On Stilts and Rafts

Approaching what some call the Venice of Latin America, the Belen neighbourhood in Iquitos, I was a bit unsure where to go. I realised quickly it is not easy to find your way in this sprawling Amazon Rainforest area. After walking aimlessly around for a bit, I was approached by a man. Not liking street hawkers, I tried to politely get rid of him. But when he asked if I was looking for a boat to take me out on the waterways, I could not lie, because that’s exactly what I was looking for. Besides, I am a shitty liar 😀 He showed me recommendations he had gotten, written down in a book by other tourists. Real or fake? Since I had no idea where to go or how to go about finding someone else to take me out, I decided this was my best option.

When we arrived at the harbour there were several boats docked. We climbed onboard (he said they were all his boats…), and I was taken around and shown a world I had not imagined existed. All posed on stilts or rafts, there are mechanics, a church, gas station, nightclub, houses, a water tower, and more. One night the nightclub was so full that it had started to sink. People were to their knees in water. He told me they finally had gotten a few toilets, and now people were learning to use them instead of the waters.

On the way back he wanted to take me to his house. Sometimes I wonder if it is to show me off, like in the Galapagos Islands, as many have not seen a lot of foreigners. Anyway. His home is one of those houses on stilts. Here he lives with his wife and his mother. From a tourist perspective it was idyllic. No walls, just a thatched roof, a ladder bringing you up from the muddy ground to the house, riverside. From another perspective, they don’t have much… His wife came reluctantly home, as she was watching TV at the neighbours. He said when he could afford to buy a TV she would stay home more 🙂 You kind of feel a bit uneasy when the wife turn out to be a young girl from one of the villages up the Amazon River. I guess looking for a better life in the city is alluring in all corners of the world. Next to the cluster of houses was a school. As we were leaving the kids came out for recess.

When we got back to shore, he showed me the way out of the neighbourhood, as he had said walking alone in this area was not a good idea. True? I don’t know. Didn’t feel unsafe. Passing through we stopped at market stalls selling a variety of things. I picked up a bottle of Dragon’s Blood, which is some red concoction you put on mosquito bites to prevent it from itching. While we were looking at vegetables and other food items at one of the stalls, I saw alive worms squirming in a bowl. I shrugged. A woman next to me smiled, and said: They are really good! I wasn’t convinced 😀 Amidst all the simpler looking buildings, the neighbourhood has a really nice square, sporting some of the rubber boom architecture you find elsewhere in the city. In the end we made it out, I paid what I owed him, got on a mototaxi, and was happy and one experience richer!

Website: munibelen.gob.pe

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