whenever I hear stuff, I don’t like to take chances.

Maybe the information on iOverlander was wrong, but, the thoughts consumed me. Too much to lose. So… in the dark… we packed up and drove to look for a safer spot, or, just any place that would calm our newly found anxiety.

The next morning we drove a few hundred kilometers and we were in Chachapoyas, Amazonas – a region known for its lush cloud forests and countless waterfalls.

So, so different from the coast and even the hills of High Piura where we had been just days ago. This was feeling like the jungle. Like, something completely new to what we had experienced in Peru up to this point.

The first place we wanted to explore was the famous Gocta waterfall and its surroundings. We found a great spot with a view above Gocta and the villages of Cocachimba and La Coca – the two settlements nearest to Gocta waterfall. Above photo is the view we were met with every morning, over the first five days that we spent in the area.

We parked right along a rural road. That was the only flat spot we could find far enough away from the settlements to be in total quiet. There was very little traffic, just an odd car every few hours. This turned out to be one great place to camp.

You can see some “bold” pine trees if you look closely. The reason is that some “genius” let a fire he set to his crops get out of control. This seems to be a major issue in all of Peru. Even when we were camping at this spot, there was an out-of-control fire just a couple of kilometers above us.

On a side note… believe it or not, this was one of the best spots for internet signal! 4G all the way and amazing download and upload speeds. I don’t think I even had anything this fast in Australia, on a cable connection.

After getting a feel for the area, we went on our “little excursion” to Gocta, what’s considered one of the world’s tallest waterfalls.

The hike to the bottom part of Gocta goes for approximately 2-2.5 hours. And it passes through some amazing scenery. At times, you feel like you’re in an Indiana Jones movie.

You get a glimpse of the waterfall from various spots along the trail. It’s like it’s teasing you and luring you in.

When you’re right at the bottom of the waterfall you feel its power and energy. In fact, you feel the spraying water a hundred meters away, even further if the wind is strong.

I love immersing myself in all kinds of water bodies, and I definitely couldn’t resist going in here. I didn’t get right under the waterfall because it was cold and the flow of water was a bit overwhelming, but, I got close enough.

Surprisingly, my little adventurer managed the hike better than me and Tanya. It was about 11km in total there and back. And, it was up and down some pretty challenging terrain. By the time we got back to the village, I was pretty sore. Mia, on the other hand, was hopping and running.

We made a few little bonfires of our own, using dry branches we found on the ground. The difference between us and some of the more careless villagers, was that we made sure to put the fire out before we’d go to sleep.

I remember those cozy nights in the camper like they were yesterday. Close enough to villages, which had enough amenities, yet far enough from any sizable town and from so-called civilization to truly enjoy the countryside.

I did some research about where else we should go. La Jalca Grande – a small town in the higher part of Chachapoyas region came across as interesting. Off we went.

At this point, I hadn’t photographed people for a while. I wanted to get back into the groove, so I’d stop whenever I saw anyone interesting, and make a few frames. The costumes of some of the people around La Jalca Grande made them particularly interesting visually.

It was raining pretty consistently. A passing by local man joked that it always rains when foreigners come to visit. Nevertheless, we explored the town, but this wet donkey pretty much sums up the vibe.

Children and puddles… I’m glad that Mia gets so much joy from the simplest things in life. I’m still regularly giving myself a pat on the back for not giving her a “regular” life, which seems miserable for children in much of the so-called civilized world, especially now with the pandemic.

Some of the houses at La Jalca Grande are very traditional. Much of the town is set up on hills that rise above the surrounding mountains.

There was an earthquake in the town a few months after we left and apparently, much damage was done. We were lucky to get a glimpse of this place before.

We wandered the streets, talked to people and just wanted to get a feel for this part of Peru, which almost no foreigners ever visit. Sometimes there isn’t anything particularly special about such places, but the very fact that they’re so off the beaten path makes them fascinating. You get to see life without the influence of tourism and over-commercialization.

We came to the market at La Jalca Grande just a little after the market was done. The day was ending, but thankfully one of the women at the food stalls still had some tasty chicken soup.

Though markets are great places for people-watching, I do feel that they’re highly overrated for photography. Too much visual chaos. However, when things quieten down, there are some nice little moments to capture.

There’s a very famous ruin complex called Kuelap in the region of Chachapoyas, but we didn’t get to see it. We did however hear that there was a much smaller, semi-abandoned complex just outside of La Jalca Grande. We wanted to explore it before we’d leave.

It turned out that semi-abandoned actually meant much of the ruins were still completely covered in growth and there wasn’t that much to see. We wandered around, I made a few photos, and… there was now not much holding us here any longer.

Off to explore more of the region. Nights like this, in completely unknown places became common. Thankfully, the region of Chachapoyas is for most part completely safe. You can pull over virtually anywhere and the only people coming up to you will be those curious to know if you need help.

Being in “photography mode” means you’re seeing everything as a photo opportunity. A car in the distance, high beams on, the light shooting out in different directions through the fog - kinda magical.

After some minor camper issues and stopping in the town of Chachapoyas, our next destination was an area with hot-springs and a pretty impressive cave.

I don’t have photos of the hot-springs because I was too busy teaching Mia how to swim. My little girl learned how to swim in hot springs in the jungles of Peru! Since then, she has this really positive association with the jungle and sees it as a place of adventure and fun.

Not far from the hot springs is the cave, called Caverna de Leo. In the photo above is Leo. The cave is on his land. He says that he discovered it when a vision came to him in a dream. The cave is a few hundred meters high, once you’re inside. And, allegedly it goes on for a few kilometers.

Leo cleared the entrance, built some ladders to make the cave navigable, and opened it to the public for a fee. Everybody referred to the cave as Leo’s cave, and that’s where the name comes from. Caverna de Leo in Spanish means Leo’s cave.

There are some impressive stalactite and stalagmite formations inside of the cave. Some look like lions, heads, a married couple, the Virgin Mary. Leo had noticed countless such formations. We could feel how proud he was to show them to us and, I imagine to other visitors.

I am no expert on caves, but this was one magical experience. Having visited some caves in the past, which were adapted for mass tourism, I loved the fact that visiting this one, felt like an adventure. No stairs, no fancy lighting – just us, Leo, the wonders of the cave and… darkness.

After the cave and the hot springs, we explored more of the region. More random stops for the night. More experiences and little adventures.

I wasn’t going out of my way to search for photos, but after all… this is Peru, so photos just materialized out of nowhere. This scene appeared when we were driving down from our night camping spot to the town of Lamud.

I noticed this woman while driving a narrow lane in a small village. She was distinct from most people I’d seen along the road this day. Having looked at photos from the area, I realized that her headscarf was something traditional for women in the past. Now this wasn’t so much the case. So, I stopped my car chatted for a moment, and made a little historical record.

After exploring the region of Chachapoyas, we wanted to come back to our little spot near Gocta waterfall. We made a friend, loved the vibe in the nearby villages, and wanted to spend a few more days there before we’d leave the area for good.

Turned out there were more waterfalls in the area too, so we went to explore them. As there hadn’t been much rain, there wasn’t much water. Still, there was enough to cool down after a relatively intense hike.

The water in these waterfalls is actually extremely clean. You can drink from them. So, I joked with my daughter that I drank a rainbow.

With the sun setting, we headed back. I never get tired of the natural beauty of Peru. I keep finding it amusing that I - a city dweller for most of my life, someone who couldn’t even imagine why anyone would live outside of a city, now can’t fathom living anywhere far from unspoilt nature.

Our introduction to this part of Peru had gone about as well as it could have. This was a good sign for the rest of our journey. We spent close to three weeks in the region of Chachapoyas and were now ready to get into a new groove and explore more of the new horizons.

The next morning, I’d be driving towards the region of San Martin, along the jungle highway to what’s probably the largest city in this part of the jungle - Tarapoto.

Of course, we had no plans. I only knew that we wouldn’t make it to Tarapoto for a few days. Being “stuck” here over the year of the pandemic now has rendered all plans useless. To be completely honest though, I kinda secretly wished for extended time to explore this incredible country. My wish came true….