The old and the new Peru

by Marie Robinson Wright

AN ENGINEERS’ CAMP AT PUERTO BERMUDEZ ON THE PICHIS RIVER.

Large steamers ascend the Amazon for three thousand miles, passing the boundary line between Brazil and Peru at the port of Tabatinga and continuing beyond Iquitos for hundreds of miles up the Marañon and the Ucayali, Huallaga, or other tributaries. Yurimaguas, which is the most important port on the Huallaga, five hundred miles above Iquitos, is connected with the latter by a regular service of steamers of four hundred tons, nearly all the trade of the Departments of San Martin and Amazonas passing over this route. On the Ucayali are the commercial ports of Contamina and Masisea, the latter noted as the first station in the Montaña of the wireless telegraph system that connects Puerto Bermudez with the port of Iquitos. Steamers of four hundred tons ply between Iquitos and Contamina, seven hundred miles up the river; and, during the rainy season when the waterways are deeper than at other times, they ascend as far as Masisea, two hundred miles beyond Contamina. From Masisea, steam launches convey passengers and cargo up the Pachitea for two hundred miles to the Pichis—which unites with the Palcazu to form the Pachitea—and along the Pichis for about a hundred miles to the port of Bermudez, at the head of navigation on this branch of the Ucayali and the point of embarkation for travellers between Lima and Iquitos over what is known as the Central Route.

The length of time required to make the journey between Lima and Iquitos varies greatly according to the season and the condition of the rivers, the voyages up the water courses taking much longer than the descent. The trip may be made, under favorable circumstances, in fifteen or sixteen days. An interesting description of this trip, given in a recent report of one of the Peruvian government engineers, shows the kind of travelling one experiences in the Montaña and affords valuable information as to the equipment necessary for such a journey. As the route lies first across the Cordilleras, and the railway takes one only from Lima to Oroya, where it is necessary to take mules for the ride across the puna and down the eastern slope to the river, passengers are advised not to carry bulky luggage, about a hundred pounds being the heaviest that any single piece should weigh; the same rule applies in all mountainous regions where the path is narrow and pack-mules are the freight carriers. It is also recommended that trunks, bags, and everything holding perishable effects, be wrapped in waterproof material, as rain falls daily and in a deluge throughout the region of the lower Montaña.

But, if the traveller goes well equipped and prepared to make the best of an experience that has its agreeable features as well as its discomforts, the journey is likely to prove most interesting. One should be provided with an army cot, a mosquitero, or netting, as a protection from the prevailing pest of some sections of the river course, a waterproof coat and cap, and a small medicine case containing quinine, antiseptics, and ammonia. This precaution is advised as a general rule, and it does not mean that medicine is sure to be needed, nor that mosquitoes will torment the passenger throughout the entire journey. As has been said elsewhere, the railway trip from Lima to Oroya may be made in a day. After spending a night at Oroya, the traveller proceeds on muleback to Tarma, about twenty miles away, over a road that gives an excellent idea of Andean highways; the sturdy mules bred in these altitudes are the only safe animals for such a journey, which is a succession of steep ascents and narrow curves until the highest point is reached, after which the downward road begins, as hazardous and uncomfortable as the other. As the railway is nearly finished between Oroya and Tarma, this part of the trip will soon be made under less trying conditions. At present, it requires five or six hours to cover these twenty miles. From Tarma to the Pichis River, the road is less difficult, and, after passing Huacapistana, twenty-five miles northeast of Tarma, the region of the Montaña is soon reached, the traveller being then obliged to discard the heavy wraps required during the ride across the high sierras, and to put on summer clothing.

The third day’s ride brings one to La Merced, on the banks of the Chanchamayo River. This part of the journey is made over a fairly good road, the distance from Huacapistana to La Merced, about twenty miles, being covered easily in five hours. Puentes colgantes, or suspension bridges, cross the Tarma and other rivers of this region, the route to La Merced crossing at least half a dozen of these primitive-looking, but generally serviceable, structures. La Merced is situated at an altitude of about three thousand feet above sea level, and belongs to what may be called the upper Montaña, to distinguish it from the region of the plains, or the lower Montaña. The road from La Merced to Yapaz, a distance of thirty miles, may be travelled in one day, though many prefer to stop midway, at Pueblo Pardo, to break the journey, which is more fatiguing as the rains become heavier, soaking the ground and making progress difficult. But one learns to take life very leisurely in the tropics, and it is pleasanter to jog along for a few hours, enjoying the charm of the forest with its impressive silence, and resting when so inclined, than to make an extra effort to accomplish in one day what may be done just as well in two. If “Poor Richard” had lived in the Chanchamayo valley, he would probably have reversed his advice to read: “Never do to-day what you can put off till to-morrow.” A short distance beyond Pueblo Pardo, the Camino de Pichis, as the road to the river is called, crosses a suspension bridge over the Paucartambo River, built by the English colony of the Perené, whose haciendas may be seen at intervals between Pueblo Pardo and Yapaz.

THE CONFLUENCE OF THE CHUCHURAL AND PALCAZU RIVERS.

From Yapaz to Enenas, eighteen miles, is another day’s journey, of five or six hours; from Enenas to Porvenir, twenty-seven miles, the ride is so fatiguing and difficult that it usually requires nine or ten hours to cover the distance. This part of the journey leads the traveller through the heart of the Montaña; and during the eighth day’s ride, which takes one from Porvenir to San Nicolas, not a single house is seen, nor any sign of human habitation. From Yapaz to San Nicolas, the climate is cool and pleasant, but, after passing the Azupizu River ten miles below, the heat becomes uncomfortable. Two days’ journey from San Nicolas is still required to bring one to the river Pichis, which is reached at a point called Puerto Yessup, where a canoe is in waiting to convey passengers to Puerto Bermudez. The muleback trip need not take more than ten days under ordinary circumstances. Most of the tambos, or lodging places, along the route from Oroya to Puerto Bermudez, have telephone connection with each other; and telegraphic stations are established at Oroya, Tarma, La Merced, Enenas, Puerto Bermudez and other points. The railway will be completed to Puerto Bermudez within a short time, and then the trip overland to Iquitos will be a question of days instead of weeks, as at present. A steamer makes the voyage from Puerto Bermudez to the port of Iquitos in five or six days, calling at Masisea and other ports en route.

PUERTO CLEMENT.