And back at the campo --- Water and Mud

Remember I wrote that we walked out through all the water. That was the beginning of the rainy season and we are hoping and praying that it will end. Jake choose to remain in the chaco for the entire time and was one of the five or six residents. The woman and children moved to other communities and the men stayed either at their chaco or with their families.

The December flood was only the beginning. By the middle of January the road had been flooded five or six times and the worst was yet to come. In the end of the month all of Bolivia was deluged with rain, so much that it made international news and calls for relief. Our community is situated very close to the Yapacani River. There is a loop in the river and when there is a lot of water flowing the flat land surrounding it gets covered since the water does not make the curve. The water just covers all the land with water and silt. There is really no way to explain all of this -- pictures will do it better. Apologies to those who have a hard time uploading this.

In early December we thought that the road was bad. The night before the rains the cat had disturbed some of the clay and made the road very slippery and difficult. After this espisode we went to Santa Cruz and bought chains.

The water covers about 2 kilometers of road. It is a low spot and the water runs straight through one of our neighbour´s house and yard. The top picture on the left is the house in early January (forget the date on the pic) and picture on the left is the same place in mid March. The yard has not dried up.

Although the water was a serious problem it recedes rather quickly and is usually done within a couple of days. But what is left behind is more of a problem. There is about a meter of silt dunes that resember snow banks in the road. These also extend into the rice fields. Some of the rice has been ruined by the rain and the silt since the heads were covered with water. Other is ready to harvest but it is very wet and muddy in the fields making it difficult to get people to assist with the harvest by hand.

The other day they tried to get a tractor in to take in the combine but the tractor became stuck in the mud and the owner returned home, leaving behind a very rutted road.

The road has to be opened. Jake offered to hire a cat to clean the road but the owner of the cat said it was too hard to do and would take about 40 hours just to move the silt. I am sure that he thought that he would never get paid for all his time. There is also a problem because there is no convenient place to put all the silt.

So it seems that we are still at square one with the road. There is a layer of dried silt that seals the water underneath. The men of the community built a cordoroy road using tree trucks and branches to cover the silt. In the areas where there are the silt dunes they loosened them with a spade and then moved as much clay as they could by hand. It was remarkable to see all them working, laughing and talking, knee deep in mud. But my night they were much quieter and very tired. They built the road well enough for Jake to get the truck out, for which we are very thankful. The next job was to get the tractor and the combine in. The men were very confident that that could be done. The challenge would be hauling the rice out on the wagons through all the mud.

A Visit to the Campo

Our first visitors arrived at the campo even though we were not prepared. Intentions were to have the house completed before they arrived but the rain squelched all those plans. So Karmen and Jo had to survive some of the trials we experience in the jungle.

Our friend, Dionisio, was kind enough to drive us in to the community so we did not have to ride the local micro. We could leave during the day and walk in when it was light. The road showed all the effects of the floods -- many washed out areas, many areas full of nothing but mud. The trip took an hour longer than usual but we were able to drive to within a kilometer of the house. Although Jake had sent pictures of the mud, I was still amazed at the condition of the road. For about 2 kilometers there is nothing but silt dunes. Imagine meter high snow drifts but instead it is all silt. You can walk on the top but just under the surface there is nothing but wet clay. The men from the community were laying tree trunks across the road to built a road for the tractor and combine. The rice is ready to harvest and timing is important or the rice will fall. We walked about a kilometer to the house and we won´t dwell too much on the shape of the house.

First job was to get some lunch ready and Jake still had some soup left over. Jake harvested some fresh moringa so the girls had a taste of that in the soup. I thought it was a bit heavy with moringa but Karmen said that she liked it. After lunch the girls rested and talked while I organized the kitchen. Most of the women have left the community. There are only 5 people living in Patajusal 2 and the girls said they could understand why they left.

The truck was thoroughly stuck in the mud so Jake, Jose and Dionisio spent the afternoon digging it out. Talk about muscles and patience. Jack it up, put boards under it, jack it up, put boards under it -- until it is level with the road and it could be driven out a few feet. Something was broken on the front wheels and oil was leaking so Jake returned to Yapacani with Dionisio and the women stayed at the house.

Having only women in the house was probably a good thing. Supper was -- you guessed it -- rice! But with sou sauce and with sugar and cinnamon. We played some cards but soon it was time for bed. Following a sponge bath in the bathroom with the tile floor we were all ready to crawl into the tent. Since Jake was not home we all slept together in the tent and the girls did not have to use the mosquito nets! I think they were relieved.

The next morning we had a wonderful breakfast of Grandma´s scrambled eggs and real ketchup! Our morning walk was interrupted with more rain and it continued for about two hours. Yes, it interrupted the walk but worse, it made things worse for the men who were trying to repair the road. Will it ever end!! In the afternoon the girlds decided to bake a delicious chocolate cake from Grandma Siebenga´s recipe.

Jake and Dionisio returned and quickly fixed the truck. Everything was working but Jake would not drive out the truck since there are a lot of parts of trees sticking out and he doesn´t want to damage the truck. So he stayed in the community to help with the road and wait for the tractor to compact the road. Then he will come out. The girls and I returned to Yapacani with Dionisio on a road that was much worse than the day before.

So much for impressing Karmen and Jo with the community and the work we do. They wondered what I did all day and they found out that it was much easier to get homesick out there without any communication and not much to do when it rains. I wish they could go back to Canada with a better experience.

More travels with Marg

Can you imagine an overweight, out of shape, fifty plus Grandma touring Bolivia with two attractive, slender, teenager girls. It did happen and we all survived.

Karmen and Jo are 19 and 18 respectively and experienced their first adventure in Bolivia. Coming from the modern North American world, it was a shock to find out that things do not happen on time or may not happen at all.

Carnaval is a South American experience that we didn´t think they should miss so we stayed in Santa Cruz for the weekend. The parade was scheduled for Saturday night but was cancelled due to rain. We heard it was rescheduled for 5 the next evening but in the morning that paper said it would start at 10. So off we went. The girls were a bit of a sensation and became the target for friendly foam and water spraying. It didn´t take long for them to purchase there own cans of foam and retaliate. And you can guess what happened next. Everything was in good fun until the paint spraying started and none of us appreciated that. Although there is some respect for the older people, we did get some paint on our clothes. The parade finally came but by then we were hungrey, burnt, and tired and didn´t even stay for the whole thing. The three women suffered from the affects of sunburn for the next few weeks.

Plans were to travel. It was not possible to go to the house due to mud and silt dunes so we thought that after a couple of weeks things would be better. Jake headed home and the women headed off. Due to the amount of rain in Bolivia many of the roads were closed with mud slides. Instead of taking the bus to Sucre as planned, we flew. Yes, it was a half hour ride instead of 8 hours by bus but we didn´t see the countryside. Sucre is a beautiful city and is the judicial capital of Bolivia. It is nestled in the hills (mountains) and is known as the white city. The hotel was downtown and close to the markets so the girls could shop to their hearts content. We didn´t do Sucre justice. We decided to go to a water fall which was supposely a twenty minute drive from the city. We were told that we could walk--not! It was more like an hour from the city center and would have included a long walk over many hills in the hot sun. We took a taxi and wondered if we would every find it. We didn´t. We saw the area in which the falls are located but would have had to hike for 3 hours to see the waterfall. I have a suspicion that there was a road to the falls but the taxi driver was unwilling to take it. We planned to go to the Children´s museum but it was closed. So much for Sucre.

On we went to Potosi, the highest city in the world and at one time, the richest city in the Americas. The economy is based on silver mining and the city has fallen on much harder times. We had the opportunity to tour the silver mine, an experience that I will leave to the younger crowd next time. It was mind boggling to imagine that people work in those conditions without the safety regulations that we are used to. We also toured the mint museum where all the money was made at one time. Although Potosi has a lot of history it is not as attractive as Sucre. It was good for me to visit this area since many of the people that we live with come from here.

Busses do not run frequently to the small community of Uyuni so we took the night bus -- another 8 hour ride through the darkness, arriving at 2 in the morning. Try finding a hotel at that time of night! We thought we had reserved a place but they didn´t receive the email. Thankfully we were able to find a place for three. There were still many people walking around looking for a place at that time of night but they were not willing to spend the money on a bit more expensive place. It costs us 45 bolivianos or about $5.50 to $6.00 each that night.

The next morning we left on the more interesting part of the trip, the Salar de Uyuni 3 day trip. The three of us, along with a couple from Denmark and a young girl from France and the driver, loaded ourselves into a 4 wheel drive and started on the trek. Only a couple of kilometers out of town we hit the salt flats and from then on we had to have faith in the driver. Due to the amount of rain we were travelling through between 12 and 18 inches of water on top of the salt. Imagine what that does to the engines! At this point there were a lot of vehicles, all travelling in the same direction toward the Salt Hotel. This building is totalling made of salt -- the building, the beds, the tables, everything. But it is closed due to contamination. Imagine a building closed in Bolivia! They are now building a new faciltity with a better sewage system.

From the hotel we headed once again into the horizon - literally. I tried to determine how the driver knew where he was going but I could not find the landmarks. I imagine that after driving the same ´róad´for years, you know where you are going. At this stage there was no longer any water and we drove over salt. hearing it crunch under the tires. A delicious lunch of potatoes, llama, and veggies was served and after lunch we were encouraged to walk around Fish Island. We didn´t even make it half way around and turned back due to heat and tiredness from our time in the mine. Next time. This island, one of 63, is in the middle of the salt flats and is covered with cacti. From Fish Island we again headed into the horizon with much less company. Day trips only go to Fish Island and then return to Uyuni. After a couple of hours of driving through nothing but salt we arrived at some thing -- either another island or the edge of the salar. Our driver decided to take one of the roads and told us not to be scared. We were not sure of what but it soon became clear that we were driving through mud, the kind of mud we have in the community. It wasn´t long before the bald tires were covered in mud and we were stuck. Unlike North America, people don´t stop. It wasn´t until we sent out Karmen and Jo that another group stopped. They looked at the situation and said they would send help from the village about a kilometer away. No one came. Thankfully a couple of other vehicles did stop and we finally got out. Now only to describe it. They took the spare tire off, placed it on the ground and put a 4 x 4 on top of it for more height. Then they took a long pole, placed it under the wheel nuts and leveraged the whole truck up. While a number were leveraging the truck, others placed rocks and boards under the tire until it was level with the road and then we could drive out. We arrived at our hotel in plenty of time and enjoyed a piping hot shower before our supper. Lights went out literally at 9.

Dawn came about 5:30 and we were on the road by 7. The salt flats were now behind us and we drove by small fields of quinoa and then nothing but desert type plants. The whole day was spent driving through some of the more desert areas of southern Bolivia. Some of it resembled the badlands of Alberta but the wind erosion was much more evident. One of the highlights were the flamingos. We could not get as close to them as we would have liked but were able to get some good pictures. Unfortunately though, they all disappeared with the computer. By evening we were high up on the Altiplano and experienced some colder weather. All of us were bundled up in sweats and blankets. It is hard to believe that most tourists go here in the winter when the weather is down to -30C. There was no hot water and so no showers. But we did have electricity for two hours so some were able to charge batteries on cameras, I Pods, etc.

3:30 in the morning, What a time to get up. But we were to be on the road by 4:30 and we made it with a minute to spare. The first few hours were spent driving in the dark. The point was to get down to the bottom of the park and then come back in the light. It was still dark when we passed the geysers and the cold and lack of light didn´t make it a great experience. The next stop was the hot springs. Although the water was warm there was a lot of algae present and that did not make the experienec that pleasant. But we can say that we sat in the hot spring in Bolivia. The rest of the day was a long drive back to Uyuni. I wished that there was more time for photo stops but it was not to be. The colors were a painter´s palette and there is no way to describe it. The rock formations were incredible. We did have a couple of incidents -- one was getting a little stuck in a creek and the other was a flat tire when we were about an hour out of town. I know that there are not many tools in the vehicles in Bolivia and understood that we did not have a spade or shovel when we were stuck in the mud, but not having a jack was something else. Thankfully, again, another vehicle stopped and helped us. We made it back to Uyuni safely and spent the next few hours waiting for the train to Oruro.

If there were train service throughout Bolivia, I would use it. This was a wonderfully smooth ride without all the stops. We travelled through part of the night, leaving at about 3 in the morning and getting to Oruro at about 9:30. The scenery around the lake was beautiful and it was a relaxing ride. From the train station in Oruro we had to go the bus station. Things were very busy and hectic there and during this hassle I had my computer stolen. What a way to end a good vacation! We could not change our tickets so had to leave right away so I could not even look for it. Not only was my computer taken but also all the cords to the rest of my electronic equipment and my identification. However, our passports are in La Paz so we still have those. Somehow I will survive without Bolivian ID until I leave again. The scenery from Oruro to Cochabamba is absolutely gorgeous but the whole trip was shadowed by the loss of the computer and by the infomercial guys who were selling health supplements, videos, and hand cream. What a way to travel. Our ears are still ringing.

We arrived in Coch, spent a day there, and planned to take the bus to Yapacani. But it was not to be. The roads were still closed, or closed again, due to mud slides so we ended up flying back. In all honesty, I don´t think any of us minded that we were not spending another 8 hours on the bus. We arrived safely back in Santa Cruz and spent the night in wonderful beds at the New Tribes Mission. What a treat to be back.

Travels with Marg

The river came rushing down the road the evening of December 21, announcing the beginning of flood season. Plans for Christmas in Santa Cruz were in place and we were eager to get out and have some quiet time. I had hoped that the house would be completed by Christmas and I needed to make some mental adjustment when I realized that would not happen. Now I was hoping for everything to be done before the girls came in January. We were expecting our first visitors -- my grand-daughter, Karmen, and her friend, Jolyn. We were hoping to give them a good experience so that they would go home and spread the word that we had a wonderful place.

But everything changed with the rains. We, along with some of our employees, decided to walk out on the morning of the 22nd. There were about 10 of us in all. The waters started about 100 meters from our driveway and it was not long before we were walking in water up to our calves, and at one point, up to our thighs. That was not bad for us -- imagine the height on our short Bolivian friends! We walked about 3 kilometers through the water and then hit the dry ground. From that point on we walked periodically through water but at one point it was thigh deep and running rapidly. After I had a bit of a spill, we all joined arms and walked across that section together. If only I had had my camera on that trip but I had left it in Yapacani.

The length of the journey was about 11 kilometers and although I would like to say that I managed it well, I have to admit that I rode a moto part of the way. When we arrived at the La Pista corner we waited for some type of transportation for the rest of the way to Yapacani. Marcos went to the next town to try to get a taxi but was unable to do so. So we ended up riding in the back of a three ton farm truck, along with the goats, sheep, fish, produce and people. It was an experience but not one that I would want to do every day. It gave us an appreciation for the local transportation available but also made us really appreciate our truck! Meeting the locals was a great experience. We realized that we were well known in the communities as the people who picked them along the road when they were going to town. What goes around, comes around!

We spent Christmas with friends in Santa Cruz and I ended up staying in the city until I left for Canada. There was constant rain in the city and I knew that every drop would make its way into the campo at some point.

While in Canada I spent time with the the kids and grand kids. It was a memorable, and emotional, occasion to witness the baptism of our grandson, Kolten. We also celebrated the birthdays of our oldest grand daughter, Karmen, and our youngest grand daughter, Sophia. It always is great to see the kids. We also celebrated another birthday -- the 60th birthday of my sister, Agnes.

Plans were that I would fly out on February 9 and the girls would come on Feb 12. So I was at the airport on time, went through customs and security in about 15 minutes and thought things were going great. But the plane never left due to a mechanical difficulty and I stood in line for the next three hours to rebook the flight. Understandably, I was unable to make my connections after that time and I was quite sure that this would not be easy. Santa Cruz airport has a habit of being short of jet fuel so flights are regularly cancelled. It turned out that I was not able to catch another flight to Santa Cruz until the next Thursday. Jake took care of the girls when they came and I enjoyed the luxury of a first class flight and a restful night in a hotel in Miami. Finally I returned to Bolivia but was still not able to go home -- but that is another story.

Apologies!

Sorry, it has been some time since I wrote in the blog. There are a number of reasons for this. First, I spent the month of January in Canada and was somewhat unaware of what was going on in Bolivia. Then I went on a two weeks whirlwind Bolivian tour with my grand-daughter, Karmen, and her friend, Jo. One this tour I lost my computer -- I think it was stolen. So all my information and pictures are gone for now. Thankfully, I backed up all the information when I was in Canada. Talk about God at work. I have never, never, in the twenty some years that I have used the computer, have I backed things up unless I was bringing the computer in for a problem. So I am very grateful that I have all my pics and info in Canada. The only thing I am missing is the pictures from the trip but I am sure that we will go there again. Karmen has pics that I can use. However, the blog will not be as colorful for the next while until I can obtain a new computer along with pen drive to transfer information. I am very thankful that it was only the computer and not one of the girls. Can you imagine if I had to explain the unexpected disappearance of one of them! But I am over the woulda, coulda, shoulda and am going on with life.