Tarapoto: City of Palms

Tarapoto.  What can I say about Tarapoto?  Well it's everything I expected and nothing like what I expected.  Tarapoto makes Lima look like an elderly lady in sensible shoes.  Hot, humid and incredibly noisy, Tarapoto is a city of pavement and mototaxis.  The palms?  Well they're certainly out there, but nowhere near where we're camped.  I had expected more trees, after all this is the jungle, but in downtown Tarapoto where we're stationed and will be living for the next 6-8 months it's all cement.  That's not to say it doesn't have its appeal.  It does, and I must hasten to add that although it's different than the image we had of it, Tarapoto has not disappointed us.

Some local color

We are still living in a hotel/hostel called the Sol de Selva.  It's a small, intimate family-owned hotel, and as welcoming as a weekend at Grandma's.  The family is gracious and warm, and the hostel itself pristine clean.  We are treated royally here.  Every morning begins downstairs where the group of CUSO volunteers gathers for breakfast and coffee before heading out on our daily rounds of meetings and information gathering.  Pedro, the owner's son, has trained as a chef and makes the most delicious breakfast sandwiches for us every day, full of flavor and color, and served with a cheerful smile.  It will be hard to leave this place and its comforts when our house is ready for us.

This week has been a real eye-opener.  From every perspective.  It's been exciting and exhausting.  The areas CUSO is primarily involved in here in the San Martin area are tourism, cacao (chocolate) production, and medicinal plants.  These sectors are all part of the San Martin region's green initiative, which focuses on developing sustainable agriculture and tourism, while trying to preserve some of the rich traditional culture.  Each day has been crammed with meetings with local organizations that CUSO  works alongside in these sectors.  We have been introduced to dozens of people and had briefings on each organization's focus and challenges.  The network of projects and plans for development and economic growth here is amazing. 

We've enjoyed the novelty of the heat, though admittedly we are wilting by our 3rd or 4th meeting of the day.  And did I mention that all our meetings have been conducted in Spanish, accompanied by a cacophony of hammers, revving motorcycles, construction noise and ringing cellphones?  We have been zooming from meeting to meeting at high speed, stuffed into mototaxis since we arrived.  It's the pause that refreshes, and I look forward to it every time.






















Getting around in a mototaxi is a little like visiting Disneyland.  You just hold on, enjoy the wind in your face and forget about little things like personal space.  

We arrived here with two other new volunteers, one of whom will actually be stationed in Lima with some visits out to the San Martin region. The second is stationed here in Tarapoto with us and he will be working in the tourism development sector. Then there's us, with Murray working with the medicinal plants sector and me looking to plug in where I can be useful.  Another volunteer is due to arrive the end of the month to work in the cacao sector. Throughout the week we've had the pleasure of meeting other volunteers in place here, from CUSO and other non-governmental organizations. 

CUSO's role in international development is integrative, with its volunteers working alongside partner organizations already present in the area.  These partners are involved in micro-financing, small business and cooperatives and specialized areas such as medicinal plants.  They are building from the ground up.  There is so much un-tapped opportunity here, an incredible richness and variety of natural resources existing alongside a profound level of poverty in many areas. The scope of what could and should be done is overwhelming, and we have to keep reminding ourselves that our part is but a small piece in the puzzle.  Each piece looks insignificant alone, but is essential in forming the overall picture.

                       A glimpse of the potential here           

Has it only been a week here?  Feels like we've packed in enough for a month already.  In addition to our packed meeting schedule, we have also travelled out to Moyobamba, a two hour drive from Tarapoto, to visit a nature preserve/ecotourism project, to Chazuta to visit a cacao plantation and chocolate factory as well as a pottery guild, and made a trip to Lamas to see the Italian castle and the coffee house.  Oh yes, and Murray hiked for 6 hours in the jungle with some new friends. 

But those, my friends, are stories for another day.  I leave you with this thought:  the world out there is seldom what you had in mind, but can always be better than you expected.  When next I write I hope we are installed in our new home here in the anthill that is Tarapoto, and I will have more details on the projects we are seeing and becoming involved here in the selva.  Until next time, salud!  Stay frosty amigos!