Macoca

I don`t know if I`ve mentioned it before, but I ought to have because Macoca is my favorite place in my town. The town has spent the last 5 years almost installing an aqueduct. However, one of the tubes broke in a heavy rainstorm that we had. So we`ve had to bathe in the river. Which, luckily for me, the previous volunteer had showed me the spot and my buddies in town are usually more than happy to take me there. So I`ve been going there pretty much every day with one or a group of my friends. It`s a pretty little spot that has a little pool at the bottom of some little rapids. I usually end up spending a couple hours there. Several times now the boys have been cooking locrio (rice with seasonings and chunks of some sort of meat, usually chicken or salami) which is delicious. They cook it over a traditional fogon of three rocks on the ground. We spend the afternoon hanging out, swimming, eating, playing dominoes, and sometimes sharing a bottle of rum or clerin.

I`m having problems uploading the videos so I`ll put them up another time.


Hanging out at Macoca


Some of my buddies. Martin, Francisco, Miguel, Willy, and Pollo (yes, that means chicken, and no, I don`t know his real name).


A busy day at Macoca!


Some more friends. Not sure who the little boy in back is. But from left to right are Andrioli, Criceli, another boy who`s name I ought to know, Toni, and Pivo.


Angeli, me, and Criceli


Pollo showing the kids a crab that someone found. It was huge. We had to pose for pictures with it of course.


The underwater feature definitely works.


The boys and Maria. I`m usually the only girl, although more girls have been coming now since I go every day.


Apparently a common pastime with the boys around here. They try to see how high they can get. This was the highest they got.


The bottom of the tower of boys! I love the foot on the head as the muchacho is trying to climb up to the top.


There is always a fight over who gets the concon which is the burned crusty rice at the bottom of the paila (pan). I have never seen a group of grown men and boys get so excited over burned rice.


Chiquilin