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Puerto Alegría is a small village in the Amazon region of Peru. We visited on an excursion while on a trip to the Amazonas department of Colombia.
Introduction to Puerto Alegría
Puerto Alegría is an indigenous farming community populated by speakers of the Cocama language. If crossing the Amazon River from Colombia for a short visit, you don’t need a passport due to the open border policy of the area. If traveling further into Peru, however, you’ll need to check in with the authorities.
Irapay Lodge
Our first stop was the Irapay Lodge, where we were able to see the Victoria regia. It’s a huge waterlily with a leaf up to 3 meters in diameter and a flower that can grow up to 40 centimeters in diameter. They weren’t blooming at the time of our visit but the leaves alone are impressive.
At the lodge, we also sampled the tropical camocamo fruit. It’s rich in vitamin C and has a number of health benefits. The taste is quite sour but it makes a delicious juice.
Next, we saw a young rescued manatee which was kept in a small swimming pool with dirty water. The conditions were appalling to everyone in our group.
Community Greeting
We walked through the village, part of the way on planks to avoid stepping on the muddy ground. Along the way, we observed the houses and buildings on stilts to protect from flooding.
The locals then led us to a lodge and greeted us with a traditional dance. Some of the tourists were encouraged to join in.
After the dance, we had the opportunity to buy crafts and hold animals, including sloths, monkeys, toucans, caimans, and anacondas. (Note: While this may seem harmless, holding the animals is discouraged because many of them die from the stress. Unfortunately, this is something we learned after the fact.)
