Sunday morning began with a 7am start at the lively local market, our jungle guide Cheo got a little carried away and we seemed to end up with a lot more food than we really needed; breakfast entailed sampling almost every item in the market. We then loaded the Dodge onto a barge to cross the river Beni and bumped our way along the dirt road that followed. After a couple of hours we turned of the main road and headed down a much worse track toward the indigenous community of Tawa. On the way we picked up an old lady who's son was trying to take her home on the back of his motorbike while she held a big bag of clothes. However he was having a lot of trouble on the muddy track with his elderly passenger and asked if we would take her, so we did. Seeing up to four people on a standard motorbike with some random items between them including babies was a common sight in Bolivia. Cheo was taking us to Tawa to try and meet his mentor and Madidi jungle legend Choco Manu. Cheo said if we were lucky he might come with us into the jungle, unfortunately though Choco wasn't home. According to his daughter a couple of days ago a foreign film crew had dropped in with a helicopter and hired him as a guide for their project in the jungle. So to make up for it she welcomed us into her home for the night (although later we learnt Cheo had given her 200bs for her trouble). Later in the day we went down to watch the community playing various sports for their Sunday afternoon. The soccer field was a bit muddy and there were cows going where they pleased between the games but I had fun playing a game of volleyball with the local girls. Will also locked the keys in the car but with a bit of wire we opened it again in no time. Much to the relief of worried Cheo who had spent little time around cars and had never even driven one.
That evening we supplied most of the food for dinner so Cheo and Choco Manu's daughter could cook a feast over the open fire which of course included rice and fried bananas. We learnt about the six different varieties of banana they grew and drunk fresh grapefruit juice which was so good I had to go up the tree for more. Their house was very very simple with an outside kitchen, no running water, a river for a bath, a long drop toilet and the town only had electricity from 6pm until 10pm each night. We slept in the car and Cheo scored Choco Manu's empty bed down the path (I would say down the road but there was no road just a grass verge of sorts). Breakfast the following morning closely resembled last nights dinner and as the pigs, dogs and chickens hovered in the mud just beyond the kitchen door we really got a sense of the extremely basic lifestyle these people lived out here.
It was time to move on and Cheo assured us his friends nearer to the jungle would also be willing to help him guide us. On the drive back to the main road Will couldn't help himself and stopped to check out an abandoned timber mill site. He grabbed a slab of the dense Amazon wood stashing it on the roof with plans for it later. We then made it to Ixiamas the last town on the road and stopped off for a few more last minute supplies. Will and I assumed we would now be going to the large family's house with the older brothers, one of which might come with us into the jungle as Cheo had said. But at the last moment Cheo directed us left up a different road to meet another interesting family. It was hard to know if Cheo had planed this all along but had forgotten to mention it or weather he had no foresight and just randomly remembered about this other family but we sure are glad he did.
We turned off near one of the many illegal saw mills in the area and bounced our way up the long drive way, across a stream and eventually arrivied at the Beilers amazing home. They were an ex Tennessee American family who had been living in Bolivia for 15 years. Interestingly they followed the strict Amish / Mennonite religion and while they enjoyed a large comfortable house they only needed electricity from a solar panel to power two light bulbs each evening. Most astonishing though was the huge 18 foot water wheel they used to belt drive a number of power tools such as a table saw, sander and grinder. They also had a washing machine that could be run from the wheel it was just a matter of diverting the water flow to start the wheel spinning then engaging the clutch for the peice of equipment you wanted to use. We had a delicious late lunch there and brought some banana cake and oat cookies for later in the jungle. We had many questions for the family which consisted of mum Sarah, dad Joe, son Nelson (15) and adopted Bolivian sons George (9) and Daniel (4) there were also other older children living near by and some back in the states. We were sad to leave having stayed far too long already, when Sarah mentioned that we could come back after our jungle trip and work in return for food and board. We definitely planed to return to the Beilers but it was time to head for our intended destination for the night at the Crabbs family home.
We arrived after dark and were once again amazed to find a large ex American english speaking family living deep within the Bolivian jungle. Of the family of ten, at home there was mum Fanny, Tryler (37), Randel (25), Isaiah (21) and Moses (16) who was Ron's son also living with the Crabbs. We had mashed yuca patties with gravy and fresh milk for dinner and spent the evening talking about our travels and their family with Fanny, Tryler and Randal. Meanwhile Cheo disappeared with the younger boys to discuss our jungle trip, it was becoming apparent that our guides would all be very young… That night after packing our packs and splitting up the food followed by a cold shower, we slept in the guest room out the back of the house agreeing to be up at 5am.
By 6am we were all in the Dodge driving to the start of the trail. Randal drove the Dodge back to his place for safe keeping while we were left with the young Cheo, Isaiah and Moses as our guides. Both Isaiah and Moses had barely spoken a single word to us since we had meet despite the fact that they both spoke much better English than Cheo; we should have realised this was a sign of things to come.
We arrived after dark and were once again amazed to find a large ex American english speaking family living deep within the Bolivian jungle. Of the family of ten, at home there was mum Fanny, Tryler (37), Randel (25), Isaiah (21) and Moses (16) who was Ron's son also living with the Crabbs. We had mashed yuca patties with gravy and fresh milk for dinner and spent the evening talking about our travels and their family with Fanny, Tryler and Randal. Meanwhile Cheo disappeared with the younger boys to discuss our jungle trip, it was becoming apparent that our guides would all be very young… That night after packing our packs and splitting up the food followed by a cold shower, we slept in the guest room out the back of the house agreeing to be up at 5am.
By 6am we were all in the Dodge driving to the start of the trail. Randal drove the Dodge back to his place for safe keeping while we were left with the young Cheo, Isaiah and Moses as our guides. Both Isaiah and Moses had barely spoken a single word to us since we had meet despite the fact that they both spoke much better English than Cheo; we should have realised this was a sign of things to come.
Anyway we swung our packs on and hit the trail. The first part was through the jungle and the oppressive humidity immediately had its effect on us; particularly with our long sleeved tops to protect us from mosquitos and other nasty Amazon bugs such as ticks. In the jungle we saw one spider monkey from a distance and the Cashapona palm tree that is able to move its roots until it's in a good sunny position. We then emerged at the silt stained river Undumo which we would follow for the rest of the trip before heading over a mountain. The only English words we heard from Isaiah that day were follow behind me when we cross the river there could be stingrays. So we wadded up to waste deep at times across the muddy river following the now bare foot Isaiah and the others. Our English speaking guides seemed to be having a great time joking with each other in Spanish and not once did they involve us in their conversation or attempt to talk to us. This was much to our disappointment and growing frustration as we were hoping for more of a friends type trip rather than separate guides and 'tourists'.
At lunch next to a clear river junction Isaiah and Moses started a fire then disappeared into the jungle for a while. We could hear them using their machetes to make some sort of clearing but we didn't know what for. Meanwhile Will made flat bread while I cut vegetables under the instructions of Cheo who was cooking our huge lunch. I also went hand line fishing for a short time with Moses who I learnt did have a few things to say after all. Lunch was tasty and afterwards Cheo announced we would now be having a rest. Ok we thought this is a bit strange for us but siesta time was poplar here in Bolivia so maybe this is just what they did here. So we unpacked the fly of our tent to use as a Mosquito net and in the clearing found that the boys had laid out one of their own tarps and blankets for us to rest on. At this point things got a little awkward for us. All we had asked for from Cheo was to guide us through the jungle; we had done a lot of trekking before and didn't want him to baby us as if we were inexperienced tourists who needed a rest after a few hours of flat walking. Not wanting to cause a scene we laid down for our siesta but forty five minutes later we got up making it clear we were ready to continue. Moses later told me a midday rest was not something they usually did so we didn't understand why Cheo had thought it necessary.
At lunch next to a clear river junction Isaiah and Moses started a fire then disappeared into the jungle for a while. We could hear them using their machetes to make some sort of clearing but we didn't know what for. Meanwhile Will made flat bread while I cut vegetables under the instructions of Cheo who was cooking our huge lunch. I also went hand line fishing for a short time with Moses who I learnt did have a few things to say after all. Lunch was tasty and afterwards Cheo announced we would now be having a rest. Ok we thought this is a bit strange for us but siesta time was poplar here in Bolivia so maybe this is just what they did here. So we unpacked the fly of our tent to use as a Mosquito net and in the clearing found that the boys had laid out one of their own tarps and blankets for us to rest on. At this point things got a little awkward for us. All we had asked for from Cheo was to guide us through the jungle; we had done a lot of trekking before and didn't want him to baby us as if we were inexperienced tourists who needed a rest after a few hours of flat walking. Not wanting to cause a scene we laid down for our siesta but forty five minutes later we got up making it clear we were ready to continue. Moses later told me a midday rest was not something they usually did so we didn't understand why Cheo had thought it necessary.
At lunch next to a clear river junction Isaiah and Moses started a fire then disappeared into the jungle for a while. We could hear them using their machetes to make some sort of clearing but we didn't know what for. Meanwhile Will made flat bread while I cut vegetables under the instructions of Cheo who was cooking our huge lunch. I also went hand line fishing for a short time with Moses who I learnt did have a few things to say after all. Lunch was tasty and afterwards Cheo announced we would now be having a rest. Ok we thought this is a bit strange for us but siesta time was poplar here in Bolivia so maybe this is just what they did here. So we unpacked the fly of our tent to use as a Mosquito net and in the clearing found that the boys had laid out one of their own tarps and blankets for us to rest on. At this point things got a little awkward for us. All we had asked for from Cheo was to guide us through the jungle; we had done a lot of trekking before and didn't want him to baby us as if we were inexperienced tourists who needed a rest after a few hours of flat walking. Not wanting to cause a scene we laid down for our siesta but forty five minutes later we got up making it clear we were ready to continue. Moses later told me a midday rest was not something they usually did so we didn't understand why Cheo had thought it necessary.
We caught some spiders as bait and had loads of bites but getting the fish onto the bank securely was quite an art! You had to pull it in very fast and right up into the bank otherwise it would often slip off the hook and back into the water just as you got it ashore. The guides then came up to us and without a word they dropped their packs and disappeared into the jungle. We later learnt that they were collecting grubs for our hooks which is something we would have loved to go and see. Will and I were starting to feel that this trip wasn't going how we had thought. We were being excluded from the group and even after we asked if they could speak in English they would say yes then immediately start joking in Spanish again. We tried to talk to Cheo and as nice as he was he just wasn't getting it so we discussed making the trip one day shorter and pushing on over the mountain the next day. It was getting very awkward at this stage so we kept on fishing, Moses catching a turtle while Cheo cooked lunch which included some of our river fish. After lunch Cheo gave us the option of going back the way we had come which would take one day or continuing with the plan which would take two more nights. We opted for the more adventurous over the mountain route but quickly got over ruled by Cheo who said that the "energy was bad" and we must return they way we had come (though possibly he was worried about his knee we will never know…) Super frustrated we grabbed our packs and headed down river, the guys followed a few minutes after and somewhat disgruntled we headed back to our pervious nights camp. Though on the way in the evening light we again saw a Taper, this time in the middle of the river it crossed then milled around for a while as we watched it unnoticed. In the morning we broke camp early and headed downriver back to the Crabbs house.
Overall the jungle was an amazing experience we just wish Cheo had understood what we wanted a little more and that the others spent a little less time having their own private fun by talking in Spanish. But there was more fun for us to come back at the Beilers…
Rochelle & Will
Rochelle & Will