
Located in the extreme north of the country,
Tumbes is the smallest of the twenty four departments in Peru. Its size has little to do
with the diversity of its natural wealth, as those "in the know" consider it one
of the living jewels of tropical America.
History relates that towards the end of 1530 A.D, a large seagoing raft loaded with
provisions, large earthen jugs, tropical fruit and a handful of natives was sighted by
Spanish caravels carrying the first conquistadors towards Peru. These native
travelers,
who were possibly headed north towards the shores of the Gulf of Guayaquíl, called
themselves tumpis in honor of their peaceful and prolific land. A land of long
white-sand beaches and oceans as blue as the sky, known today as Tumbes. After more than
four centuries, these coasts that enthralled the first occidentals continue to seduce all
those who have the opportunity to visit them.
To speak of this region, blessed by nature, is to speak of thousands of landscapes in
one: estuaries of calm waters where great flocks of migratory birds wheel about;
dense mangrove swamps that are home to ostentatious frigate birds, shy raccoons
and elusive
crocodiles; wide, long beaches that seem to never end; rocky outcrops eroded by ocean
waves into figures of an almost magical appearance. To speak of Tumbes is to speak of a
truly special corner of Peru, a paradise in miniature reserved for those who chance to
wander its roads.
A world of two dimensions
Upon entering the Tumbes region on the northern section of the Pan-American highway,
the traveler will be immersed into a world of two well-defined dimensions. One that is
wide, deep and blue, formed by the ocean that opens westward, and another, mysterious and
almost unknown, of hills and gnarled woods spreading east. The first is where visitors
usually gather, attracted perhaps by perpetually warm crystalline waters that are home to
dolphins and great schools of tropical fish.
The beaches of Tumbes enjoy a well deserved reputation on a national level. Punta Sal,
Acapulco, Punta Mero, Zorritos and La Cruz are among those that guarantee brilliant
sunshine all year and an abundance of resources -culinary marvels being a tradition-
worthy of the attention of the most skeptical of palates. Lobsters, conchas negras
(black shellfish), oysters and sea shrimp are only some of the most prized treasures of
these waters.
Although the coast offers its peaceful beaches and coral meadows in shallow waters, the
deeper blue is prodigious in species that are considered prized trophies by
sport fishermen: tuna, swordfish and marlin. Armed with rudimentary hand-thrown harpoons,
the fishermen of Tumbes pursue these schools in the hope of a good catch that will put
food on the table. There are also those who, early in the morning, venture into the sea in
tiny fragile rafts, seeming to almost walk on water as they dab deep spots in search of
the great Muriqui groupers or Conger eels, absolute sovereigns of the deep.
Although these beaches may lack the classic tropical palms (these are found
near resort complexes), it is the desert -with its symphony of ochres, browns, and beige
-that gives the coast its unique appearance. Every so often, strange figures of an intense
red color become visible onshore. They sway in the afternoon wind and explode in fleeting
reflections of the sunshine bathing them. They are the famous airlines used by shrimp
fishermen to capture the larva from crustaceans that hide in the shallow waters near the
shore. Also quite common are great tree trunks that wash up on the beach, adorning the
Tumbes coastline with their twisted and polished forms reminiscent of modern art
sculptures.
Two Extremes
Not all of Tumbes faces the ocean, however. A few kilometers
inland, a completely
different world opens up. Marked by rolling mountains and canyons where winding, sandy
riverbeds lie calmly, every once in a while becoming torrents of water satiating the
thirst of a desert that can tolerate anything. A land as old as time that has learned to
cope with the extremes; profound lack and exaggerated abundance, always succeeding one
another, always striking hard.
These dry forests have been compared to natural display cases where creatures have had
to adapt to desert conditions that change subtly during a short rainy season in summer.
Here the flora has learned to live from scarcity. What better example than the great Ceiba
trees, referred to as fat old men who dominate the forest like vigils in the
thick, storing water in their great trunks to survive long periods of drought.
This is also land of the Carob, a miraculous tree extremely valuable to man. It offers
food for him and his animals, wood for construction, shade to hide from the inclement sun
of the desert. Accompanying the Carob are the Hualtaco and Guayacan trees, valuable
hardwoods that have been known and used by man for over two thousand years and are in
danger of extinction today because of unmeasured overuse.
In the middle of the apparent uniformity of the chaparral, where spiny bushes and tree
moss hang from any disposable branch, flowers make their appearance and give a touch of
beauty to the austerity of the dry forest: yellow are the flowers of the Overal, red those
of the Porotillo, purple belong to the Bougainvillea, and pink from the Borrachera, the
latter a plant that seduces and intoxicates livestock before submerging them into mortal
sleep.
The dry forest is also a refuge for unique animal species that include the rare
White-winged Guan, saved from imminent extinction only two decades ago. Others are more
common but no less interesting: anteaters, white-napped squirrels, iguanas, and
white-tailed deer.
Hidden from the world for millennia but ironically located only a few
kilometers from
the city of Tumbes, a small portion of pacific coast tropical forest is perhaps one of the
last intact remnants of the exuberant forests that once extended from the south of Mexico
to the north of Peru. Today, reduced to only a few dozen square kilometers, it constitutes
the last habitat of diverse animal and plant species. It rains here like nowhere else on
the Peruvian coast, and the forest glows as densely and brilliantly as the Amazon itself.
The element of surprise
The natural fauna is truly surprising here. Ocelots, flocks of noisy parakeet, deer,
collared peccaries and coatis share the dense forest with a species of monkey unique in
the country: the Black Howler monkey of Tumbes, named for its habit of announcing its
territory with raucous calls, powerful enough to be heard from several kilometers
away.
Its flora is equally interesting and diverse. Dozens of orchid varieties compete in beauty
with bromeliads, malmseys, and begonias. Ferns and epiphytes hang from canyon walls along
with clumps of Strangler fig and Caimito plants.
The great Tumbes river flows through here, wide and serene. Its chocolate waters,
loaded with sediment, serve not only to mark the frontier between Ecuador and Peru, but
also functions as the border for two natural areas protected by the state: the Tumbes
Reserve Zone and Cerros de Amotape National Park. Its shores, sometimes inaccessible due
to enormous cliffs and erosion-polished gorges, are home to Northwest Peruvian otters and
American crocodiles, prehistoric giants growing up to seven meters in length.
The path of this river, plagued by rapids and dreamlike landscapes, makes it an
attraction of great interest to those that practice adventure sports. Only recently in
1996 did an expedition of young Peruvian travellers descend the never-explored sections of
this river, opening the way for the development of eco-tourism in the region.
Whatever will be, will be
It is impossible to speak of Tumbes without mention of its people. Men and women of
copper skin tanned by the powerful sun, carrying in their souls the infinite patience and
hospitality of those who know better than to struggle against the rhythms of nature. These
people who, aboard their simple sailing rafts or faithful piajenos (burros), find
in the sea or on land the daily sustenance for their families.
The people of Tumbes know, perhaps like no one else in Peru, how time and season depend
on factors impossible to control, how it is better to simply learn and adapt rather than
try to change them.
It is our hope that these pages serve as a homage to these people and their unique
land; a land of a thousand aromas where the sun presents a spectacle of color
each
afternoon, impossible to view on any other part of the coast. A land of ocean and jungle;
of heat and siesta; of warm air, and utter peace.