Weeeeeee!!!!!


The commercial with the pig riding a zip-line is very funny. But in reality there are people who do that to make a living. High above the jungle valley in Bolivia these guy ride 20 year old zip-lines everyday to shorten their journey to work and to transport harvests so they can be taken to market. It looks like a hell of a ride.
     Posted By: Alex - Wed Feb 22, 2012
     Category:





Comments
They interview the man whose idea the zip-lines for transportation was, he can not read or write but is none the less brilliant. He not only thought this up, he implemented it as well. It looks very scary, but in 20 years of use there have only been 3 deaths. No form of travel here can boast that safety record.
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 02/22/12 at 11:44 AM
#1) Illiteracy is not a sign of stupidity.
#2) "Flimsy wires" that have lasted 20 years & never broken!
#3) The women may be smarter than the men.
#4) Mandarins (tangerines) don't rot if not picked right away!
At least not on our trees.
#5) "This 2 lane road are as busy as...".
Ever been to Miami at 5PM on Friday night?
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 02/22/12 at 12:33 PM
I was a bit worried about how that would be taken, the illiterate thing, but you've gotta know I meant no offense. Nor do I equate illiteracy with lack of intelligence. I was impressed by this man's natural engineering skill, all the more impressive when you realize he did not have the benefit of formal schooling. I hope I have expressed myself better, as you can see, being literate does not guarantee skill in expression.
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 02/22/12 at 12:55 PM
You weren't the script writer on this piece, Patty. The buffoon seeking sensationalism wrote the script.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 02/22/12 at 01:13 PM
Patty, As Expat said, you didn't write the script! Someone with a heart as big as yours is could not be mean!
As to the video, isn't it remarkable that these people have to go through all that trouble just to get to the "road of death" that takes them to town!
Posted by Tyrusguy on 02/22/12 at 02:15 PM
Thank you both. Good point Ty, more dangerous on the road than the zip line.
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 02/22/12 at 04:17 PM
As a young Marine in the late '80s I attended the RoK Marine Mountain Warfare School near Munchuk, South Korea during a cross-training exercise with SK forces, (used to be called Team Spirit; no idea what it is now, or if it is even still extant). Anyway, they had one of these things (we called them "slides for life") that started at the top of a 200-ft cliff and ran about 800 feet across a small valley to the opposite bank of a stream. I had been on similar equipment in Okinawa and Hawaii, but they were strictly small-time -- no more than 100 lateral feet, maybe 30 feet at the high point. Doing it from 200 feet up is a whole 'nother bag of cats, I can tell you. Quite exhilarating the second time, though.

Then the instructors made us Australian-rappel off that same 200 foot cliff. Yikes. Not so much fun, that.
Posted by Pile of Pooh on 02/22/12 at 05:16 PM
Thanks Patty.

That was a great doc -- less about ziplines than about the life of a typical Bolivian farm worker. Very well done. Too bad they couldn't afford regular zipline harnesses; those harnesses are pretty safe. If you are poor, you end up having to take a lot of risks that the rest of the population fails to understand.
Posted by Harvey on 02/22/12 at 07:54 PM
I am glad you enjoyed the post Harvey. You are right about the risks, like when the dad wrapped the little boy up in the sling to travel across together. Scary.
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 02/22/12 at 08:06 PM
BTW Patty did you notice what was embroidered on the back of the little boys hat? I'll give you a hint,it was a pot leaf! REALLY! :lol: :lol: It's at 2:06 :coolsmile:
Posted by Tyrusguy on 02/22/12 at 08:26 PM
Well I guess that is the secondary crop. 😉
Posted by Patty in Ohio, USA on 02/22/12 at 09:40 PM
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