Up the Rio Ucayali

Wednesday October 22, 2025

It was a hot and sunny morning as we left the hotel for the port of Pucallpa to board a river boat for a trip to the Shippibo village of Limongema. It was a bit of a shock and surprise to find the river had shrunk in size. In March, the rainy season and the time I’m usually there, the water levels are parallel to the street that fronts the harbour. This month, the river edge was half a kilometre away and the boats were tied up at improvised piers.

Boat interior

It was slightly cooler on the river with a light breeze augmented by the on-board electric fans. All terribly posh! The trip took about an hour and a half and we had our usual police escort boat. There’s always a risk of river pirates, I’m told.

The Ucayali River is the main head stream of the Amazon and is broad and sinuous. It takes a while to go around all those bends but it’s the main road for traffic from Pucallpa to the outlying communities.

We reached our destination and were greeted by a delegation of women from the community. The village, at this time of year, is further from the river so we were transported by several motocars. Yes, they have invaded the jungle, too!

This was also a shopping trip. This particular village has developed its skills in sewing, embroidery and bead work. They had their wares on display in their community centre and, of course, I couldn’t resist.

There’s main street and that’s pretty much it.

It’s a well kept village which is a defence against the poisonous snakes that live in the jungle. They have a proper drilled well, thanks to the Pure Art Foundation and the state has provided electrical power. We also had an opportunity to visit their school buildings. They have programmes for Kindergarten through Secondary school. The younger ones attend in the morning and older ones in the afternoon.

I,m not sure if this is a type of wisteria or not.

It was popular as a nesting site for weaver birds.

Pandemonium broke out when Tanya Ellerbeck opened a huge suitcase full of donated clothing. It was a joyful scene, however, one of the village women got everyone lined up and organized s that everyone received something appropriate.

And then it was time to trek back to the boat and have our picnic lunch. A delicious combination of chicken, rice, and hard boiled egg wrapped in oiled banana leaves. I didn’t manage to take a photo because of the oil on my hands!