An Afternoon by the Bank of Rio Pirai, Bolivia
“We were waiting for the bus in Rio Pirai. Oidia Domingo. That’s why many people went out in the river,” says a blonde girl. (We are waiting for a micro bun for El Río Pirai. Today is Sunday. Many people have gone to the river.) Río Pirai is the Spanish name for the Pirai River, which flows through the city of Santa Cruz, in Bolivia, a South American country. Although it is a large river, Pirai is not a deep river. It is flowing through the forests and plains of Bolivia. From Plaza Centro (central square), Pirai is about 6 kilometers away. Actually, people do not go to this river to fish but for pleasure and for tourist expedition.
Sunday is the Bolivian public holiday. On this day, the riverbank is filled with temporary shops. There are also permanent stores. There are mainly restaurants and wine bars. In addition to Sunday, the night is full of local and foreign tourists along the banks of the Pirai River.
The bank builds about twenty large bars. Inside the bars, there are many plastic tables and chairs set up for visitors. A group of beautiful girls are employed to dance to rock music to impress drinkers. As the visitors begin to drink bottle after bottle of wine, the group of dancers begins to dance. Rock music continues very loudly. It’s hard to hear someone’s speech while you’re inside.
After emptying several bottles, the drinkers join in the dances with the dancers. The most common Bolivian wine is ‘Pacaena’.
Another group of young tourists go there to ride horses. Many horse owners wait at the bank for customers. The new rider sits on the back of the horse while the owner sits behind him or her and begins to ride along the shore or through the shallows. The owner takes 10Bs. (1.5 USD) for 1 hour of horseback riding. It is very fascinating to see many horses running in the wide river.
Four-wheel motorcycles are a common sight along the river. These mighty bikes are usually ridden by youngsters. Sometimes there are accidents in the river, but don’t worry. There is always a team of doctors to help the injured. I take a motorcycle. Although I have not ridden in a four-wheeler, I drive it alone along the shore. I cannot dare to drive through water.
Flying kites is a beautiful pastime for children on Sunday. Kites of various designs and sizes are found flying in the sky. Sometimes there are screams when one kite hits another.
The most common sight for all old people is bathing in the river water. From early in the morning people begin to gather to bathe with their relatives. During the summer days, people sit in the water hour after hour. They bring fast food and their lunch with them. It seems as if many groups are busy organizing picnics. As I walk past a group, the participants invite me to have lunch with them. Although I do not understand your Spanish language, you can make me understand that it is not a problem to share them at lunch. Finishing lunch I say, thank you all; in response they say, ‘Gracius’. A group of boys and girls, possibly from the same family, are playing football in the shallow part of the river. The most interesting thing is that they have a dog with them that shares their game. When the ball goes into deep water, the dog runs after the ball and swimming in the water takes the ball by the mouth.
In addition to the bars, there are many vendors selling cheap wines on the river. Since there is no drinking water available, people always drink the wine. Vendors also sell potato cookies, chocolates, coffee, etc.
It is only in the afternoon that I finish my journey on the river and reach the shore. It’s hard to be in a hurry, as thousands of people gather in the bars and on the roads. While all the houses are full of drinkers and the music is playing at full volume, it seems that I am going to go deaf. At 8:00 pm, people usually enter the restaurant for “dinner”. I also join the dinner and having finished dinner with the local Bolivian, I return to my hotel, Parque Continental with a lot of unforgettable memories.
Disclaimer: The article was written with data from a few years ago. So the prices mentioned may change.