Roaming South America

Lagunas — A 350-Year-Old Amazon Town Still Alive

March 13, 2026

Lagunas, Perú - population probably somewhere around 10,000 (depending on source, 7,000 - 15,000). It is located on the Huallaga River east of Yurimaguas. Yurimaguas is the end of the paved road in the Amazon region of north-eastern Perú. From Yurimaguas, you take a boat to Lagunas. Lagunas traces its origins back to 1670, when Jesuit missionary Juan Lorenzo Lucero founded it as Santiago de la Laguna. It was established near a natural lagoon and inhabited originally by local indigenous groups, particularly the Cocama and Cocamilla. This makes it one of the earliest mission towns in the Loreto Amazon, predating many better-known regional centers.
Reference: Loreto News Journal

Where the Highway Stops and the River Begins

March 9, 2026

I was in Moyobamba for about a week, and this was my fourth visit. I like Moyo, but as with my previous visits, the mototaxis are just overwhelming. I had this town on my list of possible new hometowns, but I've removed it. As much as I would love to live here, I can't. The noise and congestion, the chaos and stink, those mototaxis cause make it impossible for me to consider this as a new hometown.

After visiting Moyobamba, I spent 2 full days in Tarapoto. Not because I like it, but because the place I stayed - a 2-bedroom apartment - was quite nice. I've visited Tarapoto twice before, and it's never been on my final list of potential new hometowns. It's dirty - littered streets, sand/dirt in every street and building up and piling at every corner, chaotic traffic with those damnable mototaxis being the root cause. And it's quite hot, with high humidity, very uncomfortable, and sweaty.

Finding the Quiet: Why My Shortlist for a New Home Ignores the Coast

March 5, 2026

What is it about coastal towns that makes them pretty much always "messier"? I'm talking specifically about these countries: Colombia, Ecuador, Perú, Chile, and Uruguay. The vast majority of interior towns are almost always cleaner, friendlier, prettier, etc.

I'm not imagining it. This pattern shows up everywhere I've been, and that includes 7 countries and over 300 towns/cities (in South America), and it’s not a cultural coincidence. It’s geography, economics, and human behavior piling up in the same places.

Here’s the straight, unsentimental anatomy of why coastal towns skew messier, while interior towns often feel cleaner, calmer, and more human. The comparisons below are to be taken with a very general understanding.

Máncora, Perú - A Beach City for Beach Lovers, But Not Much Else

March 1, 2026

Máncora, Perú, is located on the north coast of Perú. It is considered a beach resort city, though it is a small city of about 45,000. The beach is quite nice, all clean sand for a long way along the coast. It's also a big fishing port. The town is loaded with seafood restaurants. They say this is an ideal surfing, watersports, and fishing area - the northern coast of Perú - due to the two major ocean currents - the Humboldt and the El Niño. According to Wikipedia, 51% of the population is foreign-born. Though during my visit, I came across no one who could speak English other than a couple of tourists from Sweden who were just passing through.
Reference: Wikipedia

Corrales, EC - A Small Piece of Coastal Unexcitement

February 25, 2026

Corrales, Perú, just a few kilometers south of Tumbes, which is 30 kilometers south of the border with Ecuador. I've visited Corrales once before, here's the blog. That blog has some of the history and my initial observations. The town hasn't changed in the last 3 years.