Last week I was helping out an NGO I am working with, to take pictures of a school in a rural village. From the start it was not to happen. The bus which was to take me part of the way decided that it was not going to leave on time because it was not full enough. Finally, when we did leave, 1 hour later, it had changed its status from a ¨routa¨ meaning it leaves the highway to enter several villages, to an ¨expresso¨ meaning it did not leave the highway. After being over charged for a cab ride to my first destination point, I had made it. Well this was only my first destination point. From here I had to hitch hike into the mountains. This turned out to be a very lucky hitch hike. In talking to the other hitch hikers I learned that if I want to go to the community I am trying for; I have to be let off at a random part of the road and hike in. Well I was let off and told to walk about 4 hours down a dirt road and I will be there. I am not sure about you, but when someone gives me a time like 4 hours, or 1 for that matter, when it comes to a walk, it seems quite subjective. By another stroke of luck I ran into a group of kids who were about to make the same hike to the same community, we were even met along the way by the drunk uncle who made the walk with us, or in his case stumble.
It was a beautiful walk, parts were along rivers and the views that were offered were stunning. The issue I had was that we seemed to always be going up. I thought at times that my heart was going to beat out of my chest, clearly I need more exercise. I was grudgingly entertained by the drunken uncle who had 5 questions which he asked over and over for the entire walk. I do have the satisfaction of knowing I do not have the capability to murder, otherwise I would have pushed him off the mountain. I was put to shame a bit by the children who were from 10 to 14 years old who were carrying bags of mangoes among other things and did not seem tire, ever! Well after 3.5 hours of hiking we finally made it to the village.
My job was to take pictures of the school with all the students in front of it, so when I mentioned this to the people of the town, they informed me that there was not school the following day, a Friday. F@%$ING PERFECT! I tried my best to get the word out that there was a photo shoot the next morning and I need all the kids in their uniforms. That night’s sleep was insufficient to say the least. With the worry of this all being for naught, my body aching from the hike, dehydrated, sleeping on a wooden board covered in rice bags and hearing odd sounding critters buzzing around my head, insomniacs sleep better. Well the morning was a success. I had every kid in the village at the school, in uniform and perky. I felt a badly because after about a half hour of taking pictures I was finished. I think they were expecting a show, at least more than my pathetic magic tricks, which are my go to entertainment.
My mission accomplished, it was time to head back. One of the community kids was to be my guide and we had a bike this time to cruise down the declines. Unfortunately there were a lot more inclines then declines. Hauling a bike up hill makes you not want to be very good friends with it. We did get a chance to use the bike, but it was the most terrifying experience I have had in a long time. Due to this thing called gravity, even with me riding the breaks as hard as I could, we continued to gain speed. That was the first time I have gotten up 40 MPH on a bike, on a rocky road, with sizable drop-offs on the sides of the road. Lucky for me, the weight of both of us and me riding the brakes, put too much stress on the front tire and it flattened. We were able to ditch the bike at a friend’s house and we set off on foot. Mind you I am sore, under slept and dehydrated. The mid day sun was intense. My guide had no water and I had a liter water bottle to share between us. I wrapped a towel around my head (seriously, I was not looking to win a fashion award) to keep from getting burned and cool off my head. A lot of the way was down hill, but there were some major uphill parts as well.
The last part of the trip was a bit scary. My guide pointed to the top of a mountain and said that is where the main road is. I am at this point out of water, my mouth feels sticky and I am starting to get dizzy. I kept thinking to myself, what if I can’t make it? On the way up I had to stop several times and rest in the shade. My guide had my backpack and I was just trying to put one leg in front of the other. My legs were getting wobbly and burning. I did finally make it to the top. I had never been so happy to see a road before. I caught a bus back into civilization.
As for my guide, he just turned around and headed back. I did give him my water bottle that we were able to fill at house and I bought him 2 cokes and 4 bags of chips, the only things they were selling at the house. He is super human in my book. I did accomplish what I set out to do and I learned to bring more water in the future.
