boca de valeria village

Unless you are on a cruise ship that stops at this location, you can forget going to this tiny village. Our brochure said there were 75 inhabitants however about 150 showed up, apparently some coming from the outlying jungles. You will able to clearly see the village from your cruise ship. The only way into the village is by your ship’s tender which will take you a few yards up the Valeria River as the cruise ship will anchor in the Amazon River. You will be greeted by dozens of kids all with their hands out. Don’t be deceived though, these kids are very savvy. We were warned about pick pockets and I had been on shore perhaps five minutes when I saw the pen in my pocket in the hands of a 10 year old boy. Hard to disguise the pen as it had my name imprinted on it.You walk through the village and there is a church, bar and school house plus a few homes. There are two portable toilets for the visitors and then there are hand made crafts which many of the inhabitants brought to the area. The people don’t mind having their picture taken however it must be followed by a $1 dollar contribution for each photo. Some of the kids had their pets with them and all of these pets were apparently wild from the jungle.For those a little more adventurous there are small boat or canoe rides that one can take a few hundred yards up the river. You will be asked $20 a person, then $10 a person and finally $5 a person. The canoes may have about three or four inches of water in the bottom but no alligators that we could see at least in the boats or canoes.The village does have limited water and electricity and you may notice a TV satellite or two as well. Water seems to be supplied from a small one inch pvc line running and leaking I might add, between the houses and the electricity is perhaps generated or solar powered. If you get the opportunity to visit this village by all means do so. Just be aware of your surroundings at all times.

This tiny settlement at the mouth of the Valeria River was a stop during an Amazon River cruise. The ship's tenders pulled up to a small dock at the base of a church and small schoolhouse. The interesting part of the village is out of sight but easy to find. There are children everywhere wanting to grab your hand and lead you to where they live.You'll be surprised to see many of them dressed in native costumes wanting you to take their picture for "one dollar". Bring lots of dollars because there are plenty of photo ops' along the way. Many of the kids are proud of their pets and want to show them off. All sorts of birds, reptiles, slithering things and sloths. Quite a sight to see. One family invited us into their home, a hovel of a place with no electricy or running water. It's a little tricky following a narrow uphill trail through the village but well worth it.Before returning to the ship, take a ride through the jungle in a small motorized skiff. They're located at the tender pier. It's worth the $5 fee to see parts of Amazonia not visible from the ship. Our stop here was one of the highlights of our 21 day cruise. Don't miss it!