Week 6. 20:24 on Tr 13 June 2019. Parque Ambue Ari, Beni province, Bolivia About 7 hours’ drive north from Santa Cruz de la Sierra and 4.5 hours’ drive east-southeast of Trinidad you’ll find a place referred to as “El Parque.” A number of signs along the road indicate “animales silvestres” in the area. If you were to ask locals what goes on there, you might be told that it’s…
Week 4. 19:50 on M 27 May 2019. Parque Ambue Ari, Beni province, Bolivia Attention: it’s something that a lot of people desire. Gaining attention is the motivating factor behind savvy to stupid decisions made by people everywhere. Yet despite the seeming importance of being in the spotlight, attention is something I’ve never wanted. Obviously I can’t speak for my entire childhood, but I honestly can’t think of big moments…
Week 2. 13:15 on Tr 16 May 2019. 10 km W of San Pablo, heading back to Parque Ambue Ari, Bolivia As we started pulling away from the dirt driveway where we’d stopped, I noticed a young girl in blue jean shorts and a red and white t-shirt running toward us from across the dusty grass yard. We slowed our roll, and then the driver hopped out to retrieve the…
Week 2. 21:10 on Tu 13 May 2019. Parque Ambue Ari, Beni province, Bolivia For this episode of “How Clueless is Steph When it Comes to Jungle Life,” let me introduce the topic of snakes! I’ll preface this by saying that snakes are far less than my favorite creature because I never see them until I’m about to step on them; their unexpected motion gives me a heart attack and…
Week 1. 20:10 on Tr 9 May 2019. Parque Ambue Ari, Beni province, Bolivia How to put my sweat levels in the jungle into perspective? Take this line from last night’s journal entry: “I’m sweating so much that I can’t write for long. My headlamp is illuminating drops of moisture on my hand, and sweat is moistening this page.” Apart from my week-long bike trips on PALM (Pedal Across Lower…
Week 0. 13:02 on 2 May 2019. 32 km NW of San Ramon, heading toward and beyond Ascension de Guarayos, Bolivia To my untrained eye, the gray clouds of the sky look like they could drop rain through the bus window and onto my laptop at any moment. I am traveling through the rainforest, after all. Maybe the 4-year-old girl who keeps turning around to closely stare at me will…