24. Ziplining and more

10/21/12

Today, three miraculous events unfolded: I zip-lined and survived, I learned how to drive stick, and I am part of a third family due to outstanding mathematical odds.

1. Yet again, on another beautiful Sunday morning, Chad and I are off on our second adventure into the jungle…this time with a bit more zip!

Our first jungle excursion was a peaceful ride on a sketchy boat into the jungle, followed by a short trek in Madidi National Park. Not today!

Today we went zip-lining—an adrenaline pumping adventure sport where you zip along a seemingly too thing wire chord at what seems 100 miles per hour.

We started our boat ride at 8:00 a.m. After twenty peaceful minutes of singing, taking photos, and trying to make a stubborn kid smiles with the other four volunteers who went with us—Erin, Melissa, Calvin, and Chad—we arrived at our jungle entrance.

We walked for thirty minutes, and then arrived at our launch site. We were conformed when we saw that the equipment that would be used to support our fragile lives was good ol’ American craftsmanship…unless it was counterfeited like most Bolivian brand names.

Needless to say, we trusted our guides and our equipment and had a splendid yet heart-pumping time. Calvin was  a pro, Chad was the fearless novice that even hung upside down on one of the lines (there were eight in total and I was upright for all of them), and Melissa and Erin wisely took a much more cautious approach to each zip. We were given breaks to slow us down, therefore, each was able to go as fast as they preferred. No matter how much I braked, however, I always seemed to smash into the end the fastest due to my aerodynamic physique.


Taking the boat to begin our adventure!



It started with laughter...

...included some adrenaline pumping moments...



...with the jungle as our backdrop...

...and ended with luaghter! (or just being happy to be alive)

 We then took the boat back into town, enjoyed a couple of fresh fruit juices, and then drove back to Familia Feliz—my favorite part of the day! Why? Because I drove stick for the first time!!

2. Melissa finally let me drive stick and patiently showed me the ropes. I first shifted only. When she was satisfied, she stopped the truck halfway between town and the orphanage, and let me take the wheel. I can confidently say that I never stalled once of the 5 mile drive on crazy Bolivian roads…until I parked the big boy…but that doesn’t count does it?

My manhood has been increased 100% due to my newly obtained skill. My father must be proud!

The feeling was glorious and so is the sunlight in the background!
(This was the only picture of when I first drove the truck!)

3. The grand finale of miraculous events occurred when we returned and made bread with Stephen. Here is more background on Stephen. He has a daughter and son aged 23 and 21, respectively. While conversing with him, we realized that something occurred that only happens once out of 133225 times. Chad and I have the exact same birthdays as his children!! September 6 is shared by his 23 year-old daughter and myself, and amazingly, his son and Chad were born on the July 26, 1991!!

The odds were so overwhelmingly impossible that we decided we were officially, automatically a bread baking family. Who would have thought it!

There you have it; three pretty neat events.

**Keep adventurizing!...I know I will!**