A tiny trading village along the Amazon, Boca da Valeria is
home to about 120 people, known as caboclos, a mix of indigenous and Portuguese
heritage. Carved out of the jungle, this community has only about a dozen
houses and other structures including a church and a school, but it is
representative of many small communities in the Amazon.
This part of the Amazon is known for its rare pink river
dolphins. Which we did see this morning as we were docking. They really are
pink. We have a tour tomorrow and hope to see them then to get some pictures.
The older they are, the pinker they are.
There are no paved roads in town and many people make their
living from fishing, although some sell handmade items that you buy in the
collection of thatch roofed stalls near the landing (which we did). Village
children offer visitors the opportunity to take a picture of them in
traditional garb or to get a picture with their parrots, toucan, iguanas,
sloths and snakes for a small fee. This was the downside of the town. We were
on such an island on the World Cruise, but the children only wanted the $1 for
the picture. Here, the children were begging for money.
Here are some pictures of the town from the ship. Notice the
different color of the water of the Amazon compared to the river they live on.
We were anchored here and took our tenders into the town.
Some of the parents brought their children in small boats up to the tender when
it was docked to the ship. So when you got on they wanted a dollar for the
picture. Most of them had sloths, but one boy had a snakeskin in the boat also.
Once you got to the village, the walkway going in was full
of these children begging for money. In the village they men were also offering
boat rides, which some did, but we did not. We have one tomorrow. The village
was very interesting and we just walked around and took pictures for free. The
place I had circled is where they had a band playing very loudly. We could here
back in our cabin on the ship.
And of course they had a bar there also. So, we stopped and
had a couple of beers and visited with friends.
Finally, we got back on the tender and had lunch back on the
ship. A very nice morning. Now off to Manaus for two days of tours.
