Wednesday 22nd January - Boca Da Valeria

Boca Da Valeria on the Amazon River.

Boca Da Valeria is a "primitive" village in the Amazon which is visited by 20-40 cruise ships a year. When I say primitive, it is in a sense, but if you are expecting naked tribespeople holding spears and living in mud huts, then you are going to be disappointed.

Civilisation has reached this and all the villages nearby. The people who live here use diesel powered engines for their canoes, satellite dishes are common (for the football of course,) western clothing is worn and schools in the villages are equipped with modern books and computers.

But there is no running water, (unless you count the river), there are no roads, and all the houses are wooden huts on stilts without windows or doors. Electricity is provided by generators which are used sparingly. There are no supermarkets or shops and if you want to eat you have to forage for, catch or grow your food. The only way to travel is by boat, and every house and family owns one. The people of Boca Da Valeria live a very different life to our own.

It is a big event when a cruise ship anchors in the river outside Boca Da Valeria. Schools are closed and families from the surrounding villages pack their wares and children into canoes and come to meet the tourists. Boca Da Valeria has a population of 75, but this swells to several hundred when a cruise ship appears, all of them after as much as they can get out of the rich visitors.

Boca Da Valeria village.  The church is on the right.

And we love this place. We managed to get one of the early tenders which meant we were able to walk through the village before many of the surrounding villagers had had time to arrive and set up their stalls. As usual, the children try to take your hand as you get off your pier. The children do not beg directly, but they will be hoping for sweets and trinkets. If one of the passengers reveals a bag full of sweets or crisps, they are likely to get mobbed as the children get almost aggressive in their aim to grab as much as they can. Peter and I keep our hands in our pockets and try not to encourage them, no matter how adorable they are.

Once off the tender and past the gauntlet of children, we turned left from the landing pier to walk through the village to see what there is to see. As I said, the villagers are here to get as much as they can from the tourists, and one of the most common ways is to pose for photographs. Children are dressed in tribal feathers and costumes to pose with pets. Sloths, parrots, a catfish, a toucan and a caiman were on display today. The tourist takes a picture and then gives a token of thanks, usually $1. I have always been very wary of giving the villagers money for this, as I am not sure that the pets are looked after properly. There is a man who poses with a bow and a painted backdrop though, which doesn't seem like exploitation to me, so I don't mind in his case.

Boca Da Valeria village women sharing a bag of children's clothes given by a tourist

But we do enjoy the crafts, and our humble opinion, these guys are getting better at it. We ended up buying a wooden model of a river boat this time.

Hand made boat from Boca Da Valeria

Peter also got talking to the artist there. His name is Freyzer Andrede, he lives in Boca Da Valeria with his grandfather and teaches art in five of the surrounding villages. We've seen him in Boca Da Valeria each time we've visited. Freyzer speaks pretty good English, and seems to hold Peter in very high regard (having accessed Peter's work through the internet). Freyzer swapped one of his fabric paintings for a promise that Peter will post one of his watercolours to Freyzer when we get back to England. Since we really like Freyzer's work, that was an easy deal to agree to.

Fabric Painting by Freyzer Andrede

And as we've done every year before, we took a boat ride up the surrounding tributaries to see more of the way people live. We talked a few other couples into it too, maintaining that it is still one of the best $10 they will ever spend. And they all loved the trip too.

A canoe boat taking tourists to see the houses and villages further into the forest. 

Suburbia in the Amazon.  Each house has it's own garden and drive on the river. 

Flooded trees along the riverside

Sadly the village bar was closed today, otherwise we may have spent longer in the village, but no matter, as always it was still a wonderful visit. Amongst other things, I got to see a load of Yellow Rumped Caciques squabbling in the trees, and a Yellow Headed Caracaras. Fantastic!

And then it was time to go back to the ship. It always seems a shame to leave this place, but we have Manaus tomorrow. Peter and I are acting as tour escorts on a city excursion - this should be interesting.

Boca da Valeria, Brazil, 2013
Boca da Valeria, Brazil, 2012
Boca da Valeria, Brazil, 2011