Los Kilometros

“Daniela, time to get up” I rolled over, not feeling like getting up. It was 6:30, and Dad was ready to leave. Finally I jumped off the top bunk of Bethany's bunk bed.

It wasn't long before the two of us walked out the screen door, and started down the street to find a place to rent a motorcycle.

Across the street the neighbor had motos to rent, but after knocking on his door for a while we decided he'd had a late Sunday night, and probably wasn't getting up anytime soon. The next place we tried had what we were looking for. After showing his motorcycle liscence, the lady gave Dad two helmets and the key. Our “cascos” were small, black rounded helmets that look almost like baseball helmets. As usual, with ones that are rented, the chin strap didn't work, and I had to hold the thing on with the hand I wasn't using to keep me aboard the moto. Dad swung his leg over and got on. After getting it kick started, I jumped on behind him.

As we rode I thought about where we were going. The week before Dad, Ben, Nate, Wilmer, Matt, Franklin, Anna had gone in the jeep and on motorcycles passing out tracts. Eighteen kilometers out, they had arrived at a place where the owners of a ranch like place were Christians. Apparently it was a Bible seminary where Indians from the neighboring tribes could come and learn more about the Bible. The hope was that after intense studies for three months, these people could go back to their tribes, and tell others the good news, as well as spread the word about the seminary. Dad had been out there before with some of the others, and said there were three young people, two ladies and a guy, just out of Bible school themselves, who were in charge of teaching the third session of students they'd had so far. Three men, and two women from three different tribes, all speaking different languages had come to learn more about the Bible, despite the fact that they might not have been saved before arriving.

While leaving Leticia, the road was absolutely horrible, the cement used probably hadn't been patched since the road was made. We were constantly zig-zagging back and forth across the road trying to avoid the ginormous potholes. Another complication included the fact that there are usually no mirrors on the motorcycles, and others riding around you cut back and forth without warning, so you definitely have to be a defensive driver. I was glad to I wasn't the one driving. Everyone in this town rides motorcycles. Because Leticia is landlocked, and there are no roads to or from here, everything has to come in on a plane or boat. Because the motorcycles are easier to transport than cars, that's pretty much all that is imported in the way of vehicles. Unlike most places where the vast majority of drivers are men, here women drive just as much as men. It's funny sometimes to see a whole family riding one, small motorcycle. I think the most I've seen is four or five. Sometimes you see a little kid who's completely wiped out, fallen asleep between his two parents while driving. It's so cute!

After turning off the main street in Leticia we headed off for the “kilometros”, a long road that is about 28 kilometers long, containing little towns all along. It was a beautiful ride. An early morning mist covered us making us a little chilly, but it felt so wonderful to feel the wind, and droplets blowing over us. Because we were late, as we usually are, Dad had to go fast, making it that much more fun. Here too, the road was in bad shape, and Dad would have to yell “bump”, while I would put one hand on my helmet to keep it from falling off (I honestly don't understand the point of wearing a helmet, if it has no strap, and will fall off if you just tip your head to one side, let alone if YOU fall off! But I guess people just do it because “it's the law”, and not really to protect their lives... ) and the other to hold on as tight as I could. Driving on that road is almost like a video game. There are “road repairs”, which I think were forgotten about that you had to drive around, trying to make it before the motorcycle coming the other way got there first. But if you didn't it wasn't that big of a deal... one lane can fit two motorcycles. Trying to fit a vehicle and a motorcycle is a bit more complicated, but not impossible... you just have to make sure you don't mess up. There are constantly dogs crossing the road too, and you just have to hope all the little shirtless, barefoot kids playing on the side of the road stay where they are, and if they don't, you have to make quick swerves. As you get further out, the “road” turns to a pathway of two strips of cement, meant for cars or trucks to put one tire on each, but on the motorcycle, you have to try to balance on it, now just running over any debris that exists instead of trying to avoid it. On either side of us was beautiful jungle. As I took it all in, I realized that THIS must be where landscapers get their ideas. Beautiful palm trees, all different hights clumped together, little ponds with bulrushes all around, gorgeous flowers, butterflies of of all different bright colors fluttering all around, parrots flying overhead, big black birds with long yellow tails cawing at us... and it was all natural! The houses were all made of wood planks, and were perched up on stilts in case of flooding during the rainy months, with a ladder to get up inside. If the door was open, you could usually see hammocks where the families would sleep. Some had tin roofs, while others' still consisted of the braided palmfrawns the Indians have used for years. In the yards are various types of jungle fruit trees, including maracuya, lulu, as well as more known fruits such as bananas, pineapple and mango. There was usually a clothes line up containing the family's apparel all hung up that had been washed in one of the Amazon tributaries nearby, to which the women have to carry all the clothes, and back.

After being on the road for a good half hour to forty-five minutes, Dad slowed down, and we bumped over a small bridge made of sticks layed tightly together, that allowed us to go over the small stream on the side of the road. We had arrived at Kilometer 18. In front of us was a building that reminded me a little bit of longhouses I'd heard about in elementary school, exept this had a tin roof. To the left was a large covered area made of wooden poles, and a palmfrawn roof, where hammocks were hung up, as well as tables and chairs made out of logs, where it looked like the instructors and students would take their breaks. Between that, and the longhouse, there was a small soccerfield, which upon seeing it, remembered what the guys had said about playing when they had come. The students were all really good, and they said one girl was better than any of the guys. Past the soccer field they had an area fenced in where they had chickens. Behind that was a water tank.

We drove up to a little cement patch in front of the door where we parked the moto, and walked in with our helmets. It took a couple seconds to get used to the darkness of the room, but when we did, we saw the five Bible students sitting at a wooden table in plastic chairs, their Bibles, and books opened up in front of them. The instructor, a tall black lady named Luz, was talking, but stopped when we arrived. The other lady I'd heard about before coming, Tita, appeared soon after, and gave us towels to wipe off all the rain. Dad had arranged before coming that he would talk for a while with the students, so I went with the two ladies outside for a prayer meeting. I think the place we went to was a “prayer hut”. It reminded me of something you would see in Africa, but is also common down here. There were sticks stuck into the ground in a circle, all spaced about three inches apart, making a wall, the roof was made out of the same braided palm frawns that the natives used for their houses. It was neat to look up, and see how much work was put into building it, and how beautiful it looked. I was amazed at how, even though it was raining, NO moisture came in through the roof at all. We all sat down on pieces of logs set upright. A little after getting there, Aldo, the guy there from Chile, the third person working there arrived, and we started into prayer. It was so neat to hear these young people, so on fire for the Lord, praying for these Indians who are just about at the end of their instruction, and are almost at the point of returning to their tribes. It made me cry. I wish I could be that dedicated, and that so many other young people could see this, and appreciate the Lord, and want to do His will like these people, and have such a strong care for peoples' souls like they do.

Once finished praying, Luz read a Psalm, and we talked about it a little before going back into the house. We came in through a side door into the girls' room. Inside were about four wooden bunk beds with mosquito nets covering them. On one end of the room was the bathrooms and showers. When coming back into the big room I realized that the longhouse was divided in three parts. Cut in half longways was the area where the students studied and ate, with a little part cut out for the kitchen, then the other half was cut in two; one area for the guys, and the other for the girls.

As I talked with Tita (whose real name I found was Bellanira), she made coffee. It was interesting the way in which she did it; she placed a metal pitcher full of water on the burner, then once it was boiling, she placed a strainer that looked like a mini butterfly net, full of coffee grounds into the pitcher, dipping it in and out of the water, and taking a spoon, every couple seconds and seeing if the liquid was dark enough. While getting the bread ready, and pouring the coffee into cups, she told me about how it happened that she was here. For two or three years she went to Bible school, where they all had to wake up at the latest 5 every morning, and had classes 'till nine at night! There they had all kinds of Bible, culture, music, and other kinds of classes. They also had missions to different tribes. She spent a total of two years, I think it was, in Amazon tribes. There she and two or three others would live like the Indians, and try to learn the language. In her tribe, she was only with two other girls she knew, who were there for six months segments, where between those times, they saw none of the outside world. Anyways, she just finished missionary school, and was stationed here in Leticia three months ago. Of the students, two are from the tribe she was working with. Luz and Aldo were working with other tribes, but were also from the same missionary school as Tita.

When we were done preparing the snack, we went out to serve it to the students and Dad, but he was already outside taking the Indians on motorcycle rides up and down the road in front of the seminary school. The last time he was there, Dad asked them if they knew how to drive a motorcycle, and after replying no, he asked if they'd ever ridden one, and was surprised to their response that they had never even been on one! Being Dad, he had to give them a chance to ride; some he even let drive. Although he did have to explain that you kind of have to keep your eyes on the road and not on the group of your friends watching you, after an instance where he had to grab a hold of the handlebars when one of them was driving.

After everyone had a ride, Dad got off beaming just as much as those experiencing a motorcycle for the second time in their lives. Looking at them, you couldn't help but smiling too. We drank the coffee and bread, then had to leave. Dad let me drive! Because the motorcycle was “semi-automatic”, like the 50 we have at home, and you can change gears without having to use a clutch, it was easy. I was so sad to leave those people. I loved being there. They were awesome.

The next week on Wednesday they invited us back for “deportes”; once a week they had a break from 3:30 to 5:30 where they played sports. We waited for dad 'till 4 at the house, then upon calling him, he said for us to just go ahead on the motos, (We had three rented, because the boys, Dave, Ben and Nate, had gone out earlier that day, riding down the kilometer road, then went swimming halfway through. They all got really burned, but it sounded like they had a lot of fun) and he'd come as soon as he could. So I got on the back of Nate's, Ben took Matt, and Dave took Durley (a really awesome Christian girl who comes over a lot to the Roberts with her husband Danny). The other girls stayed home, went shopping, and cooked.

We went back down zipping past the kilometers. Because we were really late, the boys had to drive really fast. It COULDN'T have possibly been the fact that they love speeding along that road ;D. I think Durley might have been a bit concerned about the speed at which we were going, but she didn't complain. Nate and I were in front most of the time. He would go really fast, then slow down waiting for the others, then as soon as they had almost caught up, he'd take off again. My helmet didn't have the strap again, so I had to keep on holding it on my head. It was so much fun. Just as we we were approaching, the sun was setting, and the sky was every shade of yellow and orange. It was absolutely gorgeous. Looking up, you could just see the silhouettes of the big jungle trees against it. Parrots and other birds were making all kinds of noise finding their perches for the night. Somewhere there were amazing smelling flowers too. Unlike the last time we'd been there, this time the air was the perfect temperature, and the wind felt wonderful.

When we pulled in, everyone was playing volleyball on a court that was crossways on the soccer field. They were hitting a hard, partially flat ball over a sagging net strung between two poles stuck in the powdery sand. Although they played sloppily, they kept the ball off the ground! Two of the guys were wearing gardening gloves, of which I never quite figured out what they were for. One of the Indians was wearing a headband made out of bright green braided palmfrawns. They greeted us with warm smiles, even though they were disappointed we were so late, and had been waiting since 3:30, and it was already 4:30. We watched for a while, then came in once one of the teams lost. Ben, two of the students, and I were on one team, while Nate, Dave, Aldo, and the girl who plays soccer extremely well were on the other. I think the other team could have whipped us worse, but did have some mercy; they didn't spike on us over the 6 foot net TOO much... It was a lot of fun. It was interesting how they kept track of points; instead of making four lines in a row, then crossing it off to make groups of five, like we do in the U.S., they draw a little box in the sand, each side being a point, then one goes through the middle making a group of five.


Then we played soccer with a REALLY flat plastic ball, but it was nice 'cause most of us were barefoot. That was almost as fun as the volleyball. I got to see the one girl play, and yeah was she good! The way she could move her feet was amazing.

About that time, Ben and Dave had to go back to Leticia to return one of the motorcycles to where we rented it. They left a little after five thirty to get back by six. They were going to bring back Dad to take us home. Later that night we found out that Ben's tire popped, and he had to walk it home, and Dave had to leave him, because he had to get back to the rental place before it closed.

Back at Kilometer 18 we were all hot and sweaty from playing, when they invited us to go swimming in a nearby lake. We changed into our swimsuits, and started down the road. It was practically dark as we arrived. It was more of a swamp than a lake; there was tall grass and palm trees surrounding the milky brown, calm water. We slipped off our flip-flops, and left our stuff on the bank, then jumped in. The cool water felt amazing. Although we could easily touch the ground, we preferred to tread water, be cause on the bottom was mooshy gooshy mud that was just about the consistency of dog pooh, mixed with grass and other decomposed things... we tried to float, or make it to the log in the middle of the pond if we got tired of swimming. Durley was a little bit paranoid in going in the lake. She was afraid of the huge boa constrictors that can swallow humans whole, especially knowing they are here in the jungle, or other scary animals around. It is especially disturbing when you can't see your hand more than six inches under the water. You have no idea what could be down there. Aldo and Nate especially enjoyed reminding her of such creatures every few minutes to which she would panic, and they would have to reassure her that they had never seen one there before. This anaconda (not boa... thank you Seth) is one we saw in the local zoo, found around here, and is only six years old....

It was dark by the time we climbed out of the lake, and slipped under the barbed wire to get out. Although we were all wet, and it was night time, the air was so warm, we didn't feel a bit chilly. Back at the longhouse, we changed into our dry clothes, then Matt and Nate played memory, while Tita made coffee, the students worked on their homework, Aldo played Christian songs on his guitar, which Durley knew, and I listened to them, while watching the boys playing their game.

It was past seven by this time, and Dad still hadn't shown up. We only had one motorcycle, and had four people who needed to get back. We didn't have Dad's phone number or even a phone to call him on. Nate wanted to get back home, and decided to take Matt with him. We were worried about them, because being dark, driving on that road is really dangerous! Durley and I talked with Tita for about ten minutes after Nate left, when we heard the jeep pull in. It was Dad and Wellington (a Christian guy we'd met on the three day boat coming from Iquitos to here in Leticia). They apologized for being so late, then we said goodbye to everyone there, and left together.

Dad let me drive the jeep. It was crazy. The steering wheel is a little messed up; you have to turn it all the way from one side to the other to make it turn, then when it starts turning, you have to whip the wheel all the way back to the other side. You have to do it slowly, but quickly at the same time. It's pretty complicated. Then while whipping this steering wheel back and forth, you have to be putting the clutch in, changing gears, then letting up on the clutch not too quickly, but not too terribly slowly. Then, trying to do all this while trying to find the little “stick thing” on the floor as my dad called it, to take off my brights as a big truck flashed their lights at me, as it came barreling down the road at me, on this tiny skinny two-lane road. And the more nervous I get, the faster I turn the steering wheel, meaning once I turn it fast one way, then I have to swing it even faster the other way, over correcting, making me swerve all over the road. I probably looked drunk. Then, after this, we're passing a little town, and I see a bunch of little kids sitting on a curb, and when I look more closely, one of them is LYING in the MIDDLE of MY side of the ROAD!! I was like “oh my goodness!”, and swerved into the other lane. Was he dead, or hurt, what happened? Just as I was about to pass them, he jumped up and ran out of the road. They were just playing a game, and had probably dared that poor kid! It was kinda scary. I now have more respect for Dad, Paul, and Ben who drive the jeep all the time. I will no longer think “wow, this is kind of jerky” when they´re driving. I now understand.

We got in just in time for a wonderful dinner of dutch babies with peanut butter and maple syrup that the girls had cooked up for us. Ben and Dave had gotten back home safely even after all that had happened with the flat tire.

Another time we went out to the kilometers, we were going to have a picnic lunch out at a lake we'd heard of. Dad, Nate and Dave were on the motorcycles having Anna, Cam and Bethany on the backs. Ben got to drive the jeep (of which he did an awesome job, keeping the thing on the road, and was as smooth as was possible with changing gears) with Mom and I sharing the front seat, Lydia, Franklin, Wilmer and Matt sitting on the benches in the back. The whole ride we had to grab onto the sides, seats, or others around us to keep from being bounced all over the place. Those on the motorcycles looked like they were having a lot of fun! Nate's helmet was the one that was loose this time, and Cam had to keep on re-adjusting it on his head.

We passed some of the same houses, but this time we didn't go as far as the Bible school. Because the motorcycles were going way faster than us, as we pulled around a corner, we saw Dad motioning for us to turn into a driveway. The little bridge, similar to that of the one pulling into the Bible seminary was just barely wide enough for the jeep. Ben did an amazing job backing up, and pulling forward with that crazy steering wheel to make the turn into the place. I was so afraid we were going to end up in the ditch. As soon as we got past the gate we saw a beautiful lake with palmfrawn huts, tall palms and other types of trees all around. There was a deck with plastic lawn chairs, and tables. It was beautiful! We parked the jeep, and the boys put the motos in a row. Before unloading, we looked around for the owner of the place to ask if it was okay if we swam, but after searching, the only thing we found out from the Brazilian, Portuguese-speaking co-intruders was that the owners weren't there, but that it was probably fine for us to be there and swim also. Some changed immediately into bathing suits, while Dad hopped on one motorcycle, while Nate and I got on another to see if we were in the right place. It ended up it was, so we pulled out the peanut butter and guayava jelly sandwiches, along with the coke and guaraná soda. We sat on the white lawn chairs, ate, talked, and looked over the lake. Once we were done, we jumped into the water. It felt so good, 'specially when it's always SO hot and humid here. Here too, you had to be careful not to touch the bottom because of the slimy mud that was down there. The water was pretty mucky and brown too, but at least it was cool! Nate and Cam had a way over to the other side of the lake where they found a paddle boat, and paddled back over to where we were, and let the rest of us have fun on it too. The Portuguese kids played on it along with Nate and Matt. They would dive off it, and make big splashes. also An inflatable raft was also found, on which they had fun going all around the lake in. Mom and Dad got talking to a girl and her cousin, and got a short Portuguese lesson. Mom was telling them all about her sister-in-law from Brazil, and how she had just had a baby named Larissa that is going to be fluent in both English and Portuguese. She also said she wanted to be able to talk to her in Portuguese by the time we got back :D.
After getting tired out of swimming, Lydia and I sat on the deck, and listened to music until Dad said it was time to go. Ben got back in the drivers seat of the jeep, while this time I got to ride with Nate, Lydia rode with Dave, and Matt was with Dad. The sun was just going down, and we got to experience another amazing sunset on the motorcycles.

Paul knew a Christian guy who lived out in the Kilometers who Dad had visited the last time he was out there. He decided to do so again. After driving way off the main road, we pulled up in the jeep and all three motorcycles. A little shirtless girl peeked out of the doorway when we arrived. She ran to go get her dad. He was somewhere in his late fifties or early sixties while her mom is in her twenties. The man came out and talked with us, telling us about his brother, who he hadn't seen in five years had a serious heart-attack and was in a coma. He was pretty shook up about it, and appriciated the fact that we prayed with him. Before leaving we sang some songs we had memorized in Spanish. It was late, and getting dark, so we said goodbye, and jumped on the motorcycles and jeep. Bethany, Wilmer and I stood on the back of the bumper of the jeep on the way back. It was awesome. Ben was driving fast, and the wind was warm on our faces. By this time it was dark, and you could see the green fluorescent lights of fireflies blinking in the grass, and trees all around.