0001 COTIJUBA ISLAND WEST COAST

PART 3

ARRIVING IN THE ISLAND

As I arrived, I climbed a metal ramp leading up to the covered way of a long pier. As I looked back from the structure, I took picture one, where you can see both types of boats serving the route. The larger and the smaller (the po-po-po).

 The larger boat docking at Cotijuba Island.

A po-po-po boat on the foreground and islands in the background

As I walked on the pier, I looked to my right and took another photograph. The tide was low and a po-po-po lay on the muddy shore. People unfortunately throw tires around! Or have they fallen off the boats?

Po-po-po boat on the southern shore of the Island

Anyway, I walked on. In the initial part of the island, you see the usual vendors, selling local dishes. One of them is the Tacacá, which is some sort of a soup, consisting of jambu (a native variety of paracress), tucupi (a broth made with wild manioc) and shrimps. The dish is served extremely hot in a half calabash. My lips burned with the pepper and the numbing effect of the jambu leaves. Then I set out for the walk.

0001 COTIJUBA ISLAND WEST COAST

PART 2

50-MINUTE RIVERBOAT RIDE ACROSS THE BAY

Once in the riverboat, culture interested tourists may have a close-range experience. The boats leave when all benches are occupied. Pará people tend to be spontaneous, friendly and talkative, and once somebody starts talking, others get in the conversation. One can hear the language, and accents. For some reason, such friendliness doubles towards foreigners. In general, people are interested in what sounds different, odd and out of the ordinary.

The po-po-po sets sail! It’s a small dot crossing a vast expanse of water, referred to as the Marajó Bay. Some large rivers end in this region, such as the Guamá River, and the Tocantins. For about 40-50 minutes, eyes witness the yellowish waters, past some large islands, and near the shore, where you see the Ribeirinhos, local people who live in pile dwellings. Such dwellings often have a small wooden pier reaching out into the river.

I have to remind you that I took the larger boat on this day!

0001 COTIJUBA ISLAND WEST COAST

PART 1

ANANINDEUA-BELÉM-ICOARACI BUS RIDE – ICOARACI PIER

I woke up early and rode the bus for about forty minutes, from Ananindeua to Belém, and then to Icoaraci, a district from the capital of Pará. That’s a 45-minute bus ride. Ananindeua is a city located in the metropolitan area of Belém. That’s when you arrive at a pier, where you can watch the busy routine of the merchants, fishers and marketers. Wooden riverboats arrive here with goods and products from the towns, river settlements and villages along the mighty rivers. Once at the quay, you can buy a boat ticket at a ticket box placed right by the pier. You pay around five reais and walk along concrete pier to it’s end  (142m). Then you get into a 10-15m-boat (called ‘pô-pô-pô’ in Portuguese, as a reference to the repetitive noise noise of it’s engine. If you want to take the larger boat, you pay a little less (it sounds strange at first) but the explanation is simple: the larger boat sails only once a day. It leaves at nine in the morning and returns at about five in the afternoon. The smaller ones leave at every half an hour or so.

STORY: 0001

TITLE: COTIJUBA ISLAND WEST COAST

PLACE: COTIJUBA ISLAND

DURATION: 3 HOURS

DISTANCE: 5 KM (APROXIMATELY)

LOCATION: 8 KM AWAY FROM BELÉM

                               creek past a dune in flexeira beach

Creek at Vila do Conde, 110 km from Belém