Yarina

We finally reached Pucallpa and took a mototaxi to the main square. It was not a particularly interesting town; the church was a strikingly modern structure but there were no signs of colonial style buildings that give many Peruvian cities their charm.

Most of our time was spent in the nearby town of Yarina, about 10-15mins on a mototaxi away and situated on the banks of Yarinacocha lake. It is prettier, with a dozen or so topiary ficus trees in the square, sculpted into figures of local wildlife like turtles, armadillos, birds and llamas.

But the tourist spot is by the lake, where restaurants, vendors and launches sit, awaiting tourists. We took a launch to a small zoo called La Jungla that was really not worth the visit (Quistococha is superior) unless you want to see and have a photo with one of the several enormous anacondas there. The largest is 6-7 metres long with a body thicker than a man's leg.

One night, we found a club with a live Latin band and spent a few hours dancing salsa and cumbia, intermittently sitting down during highland songs, cooling off and drinking. We decided to check out another club nearby, this time with a DJ, though they still played Latin songs and there were still half a dozen half-naked girls onstage with a couple of men on mikes chanting "Asi, asi, asi!" to the music. The club was packed with younger, drunker people than the last place. The floor was sticky with beer and the walls lined with passed out people.

Playa Restinga

But the best of Yarinacocha was visiting Playa Restinga. After breakfast at the Pucallpa mercado, we sourced some free fish scraps from a filleter and headed to the beach to fish. We found a narrow channel of the lake reaching into the jungle and carefully tread our way along the steep bank. Stopping at a decent spot, we hooked our bait and waited. There was a decent bite that made us hopeful for catching a good sized fish, but a few casts later, Joel felt a big strike, missed it, and pulled the line back in to find our only hook missing. We theorized that it was either a huge fish that bit through the line or a small one with a very sharp knife.

Thinking it would be awesome to explore the channel with a canoe, we learned of a man who could rent his to us. For s/5 a day, we could have it. We explored the peaceful section of lake and wished we had more hooks. Joel wanted to cruise about longer, but I was getting eaten alive by insects, so we returned the boat, planning to be dressed more appropriately next time.

The rest of the afternoon we spent swimming in the lake, our moles (and Joel's nipple) targets for the hungry and curious fish.

The following morning, we prepared ourselves for a day of fishing in the canoe. Dressed in long pants and long sleeves, and with insect repellent handy, Joel and I stopped by the mercado again for bait but also a second line, spare hooks and sinkers as well. We enjoyed a semi-overcast day in the canoe but didn't catch anything. Instead, we paddled up and down the channel until our asses were sore from sitting on the hard wood for so long. The day ended after we returned the canoe and had a few drinks in the stilted restaurant by the lake, as we enjoyed the Latin music playing.