Out of the many indigenous communities situated around Pucallpa, none are more established than La Comunidad Nativa San Francisco. Located right on the banks of Laguna Yarinacocha, it’s the largest and oldest Shipibo-Conibo community in the world. What started as a group of six families and one curaca eventually grew to over 300 families and 760 members. Thanks to improved transportation, the community is slowly becoming modernized. Today they are the perfect example of what happens when two completely different worlds collide.
Even when it only consisted of a few families, this community attracted the attention of foreigners. In 1914, the entire tribe was converted to Christianity by Padre Fransicano Enrique Felipe Lake. After taking on his name, the San Francisco community was granted 1,900 hectares from the government. Today they are only 15 minutes outside Pucallpa by car and 45 minutes by boat.
Despite this close proximity to modern civilization, the San Francisco community maintains a certain level of its culture. While older customs such as polygamy and genital mutilation have been abandoned, they still share everything except land. The food is distributed to all the community members in the main plaza at every meal. Many members also practice shamanism and host ceremonies revolving around ayahuasca. Curious to see what this community had to offer, El Gringo Famoso went in to investigate. Enjoy an in-depth view of this notorious native community!
Visiting the Shipibos…
When I embarked on this journey, I had no idea what was in store for me. I was expecting a normal shaped lake, so it was impossible not to be surprised. After walking down to the shore, I was confronted by a chaotic scene. To avoid constantly being covered in mud, the locals had erected a series of wooden planks on stilts. These spanned about a hundred yards and crisscrossed without any rhyme or reason. Realizing that I had to get on the stilts to reach the lake, I hesitantly climbed onto it. Every step I took felt like I would make the structure collapse, which made every meter feel like a mile.
Reaching Lake Yarinacocha was a balancing act, but getting past the boat drivers was even more challenging. Before I reached the water, I was being approached by countless boat owners. They figured that I had come for a tour, but they couldn’t have been more wrong. Unbeknownst to them, I had no idea where the fuck I was. I had done zero research and was expecting a lake, so I assumed I didn’t need a boat. Squeezing past the heckling boat drivers on the two foot wide platform, I continued towards the lake. When I reached the main dock and looked out over the massive expanse of water, I realized I was fucked.
Thinking this was a simple trip, I had taken the bus from Pucallpa with a minimal amount of cash. All the boat people were trying to charge me 100 soles for a tour, which was way out of my budget. After telling about fifteen boat owners that I didn’t want a tour, they finally left me alone. For a while I was left to stare at the water and wonder how the hell I would explore this lake on a non-existent budget.
I didn’t have any money, so the best thing to do was call it a day. Just when I was about to leave, one boat owner approached me. In a hushed tone, he offered to show me whatever I wanted. Slightly alarmed that he was going to whip out his dick, I asked what was hidden on the lake. For a while he went on about pink dolphins and turtles, which instantly lost my attention. These animals belonged in fairy tales, not on the Gringo Famoso’s itinerary. Just when I was about to leave, he said that the biggest Shipibo village was an hour away.
I was always fascinated by the Shipibos, so I couldn’t let this opportunity pass me by. After haggling relentlessly, the boat owner agreed to take me for 50 soles. Even though this was all my money, it appeared that this was as cheap as it would get. For this reason, I quickly agreed and hopped on the boat. It was about twenty feet long and super narrow, so any movement almost tipped it over. After filling up the tank with purple gasoline, we were on our way to meet the Shipibos.
It was a slow go, since the motor seemed way too small for the boat. After battling against the current for an hour, we reached the San Francisco community. The dock was filled with kids that started yelling in excitement when we pulled up. Laughing loudly, they helped guide us into the dock without knocking the boat into the wooden posts.
One by one, we hopped onto the dock. Even though it had been a scenic trip, I was ecstatic to be back on land. There’s something about sitting on a wooden board while having a tiny motor roar in your ear for an hour that’s unbearable. For this reason, it was time to explore. Accompanied by Julio the boat driver, I walked down the dock into the village.
Noticing that I was white as hell, a few kids ran up to me and started talking extremely quickly. In a nervous tone, they offered to sing me the community’s national anthem for a dollar. While I would have loved to collaborate, I had just given all my money to Julio. Completely unfit to be charitable, the only option was to be polite. After turning down their offer as amicably as possible, I ran over to catch up with Julio.
Surprisingly, the next hour was extremely uneventful. Once we made it to the main area, we got to see everyone eat lunch. This was done in huge vats, since all the food is shared. A few ladies were selling piranha head necklaces and epic crafts, but I had to pass since I was destitute. Faced with the fact that I was broke, Julio and I started bullshitting about random topics. Somehow we got on the topic of hookers, and this subject brought Julio to life.
With eyes glistening with happiness, Julio started telling me about all the whore houses in Pucallpa. According to him, these places were home to some of the most beautiful women in the world. Many were imported in from Brazil, and they were so gorgeous they could make anyone fall in love. For about five minutes Julio happily recounted things that I had never asked to hear. With an unbridled amount of passion, he recounted details about the prostitutes like it was a religious experience.
Julio’s enthusiasm was contagious, and by the end of his monologue I wanted to get my dick sucked too. Grinning wildly, Julio patted me on the back and said he would give me his number to go hit the town. I nodded in agreement, since he was too pumped up for me to say no. For the next few minutes, we just sat and stared at the Shipibos eating their lunch. As the perversion of our conversation sunk in, I realized that we were the real savages. Here we were in the middle of a National Geographic special and both of us were still thinking with our dicks.
I never claimed to be a saint, so this epiphany wasn’t particularly surprising. For a while Julio and I just walked around the community. One by one, he showed me the places that offered ayahuasca ceremonies. Each shamanic hut was painted with crazy colors and cool native designs. A few hippies with dreads and shitty tattoos were wandering around them, so I knew Julio was telling the truth.
The heat was getting unbearable, so after an hour we decided to head back to the promised land. As we putted down the lake towards Yarinachocha, I couldn’t help but reminisce. Here we were in the middle of the jungle, a place that used to be so remote that a journey into it could be deadly. Now it’s so accessible that millennials go there on a whim to get high. I was no better, since I already had an appointment to drink ayahuasca that night in Pucallpa.
Despite wanting to be different, I was surprisingly similar to every other outsider coming into this wild world. My senses were about to get hurled into another dimension by a concoction of plants so mysterious that they defied the laws of physics. While this realization wasn’t particularly inspiring, it was impossible not to feel happy. As the hot jungle wind whipped playfully at my face, it seemed like everything was working out. While I wasn’t able to help the Shipibo kids, the little money I was able to invest in this trip ensured that Julio got his dick sucked. I had done my good deed for the day, so I prepared to taunt death on an inter-dimensional psychedelic journey…