Peruvian community lives half-year on the water
Peruvian community lives half-year on the water
Apr 28, 12:05 AM EDT
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In this April 19, 2015 photo, children play on a boat in the water outside their
homes in the Belen neighborhood of Iquitos, Peru. This impoverished Peruvian
Amazon community nicknamed “Venice of the Jungle” lives half the year on the
water, with canoes replacing motorcycle taxis as the most popular form of
transport. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
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BELEN, Peru (AP) -- Residents of the Peruvian Amazon community nicknamed "Venice of the Jungle" live half the year on the water, with canoes replacing motorcycle taxis as the most popular form of transport. Teenagers swim in the same areas where they played soccer during the other six months of the year.
From January to June, water overflows from a river that feeds the Amazon, flooding the northeastern jungle community of Belen, which is part of the city of Iquitos, drastically changing life for its estimated 16,000 inhabitants. Water is everywhere, making it possible to fish from inside some houses through a hole in the floor.
This "Amazonian Venice" draws tourists, who arrive in boats during the watery season. But the community is a lot less picturesque for the people who live there.
So their homes don't flood when the Rio Itaya spills over its banks, people build them three meters above ground, sustained by stilts of wood collected from the jungle.
More:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_PERU_POOR_MANS_VENICE_PHOTO_GALLERY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-04-28-00-05-16