Just below the Belen Market is the Belen floating city. The city is known as the “Venice” of Peru. The canoes are like bicycles. That is how the people get around when the water rises enough that makes their house float. We were able to hire a boat and take a tour of this special city where hundreds of homes float amidst the wet season and rest on land in the dry season. Most houses in the floating village are built with balsa wood that float and others are built on stilts. The houses that are built on rafts are tied together so they do not float away in strong currents of the Amazon River.

It is rainy season and water levels are high from February to July. The water rises and falls about 30 feet between the seasons. We saw a motocar docked on the porch of a house just waiting to be started up once the dry season slowly lowered the house to ground and let it drive off. You see chickens and dogs everywhere. Their local school or mini markets are floating too. There are lily pads that are enormous 3-4 feet wide.    

There is a lot of poverty in this area and it is apparent here where most people use the water from the river to provide for all their basic needs. Sanitation is questionable as people  drink, bathe, swim and using the restroom in the same water. It is common for 10-15 people to live in a two-room house with no indoor plumbing. Power lines sometimes dangle dangerously close to the water. You would never know the circumstances from the children who play in the water. You hear the sound of shrills of joy and excitement and it can provoke great thought about what is important in life and how to live. The children’s smiles are infectious and infinite.

It is quite remarkable that these people have adapted to flooded conditions as a partial way of life from year to year despite their limited means for living. These people are the epitome of flexible and adaptable. I definitely felt like I have so much to be grateful in my life and yet a part of me yearned to “not know any better“ and be completely at peace and one with the Amazon River that could provide me everything I needed to live a simple, happy life.

One of the main stops you would want to make if you ventured over to Peru in the Amazon Rainforest is the Belen Market and their floating city. (Next week we discover the Belen floating city.)

The Belen Market is a place where all the farmer’s, fishermen, local vendors, crafts people and anyone with anything to eat, drink, cook with, wear are trying to get you to spend your soles (money) on their goods. Why not? There you should be able to find the freshest, most indigenous products in the area. With 150 local communities traveling to be a part of this bustling and loud market scene. Most people there are living day to day. Although the conditions of the people are meager there is a lot of joy and contentment. Everyone is working in harmony with others to create a massive offering that will envelop all of your senses and make you want to try everything you come across along the way!

As you walk through the aisles you notice an abundance of natural goodness. The sun works its magic on the fruits and vegetables making the taste and sight of them so pungent. There are a lot of root vegetables; yucca is a main staple of the Peruvian diet. Bananas, bananas and platanos (sweet bananas) everywhere and are delicious! The palm trees offers these huge leaves that are used for cooking over the fire or baking dishes, the strands of dried leaves are used to tie the dishes up as they cook or steam the ingredients within and the flavor of the palm tree is released into the food. Common dishes prepared this way are fish, vegetables and cornmeal tamales. This cooking process makes the food so tender. Their pastries are delicious, as you walk through the market and the streets of Iquitos you notice vendors selling these bread /cookie type things about five common varieties. They are a perfect treat, not too sweet and so fresh! Fresh chickens, fish, pig parts are available. They have delicious curries, olives, beans, spices and much more.

They have a whole section of the market dedicated to plant medicines made there by loretanas. Jungle people who mix plant medicine as their profession. They make medicinal mixtures using plants, roots, flowers, herbs and alcohol, honey and who knows what else. Maybe even dosing the medicine with a blessing or shake of the chacruna leaves to give it special healing powers. Local people rely on these tinctures and remedies to treat their illnesses. They even use, make and sell flower water to purify the outer self and make you more beautiful.                                                    

Everywhere you look there is something to behold. Music seeps into the background as do the call of the vendors drawing attention to their wares or the local activist telling you what is on his mind. Generations of families working hard together to help present their trade or craft to the market and earn a living. Where many of the people who sell and buy most everything they need at the market live together as a community.

The energy there is wild, even a bit chaotic. You get the sense as a traveler of how far away from home you are and how the market is a place where you can learn about what the jungle provides for its people and anyone who might want to get lost and spend some time there at the Belen Market.

PS. The earlier you go, 5am start time, the fresher and more abundant the offerings.

]]> http://www.totallyzen.com/the-belen-market-in-iquitos-peru-part-ii.html/feed 0 http://www.totallyzen.com/exploring-peru-the-amazon-rainforest-part-iof-iii.html http://www.totallyzen.com/exploring-peru-the-amazon-rainforest-part-iof-iii.html#comments Fri, 26 Feb 2010 05:12:09 +0000 Stephanie http://www.totallyzen.com/?p=562 Continue reading →]]>

Recently I had the privilege of traveling abroad to Peru. We flew from Philadelphia to Lima, the capital. From Lima we went on to Iquitos, the largest city in the Peruvian rainforest. It is the capital of the Loreta region and is the largest city in the world that cannot be reached by road. You can only get there by boat or plane. It is a major port to the Amazon River because three rivers surround it: the Nanay, Itaya and the Amazon. There are twenty-four regions in Peru. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time to get to know any other region than the jungle but this was an adventure and experience to be explored for anyone who likes to be one with nature, learn about plants, trees, jungle animals and Peruvian people.

Iquitos is a launching point for a lot of jungle tours and excursions. It is only about 2,000 miles from the Amazon mouth and is downstream to the Ucayali and Maranon Rivers. They have a wet season, which is hot and humid. It was about 80-100* with about 85-90% humidity. The wet season is between November to May. The water level raises and falls about 30 ft throughout the course of the year. In fact, the biggest market place in Iquitos , Belen, had a floating city and part of the year the houses float & the other time it is held up by stilts. (Next week I will explore the Belen market & floating village)

The rubber industry in the early 20th century was the only real industry to develop and provide wealth and resources for this region. Once the merchants smuggled rubber seeds and cultivated crops in Brazil for easier transportation the region was left to wither away. In the recent past gas and oil has been discovered in this region, government is allowing corporations to build a pipeline and hopefully the Peruvian rainforest will not go by way of other precious resources and be destroyed in the pursuit of making money.          

That being said, it is definitely a tourist destination even for those that are living in the Loreta or Jungle region. Each weekend vendors of all sorts, entertainers, music, adults, children all coming together to enjoy life and have some fun. It was wonderful to soak up their culture in the main square where they had military parole demonstrations, popcorn vendors and handmade jewelry.

The local people use these motocars/rickshaws, motorcycles that have a buggy on the back, to get around. The streets are buzzing with people street vending on all the major corners, people on the back of motorcycles (nursing babies) and transporting all kinds of things (a refrigerator) on the back of the motocars. Some people lounge, nap, eat in their moto cars. It was very endearing to see the strength and resourcefulness of the Peruvian people!

We met a group of American doctors who are working on mosquito research to help find vaccinations for strains of malaria. We also bonded with some of the local restaurateurs who were really hardworking and talented. The jewelry salesmen/vendors who were fun and sometimes a laugh yet relentless!

The food was fresh, satisfying and usually really cheap. They eat a lot of fish, plantains and fruit. The indigenous fish is pacau and dorado. We ate the Peruvian fruit, camu camu, mangoes, coconuts, papayas, macambo and some others I can’t remember their names. Fresh juice is a daily staple there. All I can say is yes for fried platanos!

Daily I was hot, mosquitos followed me everywhere, challenged to speak Spanish and find our way in a foreign land. Stretching myself out of my normal routine and image of a vacation- I was in the jungle and loved it!

Sorry to all the vegetarians!

http://www.greentracks.com/Peacock-Bass-Fish.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lronchef/sets/72157614846234743/Accomodations

http://www.southamerica.cl/peru/food/guide.html

Columbus Day is the day of celebration of the anniversary of Christopher Columbus coming to America. Instead of finding countries in the Far East as he sailed from Spain he stumbled upon America.

A lot of Italian-Americans observe this day as celebration of their heritage. The first occasion was in New York City in 1792. In 1905, Angelo Noce, a first generation Italian, lobbied to make this day a national holiday. So, in 1934 the Knights of Columbus, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Congress declared October 12, 1492 Columbus Day a Federal holiday and we celebrate with a wonderful parade in New York City.

Watch how Totally Zen makes the most of being able to be a part of all the culture, excitement and people there in NYC to enjoy the festivity. It was a great fall day and being there was a treat!

            Getting out and experiencing ALL life has to offer

                   INVIGORATES  the mind, body and spirit!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbus_Day

Well, I am overdue on a Totally Zen Blog installment. My sincerest apologies!I am sitting at my computer fighting a massive headache and achy body to get something out to what might be a dedicated few (5 months into my weekly blog) that looks to my site for a weekly Zen spot that might touch their mind, body and/or spirit.

Have you ever boarded a plane and sat down in your seat only to find the person sitting next to you is not quite well, or really sick or sneezing/coughing their head off?

I just traveled to Texas & had the unfortunate occurrence of being seated next to a person who was not well. Meaning she was a coughing factory and I had nowhere else to go. Literally, trapped on a plane!!  So, for four hours she coughed almost all over me and one day later I was sick. I had to ask myself, as I am sick, what could be done to reduce the opportunity of other travelers being exposed to sick peoples’ germs. How could people fly germ free ?

We know the air is recycled on a plane; so, if your immune system is low you could be in for whatever anyone has that is seated anywhere on the plane. The sick person who has previously bought the ticket and has to travel is faced with a conscious decision that is beyond their control. They might say, “Should I travel and risk getting people I don’t know sick or postpone my trip and incur all kinds of extra costs and delays by not flying as scheduled?” Hmmm, I guess that is why I am sick!

I can understand that point of view; but as I sit in my house cold and tired I wonder if we could organize to have a sick pass from an airline once a year. We could use it like an upgrade to a first class seat for flying so much on a specific airline only they allow you to rebook a flight due to illness so as not to get others sick that travel their airline? Maybe we should start petitions to all the airlines?

Wouldn’t that be conscious thinking and living?? Somehow, I have slim to none belief that this will ever happen. While, I cannot blame people going about their life and following through their travel plans. I think it would be nice of sick people traveling to warn others, try and move to an empty area or bring Airbourne for the people around them they are going to infect. Even tell them what virus they are about to get and how they should take care of themselves. Wouldn’t that be novel!

Health is so valuable and at certain times you are reminded fully of its value!

For now, I will take more Vitamin C, Echinacea, Cold Tea and rest hoping tomorrow feels like an ordinary winter day in Philadelphia (29*F).