Fazendinha

Fazendinha

The pictures above are not of the village of Fazendinha, I could not find any. However, they do provide a glimpse in the general look of any small village along the banks of the majority of rivers that flow through Amazonas.

I visited Fazendinha once during my time as a missionary in Amazonas. Fazendinha is a village near the mouth of the Rio Madeira, where the river empties into the Amazon River. Consisting of twenty to twenty-five homes (the majority painted blue, which is a popular color in all the villages I visited), the majority of the villagers make their living fishing, hunting, farming, and making baskets for the tourist trade.

The visit was during the time of the floods. Because of the rise and fall of the river, most of the villages on river banks with a tendency to overflow, have their houses built on stilts. The height has been decided upon based on years of river life and knowing how the river acts.

To get from one house to another one crossed on planks, about a foot wide and two inches thick. These are the same planks one uses to board and leave any of the river boats. Crossing the planks when they are wet, and especially if they are muddy, is always a challenge. Fortunately, I did not fall during this visit.

One thing I always enjoyed in the small villages I visited that made up our parish was the friendliness of the people and how they went out of their way t make you feel at home. Even when they had little, they always wanted to share, giving their guests the best portion.

True hospitality is one of the things I learned in these small villages.

While there I tried a small red pepper that my host said would be good with my fish dinner. He meant for me to cut up the pepper and sprinkle it over the fish. I ate the pepper whole and have never experienced anything like it before or since. Tears ran down my face for over an hour and even though I drank a gallon of water it had no effect. One of those lessons and experiences you never forget. Needless to say, I am now very leery when it comes to peppers.

When one comes to Amazonas as a tourist, if one has the time and really wants to know about those who first settled the region, it is important to visit the villages where in many ways they do things with little variation as they did a hundred years ago.

More in the next edition.