Successful and free from disasters! All in all, a great Peru holiday for me as well as my Mum, Dad and brother. So, I’m back in writing mode with a whole lot of things to catch up on. Firstly, a very brief report about the last couple of weeks – if by some small chance you are planning a Peru family travel holiday then this could be of some interest….
A Peru Family Holiday – Lima to Tarapoto and Tingo Maria
OK, so there are no children involved (unless you count my brother, 35) but dragging your family around Peru is mildly concerning even if you’ve never had any major problems yourself. My Dad is in his seventies and my Mum is 60-ish, so I was kind of keeping an eye on them without wanting to seem overly concerned!
- Lima – wasn’t overly concerned in Miraflores, but kept pretty close by everywhere else.
- Trujillo – stuck close by at all times. I don’t know Trujillo too well, but the few times that I have been there I have noticed a bit of an edge to the place. That could be an unfair statement, but travelling with your family makes you hyper-cautious!
- Tarapoto – no concerns at all. I was happy for my parents to walk the four blocks to their hotel at 10 o’clock at night, although my brother went with them and he’s a fairly capable lad. During the day I wasn’t at all concerned about any of them walking off to the shops alone (except for their atrocious attempts at speaking Spanish – my Dad was saying Buenos Aires to everyone instead of buenos dias).
- Tingo Maria – we were only there for a day and a half and we had loads of other friends with us. Would I have let my parents walk around alone? Probably not. Tingo is a great place but not as relaxed as Tarapoto.
Peru Family Travel By Bus
We did the trip from Lima to Tarapoto by bus because my Dad especially wanted to see more of Peru. We broke up the journey in Trujillo, planning on making another stop between there and Tarapoto, but the bus situation was a bit sketchy so we ended up heading straight to Tarapoto. They all loved the Trujillo-Tarapoto trip despite the 18 hour duration – it was a good chance for them to see a bit of coast, highlands and jungle.
Family Holiday in Tarapoto, Peru
When we arrived in Tarapoto, I took them to their hotel (Totti Alojamiento – will write a separate post for this). So, all went well and we finally arrived in Tarapoto. We went to a few of the nearby sites, my brother developed an obsession for pisco sours, my Mum now loves moto taxis, and my Dad found his own personal paradise in the Tabacalera del Oriente cigar ‘factory’ (that place is incredible – blog post coming).
Um…. what else did we do? Oh yeah, we went to Kuelap (truly awesome) and Tingo Maria. We ate too much and drank a fair bit of rum and pisco (and fruit juices, of course). Actually, we did a huge amount in 2 weeks. I’ve got a lot of things to write about….
Buenos Aires…THATS FUNNY (and embarassing too !) When I invited my Dad to Mexico back in 1993 the only Spanish word he could remember was tampon! It was flippin’ hilarious! Kudos to our elderly travelers! So what do they think of your choice to lay down some roots? Can’t wait to read your blogs!
They loved Tarapoto – I think they now have a better understanding of why I chose to live here. It’s just a shame that flights from the UK cost so much. It would be nice if they could come out here more often (or if we could get to the UK). It was good fun having them here…. but now it’s back to work for me!
Hi, Tony – this is Melanie Zoltan (History Books FW) from S101. I love your blog! Ah – the mention of pisco made my mouth water. I haven’t had any since 1993 since I was in Chile! Can’t find it here anywhere in the states. A pisco sour haunts my dreams.
Hi Melanie,
Thanks, it’s great to get a comment from another Suite writer! Pisco is great stuff, I’m surprised you can’t find it in the states. You can buy kind of homemade moonshine pisco here, it comes in big tubs and costs about 4-5 soles (US$1.50). I went round to my friend’s house a while ago and he’d bought some. From what I remember it was pretty good stuff.
I still can’t make a decent pisco sour, I don’t know why. If I ever master the process I’ll try to write an article about it for Suite101.
Thanks for dropping by,
Tony.
MELANIE, PISCO IS AVAILABLE IN THE STATES. TRY ANY BIG WINE OR LIQUOR STORE. TOTAL WINE CARRIES 2 BRANDS ABOUT $15.00