Archive for the ‘Bolivia’ Category
Three years ago this past August, Matt, Ty, Tom, and I were getting ready to get on the Tuichi River in the Bolivian Amazon.
It was an adventure of a lifetime that was being recalled as we gathered at the Quaker Meeting House in Tucson
for a memorial service for Tom Markey — sharing happy times in a moment of sadness. (August 20, 2019)– Image by kenne
“Time present and time past
Are both perhaps present in time future,
And time future contained in time past.
If all time is eternally present
All time is unredeemable.
What might have been is an abstraction
Remaining a perpetual possibility
Only in a world of speculation.
What might have been and what has been
Point to one end, which is always present.
Footfalls echo in the memory
Down the passage which we did not take
Towards the door we never opened
Into the rose-garden. My words echo
Thus, in your mind.
But to what purpose
Disturbing the dust on a bowl of rose-leaves
I do not know.
Other echoes
Inhabit the garden. Shall we follow?”
— T. S. Eliot
Tom and I Shared a Tent Each Night On the River
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Great Blue Heron In Madidi National Park, Bolivia (08/23/19) — Image by kenne
knee-deep in water
pay no attention to me
I’m a passer-by
— kenne
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Madidi National Park (Bolivia) Sunset Along The Beni River (9/19/19) — Image by kenne
Afoot and light-hearted I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading me wherever I choose,
Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good-fortune,
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms,
Strong and content I travel the open road.
— from Song of the Open Road by Walt Whitman
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Building Construction — Rurrenabaque, Bolivia In The Amazon Forest (08/19/19) — Image by kenne
Rurrenabaque
Sits on the Beni River
Amazon journey.
— kenne
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Wires and Cables Above The Streets of La Paz, Bolivia — HDR Images by kenne
Poles on street corners
Birds nest of wires and cables
Some not connected.
— kenne
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Great Blue Herons In Madidi National Park, Bolivia (08/23/19) — Images by kenne
Madidi is a national park in the upper Amazon river basin in Bolivia. Established in 1995, it has an area of 18,958 square kilometers, and, along with the nearby protected (though not necessarily contiguous) areas Manuripi-Heath, Apolobamba, and (across the border in Peru) the Manu Biosphere Reserve, Madidi is part of one of the largest protected areas in the world.
Ranging from the glacier-covered peaks of the high Andes Mountains to the tropical rainforests of the Tuichi River, Madidi and its neighbors are recognized as one of the planet’s most biologically diverse regions. In particular, Madidi protects parts of the Bolivian Yungas and Bolivian montane dry forests ecoregions.
Access to the Madidi National Park by flying from La Pez over the Andes to Rurrenabaque. We drove muddy jungle roads to our guide’s Tacana Community, where we boarded balsa wood rafts on the Tuichi River.
— kenne
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Peccaries Near The Tuichi River In The Amazon (08/21/19) — Image by kenne
Like a pig, it has a snout ending in a cartilaginous disc and eyes that are small relative to its head. Also, like a pig, it uses only the middle two digits for walking, although, unlike pigs, the other toes may be altogether absent. Finally, its stomach is not ruminating, although it has three chambers and is more complex than pigs.
Peccaries are omnivores and eat insects, grubs, and occasionally small animals, although their preferred foods consist of roots, grasses, seeds, fruit, and cacti—particularly prickly pear. They are found throughout Central and South America and the southwestern United States. — Source: Wikipedia
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Cholita Wrestlers (08/18/19), La Paz, Bolivia — Image by kenne
A couple days ago I read where Cholita wrestlers stage a performance on the street during the Electropreste celebration,
which combines traditional and modern customs, in La Paz, Bolivia March 12, 2022. REUTERS/Claudia Morales
In August of 2019 we were in La Paz before flying over the Andes to the Amazon. Some of our group wanted
to go see the Cholita Wrestlers. Here’s a link to a posting I did. (Click Here.)
— kenne
Cholita:
“You see me…”
Then a sigh
“…in your Gringo eyes,
Green like algae and blue like skies…”
Then a sigh
And frown, and timid, stoic
And she turned to mirror
In her eyes history on a rock
Ollantay
Fearful, hesitant
Pleasure and the pain all the same
Impassive
All were one, without a difference
“…this is my story…”
“…this is my strength…”
However
Polomitsa she was
Or rather
A lion with power
And she talked
And defined
In city and around
“…Cholita, work of art, work of harm…”
Iconic history
“…this fashion is a curse…”
Lost in heart was my mouth
In ears was my tongue
I listened and I watched
And blunt, sure she was
Thick-skinned
With no rights
Under hat pollera, shawls and Jewells
Cholita an insult
Cholita an abused
Cholita her mother
Cholita her daughter
And
Cholita’s pride is Cholita’s revenge
— Nassy Fesharaki
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Tuichi River In The Amazon (August 2019) — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Downriver, the jungle fog slowly lifts
Water still murky from heavy rains
Two days earlier in the upriver hills
Making jungle roads almost impassible
To our reaching an indigenous community.
After a meal prepared by Padro’s family
Under a thatch-covered shelter, we
Walked through a field of cattle
Watching suspiciously at a distance
A quick turn of the head, glancing back.
Arriving at the river shoreline before
Completion of the balsa wood rafts
We watched our indigenous crew
Finish preparing our transportation
On what would be my Amazon mistress.
— kenne
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A Tacana Family Headed Down the Tuichi River to Rurrenabaque in the Amazon — HDR Image by kenne
The Tacana people live along the Beni River in the Madidi National Park, Amazon.
The Tuichi River joins the Beni River upstream from the town Rurrenabaque.
Pedro, our Tacana guide demonstrated the indigenous technique of fishing.
Matt did have some success on our Day 3. — Image by kenne
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Taking the Ferry To Copacabana the Main Bolivian Town On the shore of Lake Titicaca — Image by kenne
The Return
I’m coming back
for my wings.
O let me come back!
I want to die where
it’s dawn!
I want to die where
it’s yesterday!
I’m coming back
for my wings.
O let me get back!
I want to die where
it’s origin.
I want to die
out of sight
of the sea.
— Federico Garcia Lorca
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River Taxi In the Bolivian Amazon (August 2019) — Image by kenne
Amazon highway
Headed upstream with luggage
Riverboat royalty.
— kenne
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Going Down the Tuichi River On A Foggy Amazon Morning — Images by kenne
Ansel Adams has stated, “There are always two people in every picture:
the photographer and the viewer.” By being in the moment,
the photographer can help the viewer better understand
and better appreciate the moment.
— kenne
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Heron Standing In River Water — Photo-Artistry by kenne
A hunger heron
Standing in river water
Anticipation.
— kenne
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Macaws In Flight In The Amazon (August 2019) — Image by kenne
Attractive to see
Always announce their presence
Noisy to the ear.
— kenne
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Becoming is Superior to Being 