The eight hour trip started at 3:30 am this morning with a wait for the car. What happens here is much like a service in Jerusalem where cars leave when they are full. But the three of us (Robert, Jorge, and I) paid for the extra seat so we would have the little Toyota Corolla station wagon to ourselves. So it came by closer to four and by the time the driver stopped by his house for his overnight bag, and we got gas, and filled the tire with air it was closer to 4:30. We did great, even with the rain, until we hit the spot where the river flows over the road.
We had to wait three hours for the river to go down. Then there was another hour while we got the car on a balsa raft that the locals push across another river and then help pull the car up the mudslide on the other side. It was all a lot of fun, if you are not a Toyota Corolla. I now know that last winter I could have easily backed on down into that ditch and driven out up the other side. No problem, we even have tread on our tires! That car swam, went over boulders, waded through foot deep mud, bottomed out a hundred times or more, and came through with its muffler intact.
We arrived in Nieva at about 5:pm. It is a neat little town, pretty typical Amazon river place, lots of indigenous folk, some mestizos and a very few foreigners with ICUN and other groups.This connection is slower than last night´s. Jorge gave up as aol would not load due, I think, to all the trash and images they put up with their e-mail. Thanks for the birthday wishes. The only thing wrong with the day was that my family wasn´t along with me. Natalie would be interested in talking to the many obviously-young-teen mothers you see around here.
The native compounds would also be of interest. Great to be back in the jungle.
Much love,
J.
No comments:
Post a Comment