April 3, 2025

Yesterday, upon departing Boca de Valeria I took a photo of a boy sitting by the shoreline looking out into the Amazon River. I imagined he was contemplating his future and wondering what life would be like beyond Boca de Valeria. Perhaps, I was wrong.

Last night, I was told of a legend originating from Boca de Valeria and I will recount it for you to the best of my ability.

This legend starts as many of these legends do with a girl. Her name was Naia. She was young, curious, full of wonder. She was one of those girls who was always staring up at the stars in the night sky instead of looking where she was going. But in her case, it wasn’t that she believed that the stars were far away lights but actual spirits. And the moon was more than just a round presence it was kind of a divine presence, a force.

A story was told that every now and then, the divine presence would descend from the sky and choose one special girl from Boca de Valeria and carry her up to the sky. That was Naia’s dream. She didn’t want to grow up or get married. She wanted to be chosen by the moon.

People in Boca de Valeria thought she was just a dreamer. She refused to marry and would just wander off at night and stare at the reflection of the moon in the Amazon River hoping she would be noticed. It was all a bit much really but also very sweet in that stubborn idealistic way that only teenagers can come up with.

And than one night she saw it. The moon was low shining bright over the river and the moon’s reflection stretched perfectly over the surface presenting a still calmness. Naia convinced that this was her moment stepped into the river. Some say that she felt the moon had finally come for her others say she just couldn’t resist. But either way, she fell straight into the river. Chasing her reflection she disappeared under the surface.

Now most legends would end there with a tragic conclusion. But this one has a twist. Jaci, the moon goddess, saw what had happened and out of pity or compassion or a feeling of guilt choose to honor Naia’s sacrifice. Jaci turned her into a star different from all the others, the “star of the waters”. The next morning something was blooming on the water a massive round floating water lily broad enough for a child to sit on, strong, green with a white flower that opened at night just when the moon took its position. That was Naia. She didn’t become a star in the sky but something easily as magical on earth. And to this day the flowers of the giant water lily “Vitoria Regia” turns white at night and fades to pink by morning as if she is blushing from the attention.

I was told that there is a small boat tour that you can take on the river that gets you up close and personal with the water lilies. If you are lucky, the guide will pick up one of the water lilies to show you it’s interconnected root system. I was able to find a stock photo to show you.

Perhaps it was just my projection that the young boy was contemplating his future and wondering what life would be like beyond Boca de Valeria. Why leave a place where every child is taught that the moon shines special over the place of your birth. That life doesn’t have a tragic ending but is reborn every day with a precious reawakening. That you are connected with deep roots to your past, to each other and to the awareness that life is good right where you are.

You think about that.

(There is an app that tracks where cruise ships are, and I wanted to show you that we were the only ship in the world that was navigating the Amazon River. Only a few do it yearly. I couldn’t even find Boca de Valeria so I could only track the closest city, Manaus, Brazil. This is truly one of the joys of traveling-going where few people go.)

Thanks for traveling with us.