First sight of the River Marañon
Doña Eufemia.
She tells the story of how she first met the workers. She had been searching for a long time, reading and reading her Bible. Once she had a dream that she was floating down the river but she wasn't drowning. A man in white came and directed her where to get out. She crawled up a cliff, and at the top of the cliff was a house with people sitting in it. She went in, and heard them singing the hymns (that later she learned when she came to listen to the gospel). Later in a second dream, she was walking through a very narrow path in the bush. She came upon a soldier all dressed in uniform who was barring her way, and asked her where she was going. Then he held out a Bible to her and put on top of the Bible 4 grains of corn. He said to her these are the 4 gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Soon afterwards, she saw three men in the township, outside, hanging up hammocks preparing to spend the night there. They were Trevor Loechel and two Peruvian companions, Heradio Coronel and Eliseo Gonzalez, who had walked all day and had another day's walking ahead yet to reach the destination where they were going. Noone in the town would receive them, Eufemia went and asked them to stay the night in her home. After much insisting they did. She didn't have much room, but somehow they managed. After they had eaten, the first question she asked "who of you is a soldier of the Lord?". Trevor answered all of us! That was how she came to hear truth, and was the only one that accepted it. She knows many people as they used to live down by the river and pan for gold, as many people do. Her husband Alberto made a start, but has a weakness for drink!
After the little Bible study... Eufemia and daughter-in-law in front, Alberto and Maruja in back, and two little terrors, grandsons.
The "mudita" Maruja. She has just as interesting a story. She just appeared one day at their house and has stayed on! She was just a young girl when she came stumbling by, looked like an old lady, hadn't eaten for 10 days. Noone knows where she came from, but it would seem that her family were all shot by the terrorists, according to what they can make out by her funny sign-language. She gesticulates having seen them all shot, and then draws tears running down her face. When she first showed up people tried to take her back to where they thought perhaps she came from but she wouldn't stay because she wasn't from there. She went from pillar to post, and eventually turned up here. They felt sorry for her and invited her in to eat something. And she never left!! She's a real help to Eufemia, and inspite of her not hearing anything, she is really alert. She and Eufemia have a little meeting together always!
The kitchen/living area...no words needed!
Breakfast...rice, chicken, mandioc, fried banana and beans
A really beautiful tree in the backyard
One of the little terrors making mudcakes
Coca plant (this is what they make cocaine from). The leaves are most commonly chewed as a stimulant.
Handsome rooster
The buckets is where you bath!! Needless to say, it's advisable to wait till dark...
No explanations needed...
The little terrors rocking the dog in the hammock
Walking down to the river
This is the river that is the precursor to the Amazon. The Marañon is very westward, and the water flows a very long way east to reach the Atlantic ocean, rather than drop over the mountains and into the Pacific!
Imagine these scenes with an oppressive 40oC...
All elegance is forfeited in favour of bug protection...and even then the beggars bit me through the socks!! Little tiny flies that make big itchy bites. You don't feel them in the moment of being bitten.
Doña Eufemia's feet!
And mine post-bug bites!
The guinea pigs, cats and chooks all sleep in here under the stove
Star fruit
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