Sunday, March 16, 2008

A View From Above

Our blogs and newsletters have frequently mentioned the flooding problems and road conditions. Everyone looks for a solution but sometimes we are not sure what the problem is. A remedy for our lack of knowledge was a flight over the Yapacani River to view the present flooding problems and the meanderings of the river.

Since the river broke a new channel last November the communities in our area have not suffered from river flooding. That does not say it is not flooding. Ten inches (25 cm.) of rain a night can cause its own flooding problems! However, across the river, in the county of San Juan, serious flooding has occurred. That county would like to close the new channel and redirect the water back through the old channel which would cause flooding in our area once again. Since that is not a viable option, a new solution needs to be found. We have to admit that we are not convinced there is a ‘solution’ since the river moves where it moves.

Two representatives from Yapacani county and one from the San Juan county joined us. Two had never flown before and we made sure everyone had eaten and had taken Gravol before the flight. The day was very breezy, making the flight in a 6-seater plane more than interesting!

We flew to Yapacani and then up the river. When we arrived at our group of communities we saw that the river became a real ‘snake’ with lots of curves. It would be interesting to know how many miles of river there are in that small piece of land. The picture we saw was much different from the Google map.

All the pictures we took will be put together to provide a profile for the communities, illustrating where the river broke through and the flooding in the communities on the other side. We could determine where and how the river had moved by surveying the growth of trees.

Now the community representatives are left with the challenge of determining what action should be taken, drawing up a proposal, and finding funding for the project.

A Road in Danger

The highway from Cochabamba to Santa Cruz is the main thoroughfare through Bolivia, and without it; Santa Cruz would be cut off from all materials – diesel, gas, food. This past week the waters in Rio Pirai, close to Montero, caused problems. Although the water is not high, its force is wearing away the soft banks. Last year and enormous amount of time and money was spent building ‘defensibles’ that were meant to prevent this erosion but already these have broken and the river has changed its course.

Last week the water was about 50 to 75m. from the road and now it is starting to undercut the bank. The pavement is cracking. The military and road crews are building cages for rocks and sand and literally throwing them over, along with logs, to give the bank some protection.

While work is done on the road, all traffic is stopped. Long line ups occur. Traffic can proceed through the work zone for an hour while the men have lunch or when the work day is finished. Trucks and cars line the road while vendors sell food and drinks to those waiting to cross. Truckers take a snooze under their vehicles, lying either on the asphalt or in a hammock. Trufi taxis and moto taxis ferry people to the front of the line where they walk through the construction zone, then hire another taxi on the other side and proceed to their destination