Phot-o' the Day: Dockside outside the Ver-O-Peso Market, Belém, Brazil

In a languid mood for today's Phot-o' the Day.  Dockside, beside the Ver-O-Peso ("Check the Weight") market in beautiful Belém, Brazil.

Belém is located just inside the mouth of the Amazon, where the planet's mightiest river meets the Atlantic Ocean.  As such, just about all of its tourist trade is people starting or ending Amazon River cruises.  But not me!  I went to Belém because I wanted to see Belém.  And I was not disappointed.

The city has that tropical decay you find in the high-humidity zones between the tropics.  Nevertheless, it is a beautiful city filled with beautiful and friendly people.  If you forced me to choose, I would say it was my favorite place I've visited so far in Brazil. 

The Elegant Decay of Belém (Part Dois)

Fishing boat moored alongside the Mercado do Ver-O-Peso

Here's my observation.  It's not particularly original, but it's the thought I'm thinking.

Rivers are the life blood of a city.  They really are.  Cities without rivers like plastic replicas of a real city.  Artificial.  This works for Las Vegas which is all about the artifice.  But it's what's missing from essentially soulless cities such as Atlanta or Dallas.  For this reason, we're drawn to the rivers of new cities.

Belém has impressive rivers, most significantly the massive Rio Guajará of the Amazon system.  Mercado do Ver-O-Peso is alongside the river.  It's not just a tourist attraction, it's a working market where fish, chickens, sausages, and fruits and vegetables from the Amazon are brought for sale.  I'm sure the Fishermen's Wharf section of San Francisco once served this same purpose.  I know the docks of Manhattan once did.

Mercado do Ver-O-Peso under an ominous sky 

Working boat at the quay, featuring decaying colonial buildings

Carrion at the quay (from a safe distance)

Carrion at the quay (up close and personal) 

You can tell that Mercado do Ver-O-Peso is a working market from the strong odor that would attract carrion fowl.  I also spared you the pictures of live animals for sale.  Those live chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs?  They weren't for sale as pets.

From the quay side, it was a short walk up the hill to Cidade Velha, the Old Town:

Straight up to the Catedral da Sé

This is the area with the highest concentration of tourist attractions in Belém.  And apparently they are occasionally open.  The Catedral da Sé?  Locked tight as the proverbial drum.  The Museu de Arte Sacra?  Closed for my convenience, or something or other said the sign.  I think it was closed for maintenance, but I could be wrong.  O meu português é péssimo.

It certainly looks nice.

Catedral da Sé

A religious figure important in the Portuguese history of Brazil

Igreja do Santo Alexandre e Museu de Arte Sacra

Fortunately, not all was closed in Cidade Velha.  The Forte de Presépio was open.  For the low low price of two reaies, I could tour the fort and a small museum about the conquest of the indigenous Amazonian tribes.

Entry into the Forte de Presépio

This will atone for the fact that I failed to tour the Fortaleza dos Reis Magos in Natal, although that may have been closed during the World Cup because of the nearby FIFA Fan Fest.

Looks like a military ship, likely decommissioned

The grounds of the fort were nice to walk.

Looking at the warship from the fort 

Big guns at the fort

Guns 'n rivers 

Two young brasileiros who wandering the fort grounds continually snapping selfies at all the viewpoints

Looking toward Ver-O-Peso from the fort

More big guns

From the roof of the fort

I was getting hungry.  Back to the Estação Das Ducas for some upscale dining for upscale mim.

The closest thing to an ADA compliant ramp that I've seen in all of Brazil

I love upscale dining in a mall food court atmosphere, so the restaurants of the Estação Das Ducas would be perfect pra mim.  I thought I had chosen Restaurante Lá em Casa, which is the #1 ranked restaurant in Belém according to TripAdvisor.com and I am an absolute slave to TripAdvisor rankings.  Turns out, I chose the restaurant right next to it, the Capone, an Italian restaurant.  All the restaurants in the Estação Das Ducas were having a lunch buffet and it was all so confusing.

My filhete grelhado, grilled fish, in a shrimp sauce, was incredible.  It might have been a buffet, but I had seconds of that.  The "risotto" was not really a risotto, as the rice was not a porridge consistency, but was dry, but the banana addition was delicious.

Grilled fish and a "risotto" made with bananas, along with a shrimp in cream sauce

I snapped the picture after I ate my Caesar Salad which, as you would expect from a fish-eating town, was HEAVY on the anchovies, which I had forgotten were a traditional part of the Caesar Salad.

But the greatest thing about eating inside the Estação Das Ducas?

Look up above the chafing dishes of the Capone buffet

Look again. It's getting closer.

It's right above me!

A band.  In a box.  On rails.  Moving overhead.

There is a band box on rails that rolls down the length of the building.  In the box was a live bossa nova combo, playing bossa nova songs such as "Pois é".  The box moved slowly, about one song each above each of the restaurants.  This is without any doubt one of the most awesome things I have ever seen in all my years.

The Elegant Decay of Belém (Part Um)

A boat plies the waters of Rio Guajará

Belém is a port city in an elegant state of decay.  How could it not to be?  It is very wet and rainy city with high humidity.  Its golden age was more than 100 years ago, during the rubber boom, but the city is over 400 years old.  It is the Atlantic port of the Amazon River. It is located on an estuary of the Amazon, rather than the Amazon itself, but the rivers are huge in these parts.

Why come to Belém?  Two reasons.  Even in its state of decay, it is still a beautiful city with a great history and the famous Ver-O-Peso ("see the weight") market.  And it is the center for Amazonian-Brazilian cuisine, where the flavors of the Amazonian rain forest are brought forth to the rest of the world.  And sometimes these great rain forest flavors are turned into ice cream.  But more on that later.

This is my walking tour of the reclaimed port area, the Ver-O-Peso market, and the Cidade Velha of Belém.  Apparently there's a modern city here, too, but who cares about that?

First, the area around the guesthouse where I am staying, the Residencia Karimbo Amazonia.

The view down Travessa Piedade

It is B&B.  The owner, who is French (note the partially hidden tri-color being flown out front), rents a few rooms in his residence.  I would highly recommend the place to you the next time you are in Belém.

The Residencia Karimbo Amazonia 

From there it is a short walk to the river:

I think this is a banyan tree, but I'm no arborist

Lots of statuary and beautiful old colonial style buildings:

Meet Pedro Teixeira

That man is Pedro Teixeira, the first European to travel the length of the Amazon.  That's an impressive feat.

Alongside the Rio Guajará, or Guajará Bay which, technically, count as the waters of the Amazon (system)

The area alongside the river here has been beautifully developed.  The old port buildings have been re-purposed into Estação Das Docas, a complex of shops and upscale restaurants.  Normally, I'm not one for "upscale" restaurants, but when it comes to Amazonian-Brazilian cuisine, I'm guessing I'm going to prefer the more "upscale version"

Outside the Estação Das Docas

 They even kept the old port cranes for atmosphere.

Still outside the Estação Das Docas

Selfie along the waters of Rio Guajará

They even have a brew pub in the Estação Das Docas, for Amazon Beer, that's how upscale it is:

Amazon Beer brew pub

Amazon Beer brew pub, note the copper vats

From there, it was onto the more traditional, more historic, Ver-O-Peso, translated alternately as "See The Weight," or "Check The Weight".

This is where you get tour boats to explore the river:

Touring boat docked

I'm guessing this small little boat is for day-trippers, but I'm not sure.

The dining section of the tent section next to Ver-O-Peso

This is where real Belém eats, not in the upscale Estação Das Docas.  There looked to be a lot of grilled chicken (frango) being eaten in there, which I could handle, but I wimped out and opted for the upscale buffet dining in air-conditioned comfort (a lifesaver given the humidity levels in this city). Note that the Ver-O-Peso has grown so huge that the old building can't contain all the market stalls.  There is a tented section between the Ver-O-Peso and the upscale Estação Das Docas.

My favorite part of the Ver-O-Peso was the fruit section.  Some of the fruits were familiar-looking.  After all, Belém is known as the "Mango City" and I know what a mango looks like.

Fruit market

But the fruit market smelled great.

And, finally, the blue spires of Ver-O-Peso:

Various views of the Ver-O-Peso

This a real working market and not a tourist attraction.  Tourist souvenirs are sold in tents between this and the Estação Das Docas.

From here I walked to the Cidade Velha.  But my battery is getting low (actually and metaphorically), so I will stop here and post Part Dois later.