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12th
May - 22nd May 2004, Author Simon Hampel
The RSG moved stores down from Santa Cruz to Vallegrande by
road, a beautiful 5 hour drive on half decent roads, spirits
high after a 30-hour trip from London.
We established our base at a small hacienda on the outskirts
of town,
Generously lent to us by a local, Lalo, for the duration of
the expedition. It is here that we shall return to restock provisions,
send the odd email and relax with a beer in the company of our
new friends.
Initial days have been spent sorting kit, getting to know the
area and visiting local archaeological and geological sites.
Jo and David are highly organised with the stores, allowing
for the smooth entrance of the River Crew on the 15th July.
Tobi is recceing possible routes to use for future travel, the
transportation of kit and ourselves is going to prove testing
owing to very rough local roads; all dirt based and often fraught
with problems.
Jeremy, Richard and Shirley have all been hard at work with
local aid, Jeremy helping at the hospital, Richard "Fangs"
Dean pulling teeth with alacrity and Shirley working with the
schools. On one recent visit we were met with the invitation
to join in an impromptu dance with the local children in front
of 300 other kids and various local dignitaries...suffice to
say there was a lot of laughter.
Mike Reynolds is with us for a short time to oversee the repair
and
Introduction of new water piping, 2 1/2km´s worth, which
will bring enough fresh clean water to the town to alleviate
the current rationing programme. The charity "Just a Drop"
has made a large donation to the project, which we are overseeing
here on the ground.
We finally left for the entrance point of expedition, El Ajial,
on the 20th, all last minute shopping completed and with the
River Crew raring to go. Given we are now 37 people strong,
we make quite a convoy; three jeeps, a small Bolivian bus and
truck leading up the rear.
Our first night under canvas proper is spent on a concrete football
pitch in Quiroga, that is having already lost to a local team
supplemented by our drivers and Christian "Zinidane"
Coll 12-9.
We arrived at El Ajial on the 21st where the proverbial fatted
calf, alongside deer and chickens, have been roasted, all washed
down with homemade lemonade and sugar cane juice. The utensils
we were using looked in need of a wash and everybody was weary
of the drinks, Bolivian Belly is not pleasant, but the village
had gone to such an effort we just crossed our fingers...and
happily all was well.
Final preparations are now being made for the launch of the
boats tomorrow. David and Jo have all the stores in hand, 120
lts of clean water has been made up to quench the initial thirsts
of the River Crew. I can now turn my attention to the next phase
of our work; providing community aid and dentistry to the local
villages we will be visiting on the way into our next crisply
point. Alongside that we will be looking for sites of archaeological
and geological interest which can be visited and logged. We
aim to move at a similar speed to the River Crew, just inland
of them, always available in emergencies and helping to provide
additional information for their trip down the Rio Grande. John
and I will be speaking every evening by satellite phone in order
to update each other on our various activities. |
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