Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Still mooching about in the rainforest, today we visited a little village in a clearing. There was a gang of children milling about, all 6 years old or younger, all of them cheeky and scrappy and completely adorable. When we were summoned into a dark bamboo hall to listen to a speech of welcome from Atahualpa, the village elder, I could hear the children laughing and messing about outside. After a particularly loud chuckle rang out by my shoulder, I turned around and saw a pair of big black eyes peering through between the bamboo struts at me. It was one of the little boys, maybe 3 or 4 years old, orange t-shirt, unruly mop of dark hair. He giggled with delight as we pulled faces at him- and missed most of our guide's translation of Atahualpa's speech. Very sweet- and we had a game where he poked leaves through the gaps to us and we posted them straight back out again. A simple enough game, but enough to send him into raptures of laughter, shouting excitedly as each leaf reappeared.
When we left the hall, Twin and I went to find the children. We watched two little boys playing with a truck tire, rolling the thing around although it was bigger than they were. The kids in this village are remarkably rough in their play- wrestling and kicking, throwing each other down and hardly blinking- as we watched, the little boys with the tyre evidently had some kind of disagreement, as one started attacking the other with a large stick, battering the rotten wood into fragments against the tyre as the other boy crouched behind it, doing far more damage to his weapon than to his intended victim- but seconds later they were laughing and playing together again.
Then Em and I found two little girls called Jessica and Lesley- possibly 4 and 5- who were wrestling with each other on a table. We tried to take their picture but each girl did her utmost to cover the other's face or push her out of the picture. It was very funny. When we came back after wandering a bit, the same two girls had moved onto the ground and were turning somersaults together. Em and I gamely applauded and shouted muy bien!- and then Lesley turned to me and opened her arms. I thought that was really cute and knelt down to hug her, but no sooner had I done so then both girls barrelled into me, shrieking with laughter, and bowled me over backwards. Both kids were on top of me in seconds, tickling me as if I was one of them. We had a bit of a wrestling match, all three of us shouting with laughter, and as I scrambled to my knees one of the kids jumped on my back. Rather than roll around with them any more, I struggled to my feet and spun around a few times, holding her piggyback style. No sooner had I set her down than the other was clamouring for the same treatment. And as I was lowering the second to the ground, both tried to scramble on my back at the same time.
At last Em stopped laughing and moved in to help me- she saved my poor spine by suggesting that we have a piggyback race, with we two gringas as steeds. So each of us took a little one on our back and set off at a lurching run across the dusty football pitch, heading for the furthermost goalposts. It was a bumpy ride and both little girls clung on, locking their arms painfully tightly around our necks. Needless to say, our 4-year-old jockeys, who had seemed practically weightless at the outset, quickly felt heavier and heavier, and our race, which had begun in bravado, ended at a limp. Even so, Lesley and I squeaked the victory, and I spun her round and round on my back, wheezing Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
However, Em- in her infinite wisdom- whether for the sake of her own wounded pride or that of her small charge, suddenly cried 'And back again!' and legged it back towards the rest of the group. I stared after her in disbelief, but Lesley was squealing with excitement so I began a reluctant lope back across the field, my breath rasping painfully in my throat.
Needless to say, this time Jessica and Em won. As both hermanas collapsed to their knees, wheezing, our jockeys danced around cheering 'otra vez! Otra vez!'
'No es possible', we groaned, rolling onto our backs, and thankfully we were rescued from further exertions by Johanna calling us back to the boat. We were still aching when we returned to Misahualli, but absolutely elated- it had all been so much fun!
- comments