The World Cup

I'm enjoying the World Cup coverage. Having spent some time in South Africa, I'm especially enjoying the locale.

It seems everywhere I travel, from South America to various countries in Africa, there are always pick-up games of football/soccer. Sometimes the balls are makeshift, usually the goals are.

One of the most interesting places I saw a pick-up game was in Rurrenabaque, Bolivia. Rurre is a small town in the Bolivian rainforest. My time in the rainforest was already eventful, as I saw capybara ("Rodents of Unusual Size," the largest in the world), had to run through the rainforest to escape the storm (falling branches and poisonous bugs added to the drama), and tracked wild boar (it was only later that I read about how vicious they can be! Naive? Perhaps).

I had read in the guide book that you should always schedule a couple of extra days in Rurre, because you never knew if you were going to get out. The runways at the time were unpaved, and if it rained too much, planes were not allowed to land. Being that Rurre is in the middle of the rainforest, it rained a lot. Most flights were cancelled and visitors could spend days waiting to depart.

The day of my flight arrived and I got bumped from one flight after another. The crowds around the one room airport were restless to say the least. Finally a select few, myself included, were taken by bus to the runway. Here the wait continued, potential passengers fretting over their missed connections.

And then...the workers moved the cones, pulled out a basketball, and an impromptu game of soccer started up, right in the middle of the runway! A pig wandered out of trees in the distance. A motorcycle stood at the ready to clear out any wildlife (it drives the runway before planes arrive to keep it free of animals). And the game continued until the plane was about to arrive, the cones were put back and we were rushed onto the plane that raced away ahead of the impending storm.