Roughing it

After Mongolia I thought I had seen it all. Rougher than rough cannot be. But it can be. In Guyana’s South Pakaraimas. Since it has been decided that this is going to be one of the areas that we are going to work in people have responded with large eyes, surprised looks and answers like: ‘That is impossible!’, ‘Don’t you know that the only way to get there is by foot?’ or just a simple ‘You are crazy.’ I don’t like to be pessimistic so I waved these comments away.
The road to the first village, Karasabai, was bumpy and yes some parts of the road had been transferred into a river after the rain of the previous week but it was still doable. See, all is not that bad. People always like to exaggerate and make matters bigger than they really are.
Off we go with a positive attitude to the next village, about a 3 hours drive. Guess again, not even on the go for 20 minutes and completely stuck in the mud. Not forward, not backwards. No pushing or pulling. No wood, no tools. Nothing could save us. After an hour or maybe two (one looses track of time in these situations), as in a gift from Heaven, an army truck showed up. This road is left without any vehicles passing by for weeks sometimes. We were extremely lucky. It could pull us out. Onwards, the journey continued.
After being stuck for the fourth time and time ticking away we changed the VSO motto: ‘Sharing skills’ into ‘Sharing kills’. Followed by the idea of, let’s make the best of it, let’s dace in the mud. All in all we got stuck 6 times, had to be pulled out 3 times and what was supposed to be a 3 hour journey turned out to be a 9 hour journey. By the way, some info on the side, it’s only 17 km… I will never question the judgment of an Amerindian again.
Due to the extreme conditions the villages rarely receive visitors. Makushi is the first language, English is rarely spoken. Us and our training methods seem overwhelming to them sometimes . Time is needed to understand each other better.
We sleep under roofs made out of leaves in our hammocks, no walls. We shower with buckets, some walls missing, no door. We use a hole in the ground as a toilet, low walls, no door. All shame aside.
The welcome couldn’t be warmer. Fruit and drinks are being offered. Special songs are sang.
A place high up in the mountains, far from the rest of the world. Very tranquil and beautiful, a hidden treasure.
Thank you villagers of Karasabai, Tipuru, Rukumuta, Taushida. Pai Pang and Tiger Pond!