Water, Water, Everywhere

It was an impulsive decision. Maybe we should have thought about it longer. But sometimes things work out well. Such was our trip to Yapacani. We had planned to visit Yapacani and Patajusal sometime in February but the days seemed to slip by and we stayed home. Then we heard that a youth group from the Calama Baptist Church was taking a bus. After many phone calls we secured seats on the bus and quickly packed our bag. When we arrived at the appointed time there was no bus. Nothing unusual for Bolivia. Some said it would be there at 1, others said 2. In true Bolivian style we simply visited our friends until the bus came at 12:30!! Much to our surprise there were 110 kids going. Since I get car sick we were given the front seats but we were dismayed when we found that there was not enough seats for all the kids. No one else seemed concerned.

Now, if it is Bolivian vehicles, the road, or us, I do not know. Before we were 5 kilometres from town we had already stopped three times so that the bus could be ‘tuned’ up. It certainly did not have much power. A little tweaking here and a little tweaking there --things were better and we were on our way. I couldn’t help but think that we needed my nephew, Steve, to tune it up. I was looking forward to a scenic trip since we were sitting so much higher than in the car. But instead we had a very rainy view of the forest an the valleys. It still was breath taking in spite of the rain. People had told us that we should try to be at our destination before dark because there were people on the road. Ok. That sounded reasonable. But little did we think that there would be so many people. It seems as if they use the highway as their living room – many people just sit on the side of the road as vehicles fly by. Children also play on the shoulder. Now once the bus gets on the flat, it goes. We were cruising down the highway, passing a truck, when suddenly a small girl, about two years old, comes wandering on to the highway. We missed her only by the grace of God! It was as if time stood still. After that incident the driver had his hand on the horn whenever he saw anyone close to the road.

We arrived safely in Yapacani and checked into the local Hilton –not! Because there had been a lot of rain they had not been able to dry their laundry so the poor guy had to iron the sheets dry. Then we asked for an extra towel and he had to iron it dry also. The room smelled moist and dank with the odor of mould in the bedding. The importance of air movement was very relevant. So many of their homes have windows only on one side, without any cross ventilation.

We met with Nico and Hugo and made plans for the next couple of days. Sunday would be the town’s Carnival celebration so nothing would be planned for that day. They had two towns selected for us to see - Patajusal and San Sidro. We planned to go to Patajusal on Monday and San Sidro on Tuesday. Monday arrived and off we went in the Land Rover with Nico and his daughter, Joselina. The trip was going well until the lost the brakes. Sounds familiar, eh! Although Nico tried to fix them, we ended up traveling without brakes. Thankfully there were no hills and we could stop by putting the truck into neutral or by turning off the key. The only road hazard was the wash outs from the storms that happened not only in the area but also up river.

No one expected us in Patujusal. We met some of the women on the road and they were very happy to see us. Estephania and her children rode with us from Patajusal 1 to Patajusal 2. We arrived at Patajusal 2 to find that we could not drive into the community. Friday night and Saturday had brought them the seventh flood of the season. The water arrived during the night from the river and it had flooded the road and many of their houses and yards. However, the people took it all in stride and were busy harvesting their rice. During the couple of hours we were there we could see that the water was going away and the road was becoming more solid. So we walked in. The first kilometer was fairly easy going but then we started to come to the lower spots. Soon off came the shoes and we walked – slip and slide – through the greasy clay-like mud. Jake carried one of the children and I carried our stuff.

Finally we arrived at the house of Valentina, the president of the community. Nico stood at the end of the road and called. Soon the children came, telling us that their parents were harvesting rice. “Go tell them Margarita and Jacobo are here.” Off they went and a while later Valentina, Zacharius and our good friend, Guermo, came in from the fields. After talking for a while they had a get back to their harvesting so we went along and harvested some rice by hand. Now if we had to do the field by ourselves I am not sure that it would be done. It is a slow process and I have nothing but respect for those who do it, all with a knife.

After enjoying fresh lemonade we headed back to the truck. But first Nico had to show us one of the pieces of land that is for sale. It is a very low piece and was covered in water. He also showed us another piece in Patajusal 1 that is cleared and has a small homestead on it. It has water and was not flooded. We are having a difficult time deciding what we should do since each one has its advantages and disadvantages. We plan to return to the community and look at
them again before we make any decisions. I came back very discouraged – the length of time it took to drive to the community, the flooding, and the feeling that it seemed so hopeless. Thankfully, the next day we visited with some other friends. After talking to them I was in much better spirits and felt even more strongly that we would move there – and that it would be all right.

So what did we learn from the trip?
• We can manage with our Spanish, even though it is not very good.
• There is a huge need for assistance in Patujusal
• There is a great group of people that are looking forward to us coming and are willing to help us.
• That Jake is very eager to move on.
• That, thank God, we don’t make these decisions on our own.