Becky rides again - more news from Chile...
07 de Marzo del 2006
Buddy and I send our love……..
Recently it was necessary to travel roads and canyons very new to me. Ladies from a visiting work team (Beryl Moore and Nancy Gardner) accompanied me on this all day journey to distribute notices in various pueblos about the arrival of a medical team from Centenary Methodist Church in McCombs Mississippi. It was not possible to leave Buddy behind at the agriculture school Kusayapu and I dreaded the trip even before it began. At 4 months old his temperament varies from calm and sedate to hyper and nervous…always at unexpected times.
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posted by UMVIM at 5:00 PM
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We left Pachica about 8 a.m. with a goal of visiting 3 pueblos. Goodness! How hard can that be….as we left I told my compañera Ann, we should be back by 3…she only smiled. Ann traveled just the day before to Colchane, a trip that took more than 12 hours.
Our first stop was Limaxiña and it took more than three hours for us to finally arrive. Between Pachica and Limaxiña we saw only one road construction crew…no one else. Bathroom rest stops were boulders that had fallen in the 2005 earthquake. There was no local store to buy sodas or water or cookies. Nothing. On arrival, we exited the van and began speaking to families about the volunteer doctors, dentists, nurses, and pharmacist coming to Pachica to give free medical care and treatment. Our bus would be picking them up on a scheduled day, taking them to Pachica to receive treatment, after which we would return them back to their pueblo. Many expressed needs for medical and dental attention….all appeared extremely excited they would be included in this project.
Next stop was nearby Sibaya. The Catholic church in Sibaya was constructed in the mid 1500´s and showed great destruction from the 2005 earthquake. In visiting the office of the local paramedic, she pledged to help organize those in her community to participate. It was then time to travel to Huaviña. By this time it was well past noon and we realized lunch would not be possible. Victor, our school chauffer, warned us it might be a difficult journey. An odd phenomenon occurring each summer is the “Bolivian Winter” which brings torrential rainfall, high winds, snow, sleet, and all variations of unexpected weather to the altiplano. Those living in the altiplano are accustom to the Bolivian Winter and its power in the north of Chile. We were not.
Although we did not fight high winds, nor did we encounter flooding rainfall or mudslides, or a collection of snowfall….we did encounter the after effects of all of the above. Within 5 minutes of leaving the Sibaya area we knew that our school bus would never be able to maneuver this camino for the upcoming medical project. Never. Most of the road had washed away or was covered by rocks and boulders from the mountainous area above us. We could see our targeted pueblo, Huaviña, in the distance….but we also saw a long line of rock mountains in between, a river to cross, and we had no idea what actually lay ahead.
Buddy had been given a place of comfort at my feet and he later found that with his hind legs on the floorboard and his front paws at the windows ledge, it made for much easier access to the wind just outside…you know, the wind that dogs try to eat as the vehicle is moving….he kept surging his head forward as if the more he forced himself out, the more wind he could “eat”. Finally, the rough roadways forced him to lay still at my feet…I worried an upset stomach might follow.
The camino went left, right, up, down, left again and so on. Our speed never exceeded 5 KPH….it was impossible. Little by little, rock by rock, we made our way with the van swaying back and forth and back and forth. The van seats suddenly became very uncomfortable for us all. At one point Victor stopped and asked me to remove as many of the large rocks ahead of us as possible. Walking from the van over this boulder filled road was horrible, much less traveling over it. I removed what I could manage to push and returned to the van. Buddy curiously watched. And on we went.
The sights before us were saddening. Groves of dead pear trees were seen at almost every turn. Mining throughout the altiplano is sapping all of the available water. Mines that excavate mainly copper….minerals that makes a rich impression on the lives of many. Yet, what has this work done to agriculture and life in the pueblos? An amazing phenomenon.
Entering Huaviña you must first cross the river, rapidly moving through the canyon…then make your way into the heart of the pueblo. We stopped and asked the first lady we saw where we could find the leader of the pueblo. She pointed straight ahead and referred us to Señor Castro. At the far end of town we stopped in front of a home whose garden overflowed into the street….boganvillas and hibiscus hid the front porch area. As we slowed down to observe this beautiful garden, we spotted a middle aged man. He got up from his bench and approached the van. Señor Castro then invited us to partake in a glass of jugo. These weary travelers decided the risk of drinking jugo made from local water was worth it...we were dry. So, we drank up. Not one, but 2 glasses each. The refreshing taste certainly satisfied us and the time out of the van was heavenly. Señor Castro also pledged to be of service in notifying those in his pueblo of our return in 2 weeks. And, in speaking with Beryl about how to make marmalade from the fruit of the membrillo, he shared that this jugo had been prepared by first cooking the juice….and we all breathed a sigh of relief.
By this time Buddy was getting anxious and antsy. I made sure he was fed his small noontime meal and that he received water, the gift of a local pueblan. We had hoped in leaving Huaviña and heading to Mocha the camino would be smoother…but it wasn’t. Had we closed our eyes we could easily imagine a bucking horse ride in a local Texas rodeo…it was that bad. The trip to Mocha would take another hour or so. It would involve crossing additional rock mountains and passing through additional river crossings, rising to the top of another, then down again. For the first time I thought of how dangerous it would be to be stranded out here in the middle of the altiplano without food or drink or proper clothing for the night. That won’t happen twice. Next time, I will be more prepared. This time, I thank the Lord for making a safe way for us.
Mocha proved to be the smallest of these pueblos, housing 13 families in all. It was late in the day by the time we arrived, and we all confessed to be weary travelers. Even Buddy. Hot, dry, tired. We stopped and asked direction to the home of the leader in this pueblo. An elderly woman sitting on concrete and loading 50 pound sacks with freshly picked garlic turned around and pointed up the hill. The moment I opened the door of the van to exit, Buddy spotted water flowing in the canal near the van and made a bee line for it. Its depth caused him to lean forward just a little too much and bam! He fell into the swift flowing canal and began to move with the flow of the water downstream. I thought I had lost him! But, he found a way out, onto the dry dusty dirt. My reaching down to grab his collar only caused him to return right back into the canal. Defiant! I gave up, made my way up the hill to speak with the local leader’s wife….then back to search out Buddy…who, by this time, was in the town square plaza making a mess of things.
Towel dried, we returned Buddy to the van after Beryl and Nancy placed a poster on the door of the community center. We began our climb back out of this part of the canyon, and home to Pachica. Dinner was a welcome sight.
The Medical Team from Centenary UMC will arrive Saturday and we pray that we have the capacity to assist them in this new health project. The vastness of the altiplano and her unpredictability will certainly keep us on our toes…and the outcome will be, we pray, for His Glory. Buddy will be there…head over heels…in Pachica.
Con Cariño,
Becky Harrell
Volunteer Coordinator EMANA
Corporaciòn Metodista Chile
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