The mayor of Villamontes (photographer by Jim)
The most exciting day of our now week-long stay at CEAAT began and ended in the flatbead of a Villamontes truck. As the sun set, we found ourselves careening down the dirt-paved highway that winds through the mountains outside the small town, hundreds of feet above the raoring Pilcomayo River. Although the day was overcast and chilly, the four of us stood up in the back of our truck, faces to the cold wind, grinning and snapping photos of the majestic scene around us – the red mountains dotted with tufts of trees, giant river rocks carved into wavy jewels by years of erosion. A local official named Bernardo had lent us this car and its driver, Fausto, to take us on a tour of the Chaco and on a day trip that would send us climbing down sheer cliff, visiting a farm guarded by a dangerous pack of dogs, attempting entry into a camoflouged military base, and enjoying the natural beauty of our host country.
We woke up early on this day without any way to get from Tarairi to Villamontes, having been misinformed about the micro schedule. We set off on foot first hoping to find a passing taxi, until a soda truck finally pulled over near the highway, inviting us to jump in the back with the bottles. Wind-whipped and exhilerated from our hitchhike, we arrived in Villamontes and the Agri XXI office where we met up with Marcelino and Carston who accompanied us to a municpial office for our first interview of the day.
The interviewees were three local assemblymen who spoke at length about the agricultural school. They raised an interesting point about the importance of agricultural and technical professions for the young men and women at the school. After a generation of lawyers and doctors (the sheer volume of which decreases the odds of finding a job), the need for skilled, business-savvy farmers has never been higher, they said.
Following the interview and the assemblymen’s gracious offer to show us the countryside later in the day, Marcelino scored us an impromptu interview with the mayor of Villamontes,
After a quick lunch, we set off with Fausto to the Chaco and spent the rest of the day exploring. Night had fallen by the time we returned to Bernardo’s office (where an employee had good-humoredly drawn up and authorized certificates showing that we had each participated in last month’s Pilcomayo Kayak Regata). We dined and planned out the coming days in Villamontes, eager to return to the campus and talk more with the students before we leave CEAAT and the Chaco later this week. And we reflected on the day’s adventures, satisfied that we had documented the truly beautiful country that surrounds the poverty and struggle but also the opportunities here in Tarairi.
- Jack