The Grand Tour - Part 9 - Tarapoto, part 1 - Laguna Azul, getting there

The Leito Inn arranged trips to local amenities, so I did some searching and decided to visit the Laguna Azul, correctly named Laguna Sauce, and booked for the following day. A minibus collected me from the Inn, and I joined the dozen or so passengers already on board. It does rain a lot in that part of Peru, and it wasn't long before we came across a landslip partially blocking the road!

Landslip partially blocking the road

I was fortunately sitting in the front of the minibus so was able to take a lot of photos through the windscreen during our outing!
Shortly afterwards we turned off the tarmac onto a dirt road leading to the ferry,
which became very muddy as we approached the Rio Huallaga)one of the tributaries of the Amazon)

Approach to the ferry - very slippery!

Ferry coming from the other side

Only way across the Rio Huallaga is by ferry

Downriver

Ferry nearing our side

I must admit that I was a little apprehensive about this crossing, and there were other vehicles waiting as well, but it was all part of the adventure!

It took quite a while to disembark and embark due to the slippery mud, but I was pleased to see that our driver, despite not being in a 4x4 managed to get on the ferry with relative ease - unlike some of the others who required several attempts and much pushing!

We were fairly tightly packed but all passengers had to disembark the vehicles as a safety precaution

Some of my fellow travellers

Where we had got on 

Middle of the Rio Huallaga

Exit ramp the other side

Close up it didn't look any more inviting

Recent rains had created this gully next to the ramp

The ferry staff took a long time ensuring the ramp was correctly placed - before letting us continue. We had to walk ashore while the buses squirmed through the mud, before being allowed to take our seats again.

Positioning the exit ramp boards

The driver in front had to disembark his passengers a second time to make it all the way up the exit slope and onto the "main" road

The road was very wet, and there was thick mud and puddles in places along it!

Fresh rain had created puddles

And turned the road into a muddy path

In places rainwater run-off had created hazardous conditions

And we had to pick our way carefully through the rocks

Reminded me of roads in Africa in the 60's!

But as we climbed out of the valley the road improved

We stopped off at a viewpoint looking back over the Huallaga valley,

Panoramic view of the Huallaga Valley

which offered spectacular views of the surrounding countryside.

Rio Huallaga upriver

At the top is the tarred road we had come along, cut into the hillside, and below a second ferry crossing

I believe this was used by passengers on larger buses, hence all the seating

The road we had followed snaking up this side

At the viewpoint there was a small dwelling built into the mountainside, which we were told was another "Seguridad" post (as a popular viewpoint most vehicles stopped there so there was a need for security), however no-one was there when we stopped

Our ferry crossing had been just past where the river went out of sight

We continued upwards and over the hills on this bank, the dirt road in much better condition that down in the valley, but still slippery in places, and at times covered with small stones washed down from the hillsides.

Nestled in the hills were private hotels and residences

We finally reached Laguna Azul.

We eventually reached the lake and prepared for the next part of the trip - by boat!