Settling in to my new life on a cargo boat
On the boat, I staked out a spot under a truck…it was a low-rider, and would prove to be interesting. Valentin offered to go buy me a tarp, but everything was closed for lunch. The boat didn’t leave for a few hours, and we eventually found a place that was open, so I did get some tarp. On the boat, Valentin and my new neighbor, Miller, helped me hang it up…I scrapped the under-the-truck idea and found an open area to hang my hammock, with tarp overhead, and extension of a row of tarp. This would be my little home for the next 6 days, rain or shine.They didn’t serve any dinner the first night, so I was glad I had some crackers and nuts with me. I made it to the bathroom once, which was very basic…there was no running water, like there was on the other boats. There was a toilet with an open-ended pipe leading up from the bowl; a note on the wall explained to the passengers to please flush it by gathering a bucket of water from the river. I had no idea how I was going to shower, but would figure that out when the situation got more dire. There was a sink, but it was not connected to anything, no running water, and the drain just let out onto the floor. Made me wonder what the purpose of having it there was. Finally, there was a huge hole in the wall, like where a porthole window should be, except without window.
One of the first people I made friends with was Alejandro, 28, from Santa Cruz, which is the 2nd largest city in Bolivia. In an effort to make sure I was not getting overcharged as a gringa, I asked him how much it cost for this trip…we were going to a small town called Trinidad. “Well, it’s 300 Bolivianos. You didn’t pay?” “No, should I have already?” “I already paid.” And, so it was, that I actually had this ride for free…6 days for free. I reminded myself of this everytime things got tough. Again, my Spanish was slowly getting better…I mistakingly told Alejandro that when I was a little girl I wanted to see “every flea in the world”…of course, I misspoke, and he was sure I didn’t mean flea. “No, really, now I know it’s impossible, but I used to say I wanted to see every pulga in the world.” “But, a pulga is a little bug that lives on dogs.” I went and looked it up…sure enough, pulga was flea, and pulgada was inch, which is what I wanted to say.
I slept pretty well that night – got a little cold, but it never rained. Would we actually be so lucky to not get rain over the 6 days? I was optimistic, but reminded myself the reason I was on this boat is because there had been so much rain that the highways were under water. I got out of my hammock around 7:30, and was sure I had missed breakfast already. I went to the eating area and was told that they’re still preparing breakfast. She put some drink on the table and I helped myself. “The mariners eat first,” the cook told me. Now I thought I was being rude…I took my drink and left for a while. The drink was called apí, and was purple, made from corn, cinnamon, and something else. I could drink that stuff all the time, it was so good.
I went up toward the front of the cargo area, which was nice and quiet, and looked out into the forest. We were really close to the shore, as we were going up river; this was to avoid going against the strong current in the middle of the river. “Excuse me. Can we talk to you?” Some old man invited me to talk with him and some of the other passengers on the boat. “Sure! Of course!” They asked me questions about my trip, the usual (sometimes I feel like I’m a broken record answering these questions). Then the questions got a little strange…”Are there places in the US where people go and they are nude?” Yes, but they’re not all that common…these places exist, but I’ve never been to one. They’re in Europe, too. “Are there times when 2 couples go out, and they switch partners for the night?” That might happen, but I don’t think it’s all that common…sure, I think people like to do that, but no one I know, really. “Are there people, where, there are 2 couples and one person goes with the other couple while the other watches?” Uh, I guess this happens, but really, it’s not common. Is this what you think of gringos?
Just then, some lady came up and told me the cook said I could come and eat now. Just in time…these questions were getting really strange…I couldn’t imagine this is what he thought life is like in the States – people running around nude sleeping with everyone else’s partners. Breakfast was apí and masaco, a mush made from plantains…I had seen the cook mashing it up with a huge wooden morter and pestle-type thing. It was really good, though really just looked like mush. As I was sitting there, the man next to me tapped my arm. I looked over and he was handing me a piece of my hair, all gnarled. “Oh. Uh, sorry,” I said, all embarrassed. Why would he hand it to me? “It falls out all the time” I said, taking the hair and throwing it on the floor, not entirely sure what he wanted me to do with it.
After breakfast, I went and laid in my hammock, to avoid any strange questions or anyone handing my lost hair. I fell asleep for a while, until it was too hot to sleep. Even with the shade from the tarp, the sun still beat through and was hot. After my nap, the man had more strange questions for me, along the same lines. I tried to explain to him that all these scenarios exist, but weren’t common. I went into explaining feet fetishes, for example, but again, those were rare and surely not everyone had the same sentiments toward feet.
Lunch was huge…soup and then a second plate of meat & rice and some fried plantains. Brown water was offered, though I was a bit skeptical of it. Someone poured me a glass, though, so it was hard to refuse. Somehow my bowels remained intact, a godsend considering the facilities on the boat.
We made a stop at a village during the day, where a ton of people got off…most of the familes living under the trucks. We gained 3 chickens and a pig. Dinner was a pasta a meat stew with manioc root on the side, and more brown water. As night fell upon us, the sky ahead and to the west of us was very dark, with occassional lightning. Everyone started to think about the inevitable pouring-on we were about to get and started to arrange things under tarps. My hammock was on the end of a row of tarp, so I was sure to get wet.
After two really hot days and a lot of sweating, I decided that night that I should shower, or bathe, or clean myself somehow…I was really starting to smell. I had noticed some of the others gathering buckets of water from the river…this must be how to wash. I gathered some water (nice and brown) and closed myself in the bathroom. I wasn’t really sure what I was doing, but I guess there’s not much to know…just get yourself clean. I poured water over me, soaped myself up and poured more water over myself to rinse off…I guess that was it. Once again, I was glad for the whole not washing my hair thing…it made life much easier. The whole thing was pretty easy, not the hassle I had imagined it to be, and I no longer smelled, which was super. Following what I had seen others do, I swept the water that had collected in the bathroom out the door, and that was it…how to wash yourself in a bathroom on a boat with a bucket of water.
Tags: Bolivia, Tag Index
Tania