Bella vista. Final day

It's hard for any of us to believe that our time here in the amazon has come to an end. It's also impossible for everyone to put into words what this community and it's people, especially the children, have come to mean to this group.

We begin with a small detour for our group in stopping at the local market. Every Thursday this community market is open and folks from all around come to stock up on their needed goods as there is no grocery store anywhere near here. Each group of 4 was given 2 dollars with which to buy the needs for their family of four for a meal. They had to negotiate with sellers and plan out what they would do, make a purchase and bring back the food to the boat. You can ask them when they return how well they might have eaten that night if it had been up to them.

We continue up the river to Bella vista where with the community we get the rebar construction finished, the cement foundations finished, wood hauled, and gravel/ sand piles moved. It is a full morning that ends with the community small children sharing a dance with us. A soccer game is played together and a huge number of photos are taken with members of our group and members of the community. These significant relationships that have been built means that the photos now taken are between friends. It is now time to say our goodbyes and this becomes a very difficult time for our group. Tears flow freely as the group tries to bid farewell to this amazing experience and these incredible people. The boat ride back is rather quite as the group tries to pull together emotionally and integrate within all that has happened in this leg of the trip. Thankfully the weather holds today.

After lunch we head to the nearby village of Mondana. We see the school, the medical clinic, the village itself and then make our way to the women's cooperative where we are given a demonstration of the techniques and materials used in making their crafts. The group has an opportunity to buy and many lovely things are bough today. Returning to the lodge we begin the process of packing for our early leave tomorrow.

Supper turns out to be a very special affair and we are served by the staff a candle light dinner. Some youth from Mondana come in traditional garb and they share some traditional stories of their culture that they are trying to recapture in their own community. Our group shares their line dance and teaches their group as well. From there the evening becomes a time of singing, card playing and visiting till light eventually go out and folks head to bed.