3rd September
Having successfully completed our first phase, Kota Mama IV is now in Northern Bolivia. We made a nerve-wracking journey across what is termed “the worst road in the world” stretching from La Paz to Guanay.

Doctor to the Rescue
We stayed the night at Guanay and on our arrival the Alcalde informed us of a little boy with an urgent hernia problem. Iain Maclennan, the expedition doctor, boarded a fast mahogany boat to travel upriver to visit the sick boy. He arrived at a remote hamlet on the Rio Mapiri to find two year old Noel Quispe Mauri. Noel required surgery for the hernia but Iain felt it could wait until end September when we could take him and his mother to the Children’s Hospital in La Paz. Kota Mama team members agreed to fund the cost of the surgery with the funds we had collected to help sick children in South America.

We were pleased to find that the flood defences at Guanay, which were designed by WO2 Craig Halford RE during Kota Mama III, are almost complete. The vegetable project introduced by Shirley Critchley is also thriving.

Heading to Mapiri
Heavy rain had swollen the river, but our well-laden boats grounded several times as they shot the rapids on their journey upstream. We can’t help but admire the skills of the boatmen. Gold panners waved to us from the sand banks as our craft sped by. We watched numerous colourful birds, including the toucan, soar across the Bolivian skies, while electric blue butterflies danced along the fringe of the jungle.

At Mapiri a school band and pupils lined the beach to greet us – and our precious $2000 cargo of schoolbooks. In the plaza we enjoyed the refreshments that had been prepared for us while watching traditional dances taking place.

Shirley Critchley, the community aid officer, was soon busy as were dentist Paul Liddiard, Doctor Iain Maclennan and Nurse Simone Thorn who are doing much to help the people of this small village. We will make a formal presentation of the schoolbooks on Monday.

The Ruins are Calling
Rain has affected the trail to the ruins discovered by archaeologists during Kota Mama III. We therefore face a challenging task in getting our 19 team members and packhorses up the mountains. On Monday (2 September) Lt. Col. Hugo Conejo will lead an advance party of six team members to clear the trail, find the ruins and set up a base camp for fourteen days of operations. The remaining team will accompany JBS up to the site on Wednesday (4 September). It is estimated that it would take three days to reach ruins near a feature named San Lorenzo. Nothing is known of the origins of the ruins and archaeologists Bruce Mann, Maria Mason and Simon Hempel aim to discover who built them, while surveyors Jerome Bradley, Julian Millhouse and Neil Mackinnon will make a site plan. The team will also look for other ruins in the area. Indians report mosquitoes in large numbers on the high ground … all a part of the Bolivian mountain experience!