San Lorenzo doesn't have many facilities of use to tourists. Come with money. There is no tourist office, though there is a Ministerio del ambiente office on the main square [irregular hours], and an Andinatel office on the other side of the wide street from the Hotel San Carlos. Probably the best bet for tourist information is Jaime Burgos Echegaray who runs the La Estancia restaurant. He’s very knowledgeable, and can organize tours to the mangrove swamps, forests and communities on the Rio Borbon.

Safety. Gringos getting off trains, buses or boats are usually met by youths offering to find them hotels, introduce them to restaurants or even supply them with drugs. Be careful, and certainly don’t fall for the drug scam. Another group, posing as plain-clothed policemen, will accost and threaten to arrest the travelers who have brought marihuana from the first group of youths. A pay-off is usually the only way out.

|Article contributed by Dominic Hamilton|||