rurrenabaque, bolivia - pt.2

The day we came back to Rurre was also the day of the annual fiesta of the town. After we had changed into clean and drier clothes, we went to my “old hostel”. It was sad to see that the place was in a bad condition and they had to get all the people out. Now there were only two guys there that had just come back from a jungle trip. But it was good to see them again, and together we went to the main square to see what was going on there.

The fiesta was going on but due to the floodings and the fact that it was still raining, there were not as many people there as I had expected. But still, there was music playing, little stands selling food and goodies and people in traditional clothing dancing. I’d never seen this before and so I was fascinated by the colorful costumes that reminded me a little of happy robots or something with all the silver and shiny colors. I didn’t know that Bolivia had such a strong culture in dancing and, with some more food and beer, we enjoyed the fiesta.

Later that night we also went to bar to meet Philip and the girls, who were already on their second day of escape celebrations. But I was tired, so we didn’t stay long and as soon as I saw my bed, with the big mosquito net like a sky hanging over it, I fell into a happy sleep.

In the morning I got proven true that the breakfast at the hostel is delicious – 2 big pancakes with the loved “dulce de leche” and a ton of fresh fruits. I was so full after that, that I didn’t really get hungry all the rest of the day.

After breakfast Ivan and I went to ask around if we could help somehow. So many people had lost their houses and the schools were fully used as shelters for the families and their leftover-belongings. It was difficult to find useful information because there was nothing really organized. We had to ask and walk around a lot until we finally found a place where we could help cooking lunch for 130 people. It felt good to be able to do at least something but it still wasn’t my best day – I felt kind of lost and the picture of the whole town was just a sad one. I also really needed time for myself, after nonstop being with Ivan, but at that time I hadn’t realized that yet. In the afternoon we played Risk at the hostel, and then went to the school again for cooking dinner. We also played with the kids, and it was a gift to see them smile after all that had happened. I think some of them didn’t really realize what happened, but even the adults took their losses with an amazingly positive attitude.

In the evening we went to Philip’s house because he had water. But what I didn’t know was that the way to get there was full of mud and without light. We also didn’t exactly know where it was and I was everything else than in the mood for a searching party in the dark. In other words, I was in a pretty shitty mood at that moment and as soon as we got to the house, I shut myself out with headphones and a book.

I enjoyed the shower in the morning, and then some quiet minutes with my book and a cigarette, enjoying the great view you had over the town from Philip’s house. After that I actually realized that I needed time for myself and so we split up and I went to get breakfast and kept reading until I had finished the book (it always helps when you just want to shut out the world).

In the afternoon we were supposed to go back to the cerro. For a while we didn’t even know if it would be possible because the river was still high. But Philip found some crazy people that would take us up there anyways, and I have to admit that I wasn’t too happy about the fact. The problem was that I still had all my stuff at the cerro, so I didn’t really have a choice but go up again. Also a lot of cleaning work was waiting for us.

I was really scared to go back on a boat and really happy when it was over. The water at the cerro had gone down and you could actually walk on the trail to the lodges and the dormitory.

We then spent the following two days cleaning the temple and the kitchen, which was a shitload of hard work. We had to get all the mud out and clean everything that had been inside. Besides that we didn’t do much but eat, and hoping that the water wouldn’t rise again (at that time it kept rising and going back, but nothing too bad).

On the second day we got surprised by Daniel and a group of American tourists who wanted to go mushroom hunting. Because of that we had to split the work, and I went over to the kitchen to clean and serve lunch. At least they gave us something to eat too.

In the evening Philip and two more people arrived to do another Ayuahuaska ceremony. Ivan and I were exhausted from the work and also disappointed not to be invited to the ceremony and so we spent the evening with playing cards and going to bed early.

the next day was a nice one and I finally go to ask Philip some things about the plants that grew around the houses. We walked around for a bit and I was in a better mood, hoping that the weather would stay like this and that I would get the chance to go for some walks. Philip left that day, but now another Argentinean volunteer stayed with us, who cleaned the dorm whil we were on “vacation”.

In the afternoon I hiked up the cerro, a steep trail full of spiky trees and swarms of mosquitoes, to a mirador from where you had a great view over the forest and the river. Still, because of the mosquitoes I didn’t stay too long and was happy to get back down to the hammock and my book. I actually had some more time for myself now, because I couldn’t keep up with the two Argentineans speaking Spanish and I was too tired to try.

Ivan and I wanted to go to one of the communities the next day, but we got woken up by a heavy rain (yes, again) and it had gotten impossible again to go for walks. So we had another calm day, played cards, cooked and read, waiting for the weather to get better.

At that point we kinda had given up for anything else but rain to happen, and were ready to go back to Rurre and out of there after all.

But we had to wait til Monday, when Philip was supposed to come and pick us up. But unfortunately that didn’t happen. We were listening for a boat to come all day, but got disappointed.

Since the days all passed the same, I can’t say when exactly the water got up again. But it did. It started rising, just as the week before, and we couldn’t believe our eyes. We already saw it coming at night and put our stuff up to the second floor of the dorm once again, but I was still shocked when I woke up in the morning and water was even higher than the first time. I didn’t know if I should laugh or cry, like most of the time I spent there. On some days I could laugh about our situation, but on some days I just hid in my bed.

Anyways, the dorm had been transformed into an island again and we were trapped there once more. And all the cleaning work had been for nothing.

We saved the stove and the rest of the kitchen utensils that we could find on the top of the table in the dining area and most of the time only one person went there every day because it just sucked. On the worst day I had to go, and I made my way to cook lunch in a bikini because everything else would have been senseless. The only problem with that was that the mosquitoes took advantage of my uncovered skin and I definitely did not appreciate that too much. But it was better that wet and sticky clothes.

Days passed by – we put three beds together, close to the window, where we spent pretty much all the time. There was not much to do but reading, talking and playing cards, until we all got sick of it.

The biggest problem we had after a while was that none of us had been prepared to stay for that long. So we didn’t have that much food. We had rice and pasta and some instant soups. And no salt. We ate once or twice a day, but it wasn’t really satisfying. Still, it was the highlight of the day.

For dessert we had mate, that bitter herb you can make strong tea out of. At least it was hot, and after I got used to the taste it wasn’t that bad anymore either.

Every day we were listening for boats, but most of the one’s we heard were just in our heads. Or they were helicopters that took their turns several times a day. A couple times we actually agreed to have heard a boat, but no one came to our place and it was still impossible to get to the Beni with the big backpacks.

On one of the days we decided to try to leave the next day. We packed our stuff in the morning, and were just about to get going, when we heard a motor coming closer. We couldn’t believe our eyes when the boat really came to us, with Daniel aboard. We almost ran to get on the boat, but he told us to wait because the boat was going to pick up some other people upriver and would come back for us then. We had no choice but go back and wait. At least he had brought some cookies and crackers for us and we ate them within seconds. You have no idea how good simple things like that can taste after a diet of rice without salt.

We waited and waited and the boat didn’t come back. Also the little river that had made it possible for the boat to get close to the houses before had gone down so that was not possible anymore. At some point we decided to try our luck ourselves and make our way to the Beni.

It sucked even more than the first time. Not only because we had more stuff, packed up in an inflatable boat, but also because now it wasn’t possible to swim. Instead we had to go through mud as high as our hips, and each step made us sink or fall again. But on the other hand, if you ever dreamt about playing in a lake of mud as a kind, you dream would have come true here. At some point we just let the boat go and Daniel caught it a little further down, sitting in his little kayak and taking the stuff to the port, while we took the trail. Or what was left of it.

But we made it, and then we waited again. The boat that was supposed to pick us up never came so we were just hoping for another one to pass by. After a while Daniel decided to go up the mountain to call Philip to come and get us, and of course a boat came while he was gone. They were simple fishermen that turned around when they saw us, and we even waited some time for Daniel to come back. But at some point our saviors didn’t want to wait anymore and we also didn’t want to let the chance of getting out of there go by. So we left Daniel behind, feeling bad but at the same time being sure that he would find another boat.

The fishermen were super nice, and for the first time in a while I felt that good things were starting to happen again. We were finally on the way back to town, ate some papaya and chocolate (the actual fruit, not the processed chocolate), and they didn’t even charge us.

But our luck turned out to be short-lived that day, when we found out that there was still no water and the roads out of town were more than bad.

Still, we had a place to put our stuff and to stay for the night (the Argentinean girl lived in a small house a little out of town and had an extra bed) and once again we ate whatever we could find.

After that we went back to town to figure out what to do next – that turned out to be a little difficult, but after another fucked up day my luck finally turned around after all.

But all about that will be told in the next part.