FINDING VEGAN IN PEDRO RUIZ, PERU – AN INCREDIBLE STORY

Pedro Ruiz is a town in the mountains of Northern Peru. It’s a stop somewhere along the way from Chachapoyas to Iquitos, deep in the middle of the Amazon basin in Peru and we only ever saw it in the dark. My husband and I were slowly working down our way from Ecuador through Peru and we had stopped in this region to explore the beautiful Chachapoyas and were making our way towards Iquitos. This journey itself took us a few days. There would only be a bus a day and it would depart at its own leisure and on occasion, not show up at all! As a traveler, you prepare yourself to be stranded somewhere for a day or two. The route from Chacha to Iquitos looks somewhat like this:

  • Chacha to Pedro Ruiz in a collectivo/van – about 4-5 hours
  • Pedro Ruiz to Yurimaguas in an overnight bus
  • Yurimaguas to Iquitos via ferry where you sleep overnight in your own hammock

We took a detour to a national park along the way to spend 4 days in the Amazon forest through a guided tour we had booked back in Yurimaguas.

Now, back to vegan food! When we arrived at Pedro, it was dark and we had determined that we would have to wait for the bus for at least an hour – this was iffy and somewhat unreliable information, since it could also mean two hours or three or more! We were hungry and I was starting to feel hangry that I wouldnt find anything to eat. I was in the middle of nowhere and wouldnt have asked any questions about ingredients as long as it all looked like plants. My husband, ever the optimist, decided to ask a random chap sitting on the sidewalk with his friend if there was vegetarian food nearby. I nearly balked at this approach – what are the odds that the random person even knows veg food and this middle of nowhere town will actually turn up with something?

My pessimism turned to shock and then disbelief when the guy nodded his head and pointed us vaguely down the road. Just sort of waved his hand and said “that way”. I thought to myself, “no way this guy understood Swami’s spanish. He is probably thinking of something else”. But hope reluctantly bloomed and we walked and walked for a good 20 minutes. I was starting to get anxious that we were too far away from our bus stop when I nearly shrieked in delight on seeing this board ahead: “Restaurante Vegetariano, Monte Sinai in Pedro Ruiz, Peru”.

There is no way to describe this joy in words, but it was just a mad dash from then on. We ran in and ordered food, and were served up an excellent meat free lomo saltado, which I can still remember, to this day. I was sad to leave, knowing that I’d never be back this way, probably in my lifetime. I also have no other picture to share, but I guess some memories are just meant to be cherished in quiet contemplation!

VEGAN IN VILCABAMBA ECUADOR

Finding vegan food in Vilcambamba, Ecuador was not the only easy thing about the place. Vilcambamba felt like a balm to the harried soul and stripped away the layers of stress and anxiety caused by fast paced modern living. By the time we were done with Vilcabamba on our South America backpacking route, my husband … Read moreVEGAN IN VILCABAMBA ECUADOR

VEGAN IN CUENCA, ECUADOR

Cuenca is a beautiful, colonial town in southern Ecuador. Narrow cobblestoned lanes, shaded streets flanked by colonial buildings and dotted with little shops, only to be interspersed by a church or two, at least a few hundred years old. These interesting streets culminate in a central plaza called the zocalo where the locals hang out … Read moreVEGAN IN CUENCA, ECUADOR

VEGAN IN BANOS ECUADOR

Banos is one of our favorite destinations from South America. Just to give you an idea, its nestled in a beautiful green valley, surrounded on all sides by mountains, one of which happens to be an active volcano. Its also Ecuador’s adventure capital. The term Banos literally means baths – the town has a natural … Read moreVEGAN IN BANOS ECUADOR

VEGAN IN OLD TOWN QUITO, ECUADOR

One can always heave a sigh of relief when entering a capital city while looking for veg*n food. I combine vegetarian and vegan here as both are equally challenging. After a not so stellar experience in Otavalo, we headed down to Quito on New Years day and settled in a hostel. We’d eventually discover that … Read moreVEGAN IN OLD TOWN QUITO, ECUADOR

VEGAN IN OTAVALO, ECUADOR

Otavalo was our first stop at Ecuador. After an interesting experience at the Colombia-Ecuador border where we tried our luck at a visa free entry and succeeded (yay!), we were quite charged for shopping at Otavalo. Otavalo is famous for its Saturday market. On this day, the entire town centro is filled with arts and … Read moreVEGAN IN OTAVALO, ECUADOR

VEGAN IN COLOMBIA – A THOROUGH GUIDE

BOGOTA Being vegetarian in Bogota is pretty straightforward, as Happycow has 36 listings for Bogota. However, as a vegan, I had a few accidents where I ended up with a bit of cream or cheese on my plate as I didnt make myself very clear in Spanish or forgot something from the list of things … Read moreVEGAN IN COLOMBIA – A THOROUGH GUIDE

HOW I ATE VEGAN IN SOUTH AMERICA WHILE BACKPACKING

My husband and I recently arrived in the city of Bogota, Colombia for our four month South American journey. We have always wanted to travel for an extended period of time and we finally got the opportunity to do so. So we quit our jobs and are backpacking around South America until April. Our tentative … Read moreHOW I ATE VEGAN IN SOUTH AMERICA WHILE BACKPACKING