Crazy Jungle Trip!!!



thinking back, this was a bad idea...



Sporting my new skills

Our fearless guide Judah

Sunday April 14, 2013

SUPER FUN DAY!!!! Since I stayed at FF last night, I had to wake up at 4:45 and make my way to town as soon as possible to make sure I had some time to upload my last blog with some pictures, and to make sure that I didn't miss our trip. So I met Eric at the hotel where he had slept and had about 1.5 hours of internet time.

Now the time had come, everything online was taken care of, snacks had been purchased, and it was time to roll out. When it was time, we loaded up into a red Land Rover with our group. We had 10 people cramed in there so it was pretty uncomfortable and then we had to drive 3 hours with our new found "friends."

The group that we were placed in, was 7 young Isreali's who were all friends. Our group was going to prove to be the only downside to our whole weekend. They were loud, obnoxious, rude, inappropriate, smoke, drank, cursed, and were doing drugs throughout the whole trip. They seemed to like Eric and I pretty well, but they had short fuses with the guides and were not patient at all.

The rudeness of the others in our group turned out to be bittersweet. After seeing how the Isreali's acted, the guides and other workers began to like us better and give us special treatment. For example, after our long drive, they brought us to this restaurant that was included with the excursion price. Everyone got 1 plate of surprisingly good food. But sure enough, the Isreali's were not satisfied. Then they began to ask the waitress for more food and said what they had already cooked and provided wasn't enough. But they waitress said no and there wasn't anymore. Then she told Eric and I that there was a little more rice and corn if we wanted. Then she brought Eric and I (who were sitting at the same table), a big plate of rice and another plate of corn. When the Isreali's saw that, they said that they wanted more too, but the lady just looked at them and said she doesn't have anymore food again. Eric and I thought it was so funny and had to surpress our laughter while the Isreali's got irratated.

After we ate, we had another 15 minute drive to a national park where we met our guide. When we pulled up, there were several boats, guides, and tourists. Thats when we met Judah, our guide. Thats when we all loaded up into the boat and took off down the river.

This river isn't a typical river. It is more marshland. It was a massive expanse of marshland with a network of rivers going through it. It could not have been any more beautiful! The weather was absolutely perfect too. The past 3 days had been very rainy and gross. But today was beautiful and sunny which only enhanced our experience.



Easy there killer...

Going on our 2 hour boatride, we had a nice little breeze that felt amazing on a warm day. The boat was a simple boat that was long and narrow with a little motor bolted to the back. While on the boat, we stopped a couple times to see turtles, birds, pink dolphins, and a tree-full of monkeys! We we got to the monkeys, he drove the boat right up to the tree and as soon as he pulled out a banana, the monkeys all began to jump on the boat from the tree. There must have been 30 monkeys there. Non of which were afraid to be around humans.

It didn't take long to notice that Judah liked Eric and I more than the Isreali's. For awhile, they were rocking the boat and being loud. They were not enjoying or appreciating whenever Judah pointed out animals like Eric and I did. They also didn't speak much spanish which didn't help their case.

After our boatride, we drove up to an extremely cliche and very awesome swampshack place. It is totally secluded and looked more like a bunch of boards randomly thrown together with hammocks hanging in one area and about a 10-12 foot aligator right below the planks where we walk. It was so cool to see. This was to be our homebase for 2 days. The hammocks however is where Eric and I were going to spend most of time at while there.

We just arrived, and we have already seen some of the greatest thing nature has to offer. We have seen aligators, monkeys, crazy looking birds, turtles, pink dolphins, owls, and boom boom potato yucca's! Nature is good.



Our fish drawl carriage

After we chose beds and set our stuff up, they gave us some popcorn and water as a snack, and then we headed out again. Now, they took us to a beautiful place to watch the sunset. This part was one of the weaker parts of the trip because that location was set up as more of a drinking spot. It was a beautiful sunset and we really enjoyed it, but the beauty was a little tarnished by the loud music and all the "gringo" tourists that were there drinking.

Following the social came a little more fun. Aligator hunting! I have only been aligator hunting once in Brazil and it wasn't very successful. But at least I knew how to do it. This proved to be very advantageous. Because the only aligator we caught, I spotted deep in some brush. Even the guide didn't see it at first (and he saw everything) so I was pretty proud of myself. He then drove the boat over and snatched it up and let us play with it. Then he showed Eric and I that we could put it in our mouths like we were eating it! What do you think?




This guy slept right under us

After hunting for a bit, we headed back to the lodge to eat dinner and relax. After dinner is when the bongs, alcohol, and drugs came out. I literally watched these guys rolling marajuana and smoking out of a bong that was made out of a gatorade bottle. While they all did this, Eric and I went to the opposite end of the place, grabbed some hammocks and listened to the birds, frongs, and fish. Completely relaxed.

I also want to point out how impressed I was with the food. Every meal we had, they gave us a food for vegetarians and it was always very good. They even made a special kosher meal for one of the guys in our group for every meal. This was a big relief for Eric and I because we thought we were gunna be scrambling to find non meat food.


Because we were very tired, and the Isreali's were up to nothing good, Eric and I actually went to bed at 8:45. We thought the plan was to wake up early to see the sunrise and head back so we wanted a good nights sleep. The beds were actually more comfortable than the one I have been sleeping on at Familia Feliz.

Monday April 15, 2013



One of the beautiful views on our boatride

This morning, I didn't set an alarm. That alone in itself means that I am on vacation! Reguardless, we still woke up around 8 or 8:30. Eric and I assumed that breakfast wasn't quite ready yet so we went directly to our favorite spot, the hammocks. While there, we watched monkeys crawl on the rooftops, pink dolphins swimming, birds diving into the water catching fish in their mouths, and birds that could swim and dove under the water for 10 seconds at a time. All this over the perfectly still water with the sun shining on it. Not a bad morning. Then came the call for our delicious breakfast.

Thinking we were going to start heading back after breakfast, Eric and I were surprised when we talked to our guide and he said we were about to go hunting for anaconda's. WHAT?!?!? How cool is that? I have already held and played with monkeys, had an aligator in my mouth, and now I get to hunt anaconda's? Sweet. He came to Eric and I first before anyone else knew and let us choose our boots first. Then once everyone had their boots, we headed to the anaconda field.

We were probably in the field for no more than 30 minutes before the Isreali girls started to complain. They said that they were girls, not boys and they should not be walking in the mud. Wow. By now, I think our guide was fed up with them because they have not been listening to him and have been putting us way behind schedule. Knowing that Eric and I wanted to keep hunting, he sent us up with another group while he took the others back.



Reminds me of my family

I felt so bad for our guide for having to deal with these guys. But Eric and I headed up to the other group to keep searching. Unfortunately, we were not able to find any. We walked in muddy marsh for about 2 hours, but because of all the rain recently, it was too wet.

After we got back to the base, Judah (our guide) tied a piece of raw meat to the end of a stick to feed to aligator. He was teasing it and the aligator was jumping up trying to snatch it. It was quite the show. Afterwards, Eric and I relaxed in the hammocks for a little bit longer until we had lunch and left. But yet again, the Isreali's weren't listening to Judah and kept on being super slow. So we packed all of our stuff and put in the boat and told Judah to yell for us when the slow pokes were ready. He really appreciated us and told us no problem.

Because we didn't stop too many times on the way back to see all the birds, turtles, and monkeys, we were able to get back in a little over an hour. But that ride is so incredibly comfortable. Especially because of the great weather we had yet again.

Our crazy crew

When we got back, the Land Rover was waiting there for us as it was when we left. We loaded up and were off back to Rurre. The trip would have gone pretty good except for awhile, we literally had to stop every 30 minutes (we actually timed it) to stop and let the girls go to the bathroom. It is probably because of all the drinking they did last night and this morning. The driver buddied up with Eric and I because he knew we wern't the problem and it was just as annoying to us too. However, a little later, part of the axel broke on the truck which added about an hour onto our journey. Unable to fix the broken part, our driver decided to just keep going but to go really slow. Fortunately by that time, we were only about 20 minutes away.



Hooter!

As soon as we got back, we were greeted by Pepe (no, not pee pee, Pe Pe) the boss, with a bottle of ice cold Coke for all of us. That was extremely refreshing for all of us. Then we all took a couple pictures then headed our separate ways. Eric and I caught some dinner at Juliano's, had a little internet, and then luckily caught a ride back in the Familia Feliz truck. But before we headed back, we had to stop and pick up a General Electric refrigerator/freezer for Missy!!! How cool is that? Now that we have electricity, she can have a refrigerator here. Not only that, but she said that she would let Eric and I put some stuff in there if we want.

Our miniature vacation has been amazing. We had such a great time and it was actually really cheap especially considering vegetarian food, lodging, animals, a guide, and beautiful scenery. Now we are back to the land of children and work. This is also a momentous day in that as of today, we have exactly 1 month left here at Familia Feliz. This too is a bittersweet occassion.

One other thing to note, on the way back to Rurre, Eric and I saw a Cabyvara (I think thats how it's spelled). A Cabyvara which is the world biggest rodent. They are actually quite tough to find and very ugly. But we happened to drive by at a lucky time.

Tuesday April 16, 2013



Yet another great view from the boat

Today was yet another great day. It was Juan and Emmy's day off which is normally a little more stressful because Eric and I have to take care of the kids. However, after breakfast and before I started working, Jerry came over and asked me if I wanted to cross over to San Buena with him so he could see the lady's house where we are thinking about building. He wanted to assess the situation to see the land and also if it is even possible to lug all the wood up that mountain trail.

I was a little hesitant because on Juan and Emmy's day off, I am responsible for lunch because Eric has class. But Jerry assured me that it was going to be a quick trip because he wanted to get back. That, and we were taking the motor bike. Meaning we can get into town fast, do our thing, and get back fast. So I agreed.

As soon as we got into town, started to not feel so good. Every step I took brought me closer and closer to puking. But I wasn't there yet. I really wanted to get it out too because once you puke, normally you are good to keep goin and get on with your life. Fortunately, I was about to exert myself some more and that might help facilitate it.

We took some moto taxi's down the main road until we got to the turn off to walk up to her house. Then Jerry and I started our long walk up. It didn't take him long to realize that it will be a nearly impossible job with just a few guys. It would literally take us a week of hard labor just to move the wood up there. Good news is, shortly after we made it to the top, I was able to clear all the junk out of my stomach.



I´m watching you....

The other good news is that the mom was up there as well. Normally she works so I'm not sure why she was there. This was good because we wanted to ask her if she was planning on sending her kids back to Familia Feliz to go to school. But she has no intentional of doing that. So we now have non of her kids at Familia Feliz. Then Jerry asked her about getting guys to help carry wood (which was her only responsibility to build the house) and she said that she doesn't want to go to her friends or local churches and ask. This puts us in a major predicament on what to do about the house.

As we were leaving, Jerry was telling me more of what she said because I missed most of the conversation due to my puking situation. Then, all of a sudden, we saw this snake in the middle of the path and it scurried away really fast. It's crazy because on our entire excursion this past weekend, we didn't see a single snake. Then when we were not looking for one, we come across one.

As soon as we crossed back over, I went online for about 15 min to send a couple emails. Then right
before we left, Jerry and I stopped by the mail place just to see if I had a package. And what do you know! I did! SCORE!!!! It was from a good friend of mine in Roanoke, Tim Hogan. The package had very....interesting things inside. It had tons of water flavorings which was great. But it also had some very interesting items like one of the extendable pointers that teachers used to use in the old days. They can sometimes be used as a form of punishment for kids. It is always so great to get a package!

But on the way back to Familia Feliz, the highlight of the day came. I have really been wanting to learn how to drive a motor bike especially before I leave Bolivia. Well, Jerry knew I wanted to, so shortly after we got out of Rurre, he just started to slow down and came to a random stop on the side of the road. I asked him what he was doing, then he asked me if I wanted to learn how to drive! I was so excited.

I slid forward, and he hopped on in the back and I took off. I had already learned what all the buttons and petals did. Now it was just putting them to work. Then, surprisingly enough, I nailed it first try. No problems. No spinouts or wheelies. Just a simple, smooth takeaway. Then I shifted all the way up, then all the way down a couple times just to practice. It's actually quite easy and beings how I have been driving stick shift all my life really helped me a lot. It is a very similar concept to a manual car.

I had an amazing time driving it! I even had to go off road a couple of times because the government hasn't paved the whole road yet. Jerry said that I was doing really good and that i've got it down. So mom and dad, next Christmas, just write down a dirtbike. That would be great. ;-)

Then once we got back to Familia Feliz, Jerry told me to drive all the way over to my house because he knew that I would want to show Eric. I laughed and told him that he already knew me too well. As soon as I pulled up, all the kids ran out and wanted a ride. So I did 2 laps around the field and took a couple of kids. Driving that bike has been a big highlight in my Bolivia adventure.



Midnight snack

For the work program, we all worked on clearing a massive tree that fell in our backyard a few days ago. It destroyed our clothesline and could have easily killed someone if they were standing there at the wrong time. But fortunately no one was hurt and we were able to chainsaw it, then clear it all up today.

Wednesday April 17, 2013

First thing I started on this morning was taking down then fence around Warren's house. He is actually not here because he is dealing with Visa issues, but he had told me that he was wanting to take it down. I just wasn't sure how much. So for today, my goal was just the fence in his front yard.

After I finished rolling up the wire and taking down the posts, I decided to shovel a little bit. Thank-goodness we are done with the making the hole part. Now that we are done connecting the electricity, it is a simple filling in issue. I figured it would be a lot easier. however, the sun has baked all the dirt we had removed and it was just as hard as removing it in the first place.



A swampy paradise

I mostly wanted to just fill in the trenches that were going across the road making it difficult for the trucks and moto bikes to cross. It was tough, but because I wasn't going to do a ton of it, I could handle it. Hopefully now the road is back to normal. I may have to make a few adjustments though.

This afternoon was actually quite exciting. Because a big tree fell and almost hit our house in a storm last week, Juan wanted to cut down a couple others. Looking around our house, he saw at least 4 more that posed a threat to our humble aboad. That means we spent all afternoon cutting down trees.

Now when I say trees, I mean trees. These boogers are extremely tall and have a rather good thickness as well. The first tree we pulled down we started with a wrench that had a rope attached. The we began a series of launches to get it looped around a top part of the tree. Then after it was secured, we rounded up the boys and all of us began to pull while Juan cut. We were pulling in a side direction to make sure the tree didn't fall on the house. It worked quite well.

The last two were not only huge, but a lot clser to the house and leaning more directly towards it. For these 2, after we looped a rope, we attached it to the truck. Yet again, growing up on stick shift paid off because I needed to drive the truck while Juan cut. Not going to lie, I felt a little pressure. If I messed up, our entire house could get destroyed! The first one we got down with no problems. Well, it did destroy the soccer goal. The second came very close to doing some damage. However, the bulk of the tree missed the house. After it was down, we simply needed to reattach the rope to a different spot on the tree while I dragged it off of the house.



When did Ryan get here?

It was quite the fun experience. It was also a big help that the kids worked very hard all day. I think they were a little more motivated because this was exciting work. The other reason it was nice that they worked so hard was because after the trees fell, they had TONS of ants all over them. But they didn't slow the kids down. Just Eric and I.

Thursday April 18, 2013

Sorry folk. I don't remember too much from this day. I forgot to blog about it. All I remember is that in the afternoon, we all went to work on filling in the ditch that is running all over campus. But I was unable to do too much because I was starting to feel very weak and a little sick.

Friday April 19, 2013



Livin large

I really don't have too much to blog about for today. I felt pretty poopy for most of the day. Fortunately, it's not as bad as it has been before. But all last night and this morning I had some serious chills and my head has been throbbing all day along with some other sickness related symptoms.

Armando has continued becoming a lot closer to me and impressing me. Today he wanted to talk with me and have me put my arm around him. He told me that he was going to pray to Jesus and ask Him to make me better. At lunch, before I came out of the room, he asked Eric if I was going to go on the outreach program tomorrow singing for the neighbors. He told Eric that if I didn't go and still felt sick, that he wanted to stay back with me while everyone else went. I wasn't even there when he said that. Eric told me about it later. Anyway, I have started to take a special liking to him.

Saturday April 20, 2013

Sabbath! Got an extra hour of sleep this morning! Super duper! Well, this morning I was the teacher for the early teen class. Surprisingly, I don't mind this too much because I don't have to put nearly as much work into the kids class as I do with the adult class. Class went really well and the kids did really well with their memory verse and study questions.

After church, we were able to rest up for a couple hours before we headed out to do the outreach program. Unfortunately, we were not able to bake bread for this week because of the lack of flour on campus. But God did give us a beautiful day for a walk on the road.



Marco and Polo

This week we had 2 good size groups go out. 1 group of boys and 1 group of girls. Eric and I were in charge of our 12 boys. We only ended up going to 3 houses, but we were able to sing for them, pray for them, and read them a bible verse. They all seemed like they liked it and the kids had a really fun time doing it. The only downside to the day that I can think of was that while we were walking, I got a big blister and it popped on the bottom of my toe which made it a lot more painful to walk. Other than that, great day.
You stay civilized......Planet Earth!!!!