Cruising on the Rio Beni
Trip Start
Mar 01, 2006
1
420
551
Trip End
Dec 01, 2007
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Santa Ana,
Bolivia
Saturday, July 21, 2007
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We were acouple of hours late: our captain had said 10 O'clock on the previous day. First time I heard anyone say "en punto" (O'clock) in Bolivia. Anyway, two hours late was still well into the "en punto" I guess.
It was a shame Ricardo had to stay fix the car, as he had to go and meet some peoples in village2, a few hours downstream.
As we crossed Santa Ana, they were loading a truck with coconuts, so we bought 2, and we also bought a coupld of papayas, and we picked up lemons on a tree. Ready to go.
The river cruise was beautiful... so calm, so peaceful (once gotten used to the motor noise). Along the shores were more fields (papayas, bananas, etc...), that are accessed by the river. The water level was low, and we often touched the rocks underneath when passing the saltos (rapids). We had the captain at the bow, making hand signs to his son who was maneuvering the motor. The boat was quite long, 20 people could get in.
We reached village1 after an hour or so. There was wood on the beach, waiting to be picked up. Being connected by road too, the village held a mix of Mossetenes and colons (other Bolivians). We went for a walk, and decided to eat there as there was a comedor, which we could not find in village2.
The roof there was made of interwoven leaves, as in many houses we had seen. Fine work, and I was surprised to learn that these roofs can last up to 10-15 years, depending on the type of leaves used.
The lunch was a change: with the rice and papas, we had fried sausages instead of chicken or beef. Then the soup, as usual, but the bread was replaced by a thick banana.
We drank our coconut milk too, and ate the flesh, which was very soft, not yet dried. Our sailors declined our invitation, because of the digestion-accelerating properties of all that (not counting the papayas), but we were all fine, and all these fresh fruits were delicious.
After another hour or so, we arrived in village2. This one was a Mossetene community.
There was wood again on the beach, in small quantity. On it you could read "percentage"...
As in any pueblo, there was a proper cancha (football field), but also a school (with imported teachers, as there are no Mossetene teachers). The village seemed deserted, the afternoon sun forcing all the villagers to the cooler shade of their homes.
There was no electricity, but some houses were equipped with small solar panels.
I found a couple who were doing their laundry and other tasks outside, so I sticked with them for a while. In this village they have only a few animals (not counting the ever-present chickens), and in that "courtyard" they were drying rice. I had not seen rice fields up to then, but I learned that this region was a rice-growing one. They have rice teraces in the hills, a bit above from the river.
They had also cocoa seeds drying in the sun. The process is the same as for coffee: sun drying, and then toasting before grinding.
They had also fishing nets hanging there. The rio is full of fish, and when the water is completely obscured with the earth it carries, is the best time to fish, as the fish can't see anything.
We went to see also an abandonned house, which was in fact a fish smoking "plant": Ricardo had initiated this project to produce smoked fish for exportation, but it was stalling at that point. I guess he had many other projects not working, but that for the few ones that work, it is still worth it. Their NGO is usually only doing support work, and they have a number of production project going on well all over Bolivia (coffee, marmelades, etc...).
Back to the boat, the way back was a bit longer as we were going upstream, and we were all tired from the strong sun that had hammered us all day, even though there was a fair amount of clouds. We kept chewing coca leaves (joking on Roberto being an addict... his line of defense being that it was only when going out to the countryside), and talking with the captain, I managed among other things to get an idea of the wood business there.
Wood cutting is not allowed. But they all do it, and quietly. We saw numerous places along the river where wood was loaded on or unloaded from boats or trucks. Along the shores, in the forest, we could spot camps where wood cutters stay.
The Mossetenes have their own territory (marked laong the shore by paint on the rocks), but they let others cut the wood there and get a percentage. I guess that was what we saw in village2.
I had just read the GEO magazine issue about tropical forests, and I explained the captain how some communities were managing to have a sustainable wood cutting, thus not jeopardizing that business for the future of the community. Not getting any response, asking further, I found out that the best wood (don't remember the name) is allready all gone, they are now cutting lower quality wood. And that is on a huge territory. Well well well, there are other mountains to be moved in Bolivia before they can even think about taking care of that problem.
From Santa Ana it is possible to go down the Rio Beni all the way to Rurenabaque, in the Beni region, which is lower than the Alto Beni (no kidding), and one of my destinations in Bolivia. A 12 hours journey on a 20 persons chartered boat... 600 usd announced price, I'd have to find another 19 tourists to share the costs... too complicated I think.
