95. Bus Ride

Tuesday, 1/22/13

Today, Chad, Ali, and I had a memorable voyage to the border of Brazil.

Here are the highlights:

Janette. Janette, who is the super tiny 6-year-old that never laughs, smiled and laughed with Ali and I while we waited to leave for Rurre.

Punctuality. The bus came on time at 10:30! That never happens in Bolivia.

Our home for the next 19 hours

Me, the Hilarious Giant. We stopped 4 hours in at a bus stop for 20 minutes. After eating our pre-made bread and sweet rolls, Chad and I went into a store. As I bent through the door a girl on the other side started cracking up. She could not stop for a minute. My height had never affected anyone like this before.

Good Seats. We got the bench at the back of the bus, because the very front was taken.

Cool kids in the back of the bus!

Bumps. I fell asleep. Then I awoke when the bus felt like it jump off a cliff and I was totally airborne. I looked up and saw Ali hovering above me for what seemed like a second. We all landed safe and sound. The roads are so bad, and thankfully, that was the only bump the driver missed.

Beautiful Views.  At times, I felt like I was in the Great Plains of Africa. The sunsets were gorgeous.

Pirty

Really pirty

 Gators. We spotted about 20 crocodiles outside of our window. Some of them had to be about 10 feet long. I was snoozing, opened my eyes, and saw some agriculture ponds out the window. Sure enough, they were crawling with gators.

Dry Roads. The roads were supposed to be flooded and everyone at Familia Feliz thought we would get stuck in the mud and take 36 hours to get to Guayaramerin. Luck was on our side, however, and the roads were all dry and we arrived in a decent 19 hours.

Punching Chad. While Chad snoozed at the window seat, Ali and I wanted to close his window. She was closer and tried without avail. I was determined and pulled until my hand slipped and punched Chad squarely in the moustache. He woke up quite flustered. Ali and I could not breathe, as we were too busy laughing.

Confused Lady. Around midnight, I was snoozing a way with my legs stretched far into the isle. All of a sudden, I felt someone playing with my feet. A free massage without my permission? Nope. A lady was looking for a bag. I think she thought my feet were it and was trying to find the zipper. I just watched and said nothing. After giving up on the bag, she took her hat off and hung it on my knee as if I was a coat hanger. I was amused and never got to say thank you for the entertainment.

The best part is: all that fun was just the journey to vacation spot. I can only imagine the events to come.

Finally arriving in Guayaramerin, Bolivia slightly tired and goofy

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

94. Ali, meet Rurre

Monday, 1/21/13

Town day. With Chad and Ali! Chad and I were sure to show her the sights, sounds, and especially tastes.

Enjoying the delicious pastries at the bakery

We grabbed a taxi bright and early, and then hightailed it to the immaculate French Bakery. We checked out tickets for Brazil tomorrow, and it seems like everything should work out for our 5 day adventure tomorrow. I do not think I have told you the good news yet—we are going to Brazil!! Juan and Emy are back, and Ali is ready to adventurize, so it is time for vacation. Our motive? Just to cross the border to say that we have set foot in the country of guarana, soccer and friendly people. However, there is a 16 hour bus ride to get there. Like they say: there is joy in the journey.

Talking to the coolest restaraunt owner ever

 

After introducing Ali to Rurre and Rurre to Ali, we returned home to pack…and make bread all night.

We returned home at 8 p.m. and headed straight over to bake sweet rolls and quinoa bread with Stephen. We laughed and baked for about 4 hours, then packed, and snoozed for a bit.

Tomorrow begins another new adventure!

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

93. Ali, Meet the Toma!

Sunday, 1/20/13

Time to break in Ali to life in Bolivia. How about a trek to fix the water at the Toma? That should do it, eh?

We spent the morning dilly-dallying and playing soccer in the pouring rain. The water then stopped working for the first time in a month. We wanted water for next the next day, so Ali, Chad, the boys, Juan and myself headed off to the Toma. We fixed it all without problems (besides the fact that Edwin lost his sandal, threw the other one in the river out of frustration, and I had to run after it to retrieve it). Also, everyone but us 3 gringos got injured which was definitely out of the ordinary. Ali impressed Juan with her nursing skills when she bandaged up the slice in his hand. Not bad for a first impression.

Emily and Ali petting the puppy

What could be better than puppies and an awesome pal?

The boys kickin' mud at each other

Beginning our journey in the rain.

Going to the Toma with Ali, Juan, Chad, and the boys.

We returned home and slept like rocks weighed down by anvils.

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

92. New and Old Faces!!!

Saturday, 1/19/13

Today is a happy day. Juan and Emy returned after their 2 month vacation. And…Ali is here for a month from Australia. It was super to see them all.

We woke up around 7 to pick up Ali the Aussie from the airport. We emerged from our room and Chad said, “hermano!” I only saw Moises and was puzzled at why he called our son “brother”. Then I saw Juan. I was overjoyed. I gave him a monster hug and we chatted as much as possible before it was time to leave.

Check out her exuberance!!

Chad and I drove to the airport to pick up Ali. We were fretting the flight would be canceled due to the rain. However, luck was on our side and she landed fairly close to the planned time. As soon as I saw her, I could feel how exuberant she is and how much she will mean to the kids. She is 19 and has spent some time adventuring in Peru and the U.S. and was searching for some more good times in service. God sent her here just in time to care for baby Janette and Amy since the other volunteer leaves in a week.

The new arrivals.
Baby Emily is so much bigger!

We arrived at Familia Feliz during church. After a brief tour, we joined the others. Missy immediately introduced everyone to Ali and then we finished the service. We spent a half hour lingering in the church just fellow-shipping together.

The rest of the day flew by as we conversed with the new arrivals and caught up on each other’s travel adventures.

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

91. Prodical Ninos

Wednesday, 1/16/13

The prodical sons are home.

Edwin and Davidchito returned. Apparently, they are done exploring in town.

They both fled and spent the night at Jorge’s house--their supposed “friend”. In the morning Edwin was scared, and Jorge turned in Edwin to the police without much resistance. Later on, Jorge found David, and would not leave his side. When David had enough trying to shed his shadow, Jorge allegedly grabbed David and brought him to a police officer. Good work Jorge.

In fact, Jorge, age 11, was asked to return to Familia Feliz for the summer to watch David and never leave his side. Sounds like a great plan to me. Jorge seems to think so as well.

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

90. Fancy Bread

Tuesday, 1/15/13

One month has passed since Chad and I last made bread all day. For old times sake, we made Focaccia with Stephen. However, this was Focaccia on steroids! We used Chad’s real olive oil and my mom’s spices to make this bread amazing. Look how tasty it is!

Putting on the toppings

Popping in the goods

Baking to a crisp

From left to right: Steve´s, Mine, and Chad´s

Full of pride over the accomplish

My boys aweing over our finished products

While the bread was in the oven, it was time to enjoy each other’s company.

Juan, left, and Brayan, right

The goobers

The happy goobers

The 3 compadres

Also, Davidchito and Edwin ran away. Probably in town at a friend’s house. Let´s see if they come back for food tomorrow! (I know the answer, but want to keep you hanging...)

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

89. Mo-Ped and Football in Spanish

Sunday, 1/15/13

What a doozy of a day. Probably my most eventful town day yet.

Our whole family cleaned and washed clothes like maniacs until 10 a.m. Then I was off for my day in town. Easier said then done.

Usually I wait 20 minutes for a taxi. Today I waited 1 hour and a half. On top of that, the sun was in a hot mood and the clouds decided to take the day off. I was melting! I did not even have the emotional energy to throw rocks at trees like is my usual habit.

I had not seen any cars or motorbikes. Finally, my ride appeared in the distance. You know how little dots on the horizon get slowly bigger? Well this one stayed the same size the whole time! It was a tiny guy on a tiny moped. At this point, I was up for anything. He kindly picked me up and we headed off. I always enjoy talking with the different drivers on the way to town.

This guy was dodging every little rock on his tiny moto as we went about walking speed. Then, he hit a tiny rock…and dented the rear rim! Great! Now what? Thankfully, he knew of a little “junk yard” half a kilometer up the road. Providence or what? I wanted to hitch a ride with another taxi into town, but he desperately asked for help and I agreed to repay his kindness. We got there and to our amazement, immediately found the perfectly sized rim. However, we had to remove the chassis, some gears, and some transmission parts to get to the wheel. And, the owner of the place only let us use a rusty monkey wrench to remove all the nuts.

An hour later we were done and eventually made it to town around 2 p.m. Needless to say, he did not take the fare for the ride. While I am not sure if it was worth it, I saved 10 bolivianos! Always a good thing.

Fireworks with wings

I am a New Englander. I love the Patriots. So the first thing I did was check the game time for the playoff game. 5:30 p.m. Hmmm…it would not finish before 9 and Joy was leaving at 6. Looks like I am staying the night.

I then fulfilled a favor for Davidchito. He earned some money working at Familia Feliz, and he wanted fireworks. I bought him some pretty cool ones and a nice lighter.

KABOOM!

After doing internet chores and reserving the room. I had a nice long chat with my mom and pop.

Then it was game time. I was planning on watching it online. However, the owner of the restaurant offered to play it on their large, HDTV! I agreed. Sure enough, the game was on…in Spanish!

There were about 35 people at Narguila’s. Only about 4 were English speakers, and no one knew what football was. I can’t believe they still kept the game on just for me! The viewers were curious and I kept getting weird questions. My favorite was when a Bolivian asked said, “This is a dumb game. Why don’t they put in a goalie in the end zone so no one can score?” Being outnumbered 35 to 1, I wisely replied, “You are right. It is a dumb game.”

The Pats won and I slept happily.

Oh, by the way, my parent’s Christmas package finally came. Check out how spoiled I am!

Yummo! Grapeleaves, Big Franks, Gatorade, batteries and more!

And chocolate with my favorite fruit on the inside!

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

88. Farewell Visitors

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Thursday, 1/10/12

Farewell visitors!

Around 9 a.m. the four visitors plus Chad loaded into the cab of the truck. Our fantastic guests were finally heading home…they hoped. The rain was pouring. There were no more seats left, but I was determined to go to town. So, I jumped in the bed of the truck, and we took off in the rain.

On the way we picked up my amigo. Picture a wrinkly fellow in his 70s with a backpack and his always worn rubber boots. He greeted me warmly and climbed in the truck with me. Now I would not get soaked alone. Yea!

We arrived at the airport, asked if they could lift off, got denied, and waited while Steve loaded supplies in the plane. All the while, my best buddy is still standing in the bed of the truck, getting wetter and wetter. What a guy! He finally came in as we were heading back to the truck. We went back to town and delivered my friend to his destination.

We all ate at the French Bakery. It finally reopened!! Then we waited until the sun woke up and dried the runway. They were now able to go! Finally! They did not leave when I had predicted, but they definitely did not stay just one night like they planned. Bolivia Time never fails. They may return at the end of the month. I look forward to it.

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