Huaylla Belen is located in the province of Luya, 2 hours 45 minutes by private car from Chachapoyas in the Amazonas region. The road is quite good and if you go with a four-wheel drive car, there are no worries at all. We leave early on this Wednesday, at 6.30 am with our American friend Kerry. Kerry is an expert in fly fishing and will teach the boys how it works. The trunk is full with all our stuff for a picnic, boots and Kerry’s fishing equipment.
A fishing day
On the way to Huaylla Belen we pass through fog banks, it is cold. When we finally arrive near the valley of Huaylla Belen, the famous view of the river with the shaped snake gets visible. How beautiful !
It is 9.30 am in the morning, we reach the guard’s small cottage. There is no guard anymore, so we use the cottage to store our boots and the fishing equipment. Bad news ! The coffee wasn’t kept in the thermos, now we only have coffee for two cups and it is not hot anymore either. But no problem ! Kerry puts his gas stove on and soon we have coffee. Kerry wears his fisherman suit and prepares the material.
The boys are already close to the river. There are many other families having a picnic. Huaylla Belen is a protected place and Peruvian families love coming here to spend time together. Some young people also fish but with a fishing net. Kerry is not happy, because in the nearest places, there are almost no fish anymore.
Once warmed up by our coffee, we start walking along the river, crossing occasionally with the boots ! Everywhere on the grass are wandering cows, calves and bulls grazing peacefully, they are part of the landscape. We disturb them when we approach so they will turn us their back and leave.
Kerry explains us that for fly fishing, you need to know how to make the knots. In fact, unlike the conventional fishing, you fly-fish with a thicker fishing rod. The throwing technique is not easy at all, but the boys do a great job.
They catch a fish on two occasions, each time a rainbow trout. But they are too small to keep, so we just take a picture and release them immediately. It is quiet here at Huaylla Belen and peaceful – if we only had a little more sun, it would be just perfect ! But the weather is not with us. It starts to rain and we hurry back to the car. Finally, we eat our sandwiches on the way to avoid the risk of getting stuck in the muddy road.
On the return we decide to go to visit our friends Paul and Nora in the Tambo Sapalanchan hotel in Lamud – North of Peru. We invite ourselves for a coffee, but they offer us something even better: Pisco sour, carrot cake with nuts AND coffee. We return late to Chachapoyas this day.
But it was a beautiful day in Huaylla Belen, thanks Kerry!