The
New Year saw us arriving in Guayaramerin, the
Bolivian border town with Brazil. Mise and I were
invited to stay at a lovely place called Itauba
Lake Lodge with acres and acres of grass as well
as an inviting lagoon to tip our toes into, should
the heat become too much.
Miss M was glad for a bit of rest
period (apart from having to recover from the
tough ride through Beni) especially as she was
slightly worried about the ´affectionate´(trust
a female – Mise! – to come up with
such an excuse for a word to act as a smoke-screen
for pure nastiness) little bites I had on my side
which was taking ages to heal.
Fortunately
Miss M had enough sense to know that saddle blanket and girth friction
on these sores can be a painful experience and she thought it wise
to call in the local Vet to check me out. I stood still and was
as good as gold whilst I got my antibiotic injection and others
although the same couldn’t be said about Mise. She was tripling
around like she had sat on an ants nest as the Vet came closer for
her vitamin injection and Miss M suggested that the little drama
queen gets her front feet tied up to stop her from dancing around
all over the place. Well, when the long needle finally pierced into
the soft skin of Mise’s neck (even I started to feel sympathy
for her when I saw the trembling lower lip), she had not only her
feet tied up, but also a rope around her whole body with 2 lads
holding tightly. We were all relieved when the little ordeal came
to an end.
So,
while were enjoying the lush green grass and tranquility of our
new environment, Miss M made a few journeys to the Brazilian side
(on a 10 minutes boat ride as Brazil and Bolivia are divided by
a big river) to organise our entry into the next country. She met
the Veterinary Surgeon, Luis Fernando Diehl from the Ministerio
de Agricultura on the Brazilian side and from what she had been
telling us, he was only help and friendliness
all the way. Miss M also had to talk to the people at Customs, the
Federal Police and the Department of Sanitation and she was amazed
at the open and warm attitudes of these people. Unlike the authorities
in Peru, the Brazilian crowd did everything they could to make our
entry into Brazil a smooth and easy experience and we were all surprised
at how painless it all was.
But,
not everything with TATA is moonlight and roses and I am ashamed
at what I have to share with you next....and anyway, if I don’t
tell you, Mise would jump at the opportunity to revel in some gossip.
So I made the decision to come out with it straight and honest (like
any decent man would off course), thus avoiding Mise´s version,
which without a doubt would have consisted of long relays with irrelevant
information, emotional hysteria and who knows what else!
So in a nutshell...
We
finally got everything ready to leave for Brazil and arrived at
the port (about 7km from where we were staying), drenched to the
bone in pouring rain. There was a big barge that we had to get on
to, sharing the space with two very large trucks and I couldn’t
believe my eyes when I saw Mise, who usually would have had the
shivers at this stage, acting in true unpredictable female spirit,
simply walking on with Miss M up the ramp. I wasn’t so sure
though and my (very strongly developed!) male intuition kept me
on my toes and even Miss M’s tongue clicking and soothing
sounds and pulling on my head collar, couldn’t stop me from
being glued in my tracks.
To
cut a long story short, the next very unfortunate incident unfolded....
Miss M pulled in the front and a strange man got behind me and without
much ceremony (or warning) gave me a burning sensation on the bum
with some object. I wasn’t impressed, so I kicked, hitting
his knuckles into a bloody mess. Miss M had to suppress a giggle
because this is the first time she had seen me kick! Next moment,
SHE goes partly behind me, letting another man pull on the rope
in the front. I was in foul mood at this stage and when I saw from
the corner of my eye Miss M´s arm raising, I reacted and what
was intended as a “warning” ended up as a full force
blow on Miss M’s right arm elbow. I crinched, hoping and praying
that she would be alright. She wasn’t.
Within
minutes her arm had swelled with all the different shades of blue,
purple and red and when we arrived on the other side, her veterinary
friend insisted taking her to the local hospital. Service was poor
(Luis believes the best hospital in Guayra Mirim is an aeroplane!)
and after some waiting, the two of them left to purchase a proper
sling and handful of painkillers themselves. It was quite clear
that riding was out of the question for at least a week to ten days
and on the Vet’s advice and with his help, they arranged for
a truck to transport us all to Porto Velho, about 280 km north into
Brazil.
Here
Miss M had to organise a boat that had to take the three of us to
Manaus as there are no roads in service and everybody has to go
via the river. Miss M met two friendly lads (Frank from Holland
and Brian from the USA) who work in Porto Velho and surrounding
area in Telecommunications and as they both speak the ´lingo´,
they ended up being a great help and really good company for the
five days we had to hang around until Miss M finally got the green
light for departure of our Cargo Boat.
Mise
is whining in my ear about wanting to tell all about our boat trip
on the river, arriving in Manaus, blood tests, waiting and waiting
and more. As usual, she will get her way...
Brazil, 
The
New Year saw us arriving in Guayaramerin, the
Bolivian border town with Brazil. Mise and I were
invited to stay at a lovely place called Itauba
Lake Lodge with acres and acres of grass as well
as an inviting lagoon to tip our toes into, should
the heat become too much.
Fortunately
Miss M had enough sense to know that saddle blanket and girth friction
on these sores can be a painful experience and she thought it wise
to call in the local Vet to check me out. I stood still and was
as good as gold whilst I got my antibiotic injection and others
although the same couldn’t be said about Mise. She was tripling
around like she had sat on an ants nest as the Vet came closer for
her vitamin injection and Miss M suggested that the little drama
queen gets her front feet tied up to stop her from dancing around
all over the place. Well, when the long needle finally pierced into
the soft skin of Mise’s neck (even I started to feel sympathy
for her when I saw the trembling lower lip), she had not only her
feet tied up, but also a rope around her whole body with 2 lads
holding tightly. We were all relieved when the little ordeal came
to an end. 
So,
while were enjoying the lush green grass and tranquility of our
new environment, Miss M made a few journeys to the Brazilian side
(on a 10 minutes boat ride as Brazil and Bolivia are divided by
a big river) to organise our entry into the next country. She met
the Veterinary Surgeon, Luis Fernando Diehl from the Ministerio
de Agricultura on the Brazilian side and from what she had been
telling us, he was only help and 
friendliness
all the way. Miss M also had to talk to the people at Customs, the
Federal Police and the Department of Sanitation and she was amazed
at the open and warm attitudes of these people. Unlike the authorities
in Peru, the Brazilian crowd did everything they could to make our
entry into Brazil a smooth and easy experience and we were all surprised
at how painless it all was.
But,
not everything with TATA is moonlight and roses and I am ashamed
at what I have to share with you next....and anyway, if I don’t
tell you, Mise would jump at the opportunity to revel in some gossip.
So I made the decision to come out with it straight and honest (like
any decent man would off course), thus avoiding Mise´s version,
which without a doubt would have consisted of long relays with irrelevant
information, emotional hysteria and who knows what else!
We
finally got everything ready to leave for Brazil and arrived at
the port (about 7km from where we were staying), drenched to the
bone in pouring rain. There was a big barge that we had to get on
to, sharing the space with two very large trucks and I couldn’t
believe my eyes when I saw Mise, who usually would have had the
shivers at this stage, acting in true unpredictable female spirit,
simply walking on with Miss M up the ramp. I wasn’t so sure
though and my (very strongly developed!) male intuition kept me
on my toes and even Miss M’s tongue clicking and soothing
sounds and pulling on my head collar, couldn’t stop me from
being glued in my tracks.
To
cut a long story short, the next very unfortunate incident unfolded....
Within
minutes her arm had swelled with all the different shades of blue,
purple and red and when we arrived on the other side, her veterinary
friend insisted taking her to the local hospital. Service was poor
(Luis believes the best hospital in Guayra Mirim is an aeroplane!)
and after some waiting, the two of them left to purchase a proper
sling and handful of painkillers themselves. It was quite clear
that riding was out of the question for at least a week to ten days
and on the Vet’s advice and with his help, they arranged for
a truck to transport us all to Porto Velho, about 280 km north into
Brazil.
Here
Miss M had to organise a boat that had to take the three of us to
Manaus as there are no roads in service and everybody has to go
via the river. Miss M met two friendly lads (Frank from Holland
and Brian from the USA) who work in Porto Velho and surrounding
area in Telecommunications and as they both speak the ´lingo´,
they ended up being a great help and really good company for the
five days we had to hang around until Miss M finally got the green
light for departure of our Cargo Boat.
Mise
is whining in my ear about wanting to tell all about our boat trip
on the river, arriving in Manaus, blood tests, waiting and waiting
and more. As usual, she will get her way...