Ziplining for the community!

On the first day of our trip, the gang arrived at "Hotel Oriental" in Rurrenabaque. Riva, Oscar (the doctor who went along with us), and I arrived stylishly in the back of the truck and the rest of the crew, including Sue (our missionary leader), Wendi (a volunteer from PA), Paul (another volunteer for PA), and Mara (a nutritionist from La Paz) arrived in the microbus. Right away, we were treated to a delightful little hotel with kind keepers! As we entered the "garage", it seemed as though we were entering a jungle because there were many trees inside the hotel. We then realized that the hotel is made up of a central courtyard with trees, hammocks, and chairs/tables. Surrounding the courtyard were rooms to stay in. We were greeted with a refreshing starfruit drink... mmm mmm good! We then obtained our keys from the front key hanger (open for everyone to hang their keys before leaving the hotel... a real sense of security here) and checked out our room. Our cozy little room #7 had 2 beds, a nightstand, a little table, and a bathroom. In addition, we were provided with 2 neat little red towels on our beds. It was... very cute!

Riding on the back of the truck... great view!

Front view of the Hotel Hammocks! If you didn't know what a starfruit was, now you know!
Our lucky room number seven:
The "secure" key hanger... we hung our keys here before we left the hotel everyday.

We put our bags down and were off to have some almuerzo (aka lunch). We strolled through the little town, passing many many motos (motorcycles), dogs, little tiendas (stores), an internet cafe, and a few restaurants, then finally arrived at a restaurant right on the shore of the river. The restaurant was famous for great fish and hence, all of us, but Ana (a vegetarian), got some grilled fish. Now, if you were not aware, Bolivians don't believe in fast service. I think the fastest service we have gotten so far took about 45 minutes. However, the food here is AMAZING because it is soo fresh. All veggies and fruits are extra juicy, fresh fries are extra crispy, juices are extra fruity, and meats are sooo rich. After about 45 minutes of waiting and waiting, we saw 2 guys bring a huge tiger-catfish from the shore to the back of the store. Could this be for us?? OF COURSE!! How much more fresh can you be. Patience pays off! About 30 minutes later, our food started coming out. I say started because Bolivians bring food out little by little. Some people may have to wait a little longer than others for their food depending on what they ordered and how much time the cook wants to take in making it! Anyway, I will never forget my first bite into that fish. It was as if I have been deprived for years of eating fish and here I was eating it for the first time. It truely was wonderful! In addition to our fish, we each got rice, french fries, and a veggie side to go along with it. Bolivians don't mess around!

This is how the streets look like in Rurrenabaque.. notice, many many motorcycles!

After we ate, we walked on the shore of the river and saw these three kids playing with a dog. They were very excited to be in the photo as you can tell. The oldest of the three held the dog tightly so that no one else would get it. I felt a little bad for the poor puppy!
One of the coolest things around here is that everything has a great story behind it. The picture below is of a sugar cane "squeezer." This was just in the island of the street for passersby to try to figure out what it is for. Luckily, John and Suzanne Funk for the Colegio de Rio Colorado were with us and explained that it's used to make great sugar cane juice.

Anytime there is a futball game going on, all of the people close down their shops and line up in front of a TV somewhere to watch the game... it's a great little tradition, unless you are trying to buy something...The beauty of Bolivia is so varied and always breath taking. Look at how bright the sky is and yet the moon shines so brightly. The copper mountains add a rich feeling to this poor country.

Here are some other beautiful pictures that we took at Rurrenabaque.. enjoy!

After our exciting first day, we were ready to take it to the next level! What a better way to do it than by ziplining! I know that most of you know what that means but for those of you who have no idea what ziplining is, here is a brief description. Basically, it's in the middle of the jungle and there are platforms that have been built very high up on several trees (there were about 10 platforms total). The platforms are designed to hold up to 3000 lbs of weight so they are pretty sturdy. In addition you wear a harness and are hooked on to several heavy-duty metal wires on the trees. Between the platforms are metal lines that one zips across! That's pretty much what ziplining is in a nutshell.

So, during the morning of the second day (@8am Bolivian time... aka around 8:30am), we arrived at the ziplining shop in town. We put on lifejackets for our trip across the river and walked through town to the river... we didn't stand out at all :) ! We then got in a boat and crossed the river to the other side. On the way, we saw other boats with native Bolivians transporting fruits, vegetables, and merchandise to prepare for the market that was to take place later that day.

Here we are in our bright orange lifejackets, super excited for our adventure: The market was starting at the same time.
(pic to come)

We finally arrived to the start of the hiking trail we were about to take on. It took us one hour to hike up to the first platform. Our 3 instructors, especially Nelson, were very helpful in guiding us through the jungle and teaching us about all kinds of trees, animals, and plants.

A very grand picture of Nelson... he's pretty much AWESOME!

The monkey vine

The walking tree, straight out of Lord of the Rings! A giant fig treeLeaf cutter ants

Riva zipping away!Sue is a pro!!

See those people way up there??

There they are!

Nelson and the girls