Still, it´s worth saving almost HALF of the travel expenses and you get to enjoy the beautiful sunrise on the ferry 
The hostal we found was splendid: rooms surrounding a little forest filled with flowers, orange trees, and all kinds of sweet smells and colors.
The people of Sauce are very sincere, hospitable, and kind. Walking down the dusty streets, all the locals smile and say hello to you in Spanish while the kids yell out "Hello", "Hello mister"or other coin english phrases, then giggle and run away.
Right Misha!? ( xutpiú takoú)
We ate at the local eateries and swam in Lago Azul (the lake bordering the town), which will forever be known as Sauce Coche to the locals (name for "lake" in the native language of that area - Quechua)
(and this special video was made for the viewers´ entertainment)
Turns out that Sauce is filled with natural attractions . . . and we decided to hike to another lake 2 hours away
It was a beautiful hike through many green fields filled with horses, cows, and goats grazing in the sunshine. We also passed small villages and even a dormant volcano on the horizon . . .
The trek took longer than we thought because of all the wonderful distractions
Butterflies for me . . . so amazing! Neon blue, light green, organge, hot pink, yellow, forest green . . . you name it! 
They were flittering around like rainbow-colored snowflakes . . . guiding my way through the forest.
For Mishka, cow shit happened to be a big distraction.
But hey, to each his own. Right?!? Hahaha
And we swam across the lake to rent some kayaks so we could explore some more.
Catching a boat ride back to Sauce with some people made this whole trip wonderful and also free!
Jeeeeeeeeeeew-Ish!
We bathed in the hot and cold bathes for almost 8 hours.
And great views of course!
A calm, peaceful, and relaxing end to our Sauce trip. . .
and our "authentic" ride backNext stop -- Chachapoyas!
Our hostel room offered cable though! And even though both of us are against it all, we did watch quiet a bit and actually caught the finale of American Idol. I know, I know! But I´m glad I got to see how the "artists" of today, although very talented, are selling their individuality and future career to a company that will write (wait, they basically only cover), organize, produce, direct, and publicize their music for them. . . let´s just say I have quiet a bit to say about it. We´ll leave it at that for now.
We also bought some warm clothes that we would be using in the colder mountain climates (happy Mamas?). . . and it´s a good thing we did because they came to be very useful indeed. I wish I had a picture of us eating chicken but you´ll have to use your imagination . . . it was definitely a lot!
Driving up the bumpy road of the mountain to Sauce involved crossing two rivers, one by ferry. I want to mention that this ferry used free energy only- the current. Very interesting design actually, I think we have a lot to learn from that.
As we drove higher and higher into the mountain, the atmosphere changed completely and the air . . . oh the air. . . was heaven. So piercing, cool and refreshing (I sound like grandma, I know.) We passed rivers, lakes, mountains, valleys (and MANY butterflies!!).
What we found on the other side of this passage . . .
was a little paradise . . .
We spent the day eating delicious food (amazing fresh fish meals for less than $2!), swimming, reading, and taking pictures of all the amazing things we saw. Here are a few highlights . . . 
We were Hooked! We decided to come back as soon as possible.
But not before another dip!
See you soon Sauce
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And of course, a little entertainment for all you folks at home:
Well, we hit that dusty river once more and possibly for the last time during these here travels. It was a familiar scene with hundreds of hammocks swinging away as the boat set sail. As seasoned vagabonders that we are, we stocked up on snacks and left our family in Iquitos. The days passed quicker and almost at our stop, we began to see mountains in the distance. I felt like a sailor from days of old, finally seeing birds after months of sailing in the open sea. Wow, could that be the Andes? 
It was more like the foothills of the Andes, but hey, they were mountains nonetheless. Counting those final days . . . we have been on a boat up the Amazon for a total of 12 days and nights! (Eat that Zhenia with your 8 days on the Trans Siberian Railway. That was a joke. Sorry.)
Well, this bird had a temper like him and he and his crew attacked a poor turtle who was minding his own business...
Very romantic and the cheap means of transportation that we've seen so far in Peru. As we barrelled down the rough streets, we watched our driver make arrangements to Tarapoto with another guy who was driving next to us. Really fun to watch.We got off and jumped into a car as we begun our supposedly 2 hour journey to Tarapoto. But we didn't exactly leave town until we watched our driver make suspicious pick-ups. Shady?
Possibly.
But what´s five hours when you´re in Peru?
And when Sasha gets tired, she needs flowers to recoup...
Anyway,the road to Tarapoto used to be a rough dirt road and travel was somewhat dangerous because the road crosses mountains. Now... yeah, its still kind of dangerous. Even though much of it has been paved, the mountainous part almost hasn't been touched and the construction company isn't in a rush because of it's 25 year contract to build the road. C´est la vie!
Next Stop . . . Tarapoto!
