THE TRAVELING POD

June 2022

What an experience! It was amazing to visit a community hidden in the jungle regions near the Brazilian boarder.

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This trip to Santo Corazon was Joey’s first trip to this community, as it is very rural and a bit tricky to get there. On this trip, we were the three amigos; Joey (Medfund general director), Joey’s cousin JD and me. This place is close to the Brazil boarder, and so we started our journey from Santa Cruz, another big city located on the east side of Bolivia. It is lower in altitude, so it is a lot warmer, which I absolutely loved. Also, this was my first time to Santa Cruz, and I liked it.

I flew by a small plane to Santa Cruz because it was cheap and only took one hour. The cost was roughly $52 Australian dollars, compared to an 18-hour bus ride for $25 dollars. I spent my first night in Santa Cruz in a hostel before departing on our road trip the next morning. I must note, this was my only paid accommodation since I’ve been here for over 5 months in Bolivia (#blessed). One my first night out in Santa Cruz city, I was so confused, I had my first encounter with the Mennonite community that was heavily populated in the area I was staying in. Mennonites reminded me of a mix between German and Amish community, and here is a photo from the internet so you can experience it too. I literally walked around a corner, and saw white Mennonities, compared to months of darker skinned traditional Bolivian people.

Mennonities (Google photo)

Our journey to Santo Corazon was awesome, and we went through so many different communities like Santiago. Santiago is where Joey’s family lives, and where we picked JD up from. We drove for two days and into the night to reach Santo Corazon. It was so much fun, we were deep into the jungle regions, and we had to work our way through the jungle. A few times during the night, we had to get out to use our machetes to cut bush back so our van could pass, or dig dirt and move rocks so the van could make it through the dirt road. We even used our portable stove in the middle of the jungle dirt road, so I could cook dinner for us. We finally reached the community at midnight and we were so tired. We parked than van next to a river, and slept in the van.

Our first day in the community was interesting, I say this because everyone initially thought we were human organ traffickers. JD and I sat on top of the roof of the van, with our shirts off (of course), enjoying the jungle sun whilst we drove around the small community. We waved to everyone who we drove past as foreigners do, and the look on some people’s faces were priceless. JD and I were having fun riding on top, but the locals that looked on started a rumor that we must be human organ traffickers. We were eventually approach and asked for identification, and asked for Joey’s uncle; a well-respected man of this area, to confirm we were not organ smugglers. Personally, if I were a human organ trafficker, I would not have sat on top of the van without a shirt on.

We met the local church pastor, and she was very hospitable to us. We had local food for lunches at different people’s homes, we slept in the church for the remainder of our time there. We played soccer with the local kids at their dirt and dust soccer field. I need to say, I was so impressed with the kid’s ability to play soccer bare feet, as they ran over rocks in the ground. Also, we attended church with the local people, swam in the river for leisure and bathing purposes. Most importantly, we were able to hand out medications to individuals, and I was able to treat some patients that needed podiatry service.

I remember one old man came to me for podiatry service, and he had heavy amounts of callus on his big toe. Also, he had half a big toe due to a machete accident many years ago, and he explained that he finished the job by self-amputating his big toe. I met some lovely people who I treated, and even though I have a language barrier, I was able to learn their stories through JD who was my translator.

I remember one old man came to me for podiatry service, and he had heavy amounts of callus on his big toe. Also, he had half a big toe due to a machete accident many years ago, and he explained that he finished the job by self-amputating his big toe. I met some lovely people who I treated, and even though I have a language barrier, I was able to learn their stories through JD who was my translator.

One of the highlights of this trip was spending the night in the hot springs on our way back from Santo Corazon. JD and I went to the hot springs in Santiago, and we spent a couple of hours into midnight, under the stars in 40-degree water that expanded roughly 5km. Yes, I do wish I had a special partner to enjoy that romantic spot with, but hey, at least I know where to take her now. It was a special time with JD where we were able to trade past stories of our lives, and I think he’s an awesome person and a good friend.

As we were driving in the night, Joey spotted something big in the bushes by the side of the road, and absolutely in the middle of nowhere. It was a dog, and it was in a terrible state, and I am glad Joey and JD also have a love for animals. We stopped to give it food and water, and the poor dog was so dehydrated and in a state of malnutrition. We decided to bag the dog, yes, we put the dog in a bag and took it to the next town. We were able to buy it medication from a late-night vet, and bought it some food. We left it near a lot of food stores, as a lot of dogs are well fed there, and we watched the dog come to live after good food and water.

Rescue dog