Aucapata

Hi Again:
Trying to catch up on the past three weeks in Aucapata is proving to be a difficult chore. The first day of actual inter-action with the niños started with a very cold shower. It also started with a change of plans, a phenomenon to which we became used. The time for Joy´s first class was now 11 -2pm. We arrived at school at 10am to discover that there were opening ceremonies in our honour, which were very elaborate and welcoming. While the children sand the Bolivian national anthem with great gusto, Joy raised the flag with military precision (although she did need some hints from the sidelines). We (Joy, Lucy, and me) had seats of honour at the front while numerous adults spoke and selected students made what I would call dramatic readings (poetry). After we went from class to class saying hola and giving out Canada and Nova Scotia pins.
We found out that Joy had about 24 of the youngest students, but Joy showed great flexibility and we all had three hours of great fun and made a great mess. Paper mache is not too neat with kids this age! Ernesto stayed with us and was a great help with the clean-up. By the way, he also managed to get hot water for the shower at the house that the IMIF has just obtained in Aucapata.
The next day was our first trip to Cosnipata, a nearby (1 hour walk) village. When we awoke there was no electricty (the wire to the next house upon which we relied for our connection had broken) and pouring rain. But this is Aucapata and you can rely on the weather changing minute by minute. By the time Joy and I hit the trail, with my big pack filled with supplies, the sun was coming out. We left earlier than Ernesto and Lucy, but they knew the short-cut and met us within a few minutes, with a nice man who wante my pack to carry. Of course, I declined, but after Ernesto insisted I gave it up (I can hear you laughing Fred!). He was much smaller than me, but had no trouble at all with the pack. When you see the loads that these people carry and the hills that they climb, you would understand. The trip was mostly down-hill except for the last 1/4 which is steeply up-hill. Cosnipata is a small school with 2 teachers and about 17 kids. Joy did three hours with them and we left supplies there to make the loads lighter on future trips. The hike back was the reverse and we were pretty tired by the time we got back. I would be terribly remiss if I didn´t rave about the scenery on the walk. Like all of the roads here, the road to Cosnipata hugs the side of the mountain hundreds and hundreds of metres (think yards for those stuck in the öld¨system) above the river and the ruins of Iskanwaya. You don´t go off the road if you are driving here, because the next stop is............... way down!
Jim