Jasper once met children going to school by canoe

Hello Boys and Girls, WHAT about all this rain and wind again? I thought we'd have to get the boat out to bring some of you to school. It can happen you know. Let me tell you a story. Many years ago when I was an explorer in South America I actually came across a group of boys and girls who went to school by boat. I had spent a hard few months hacking through the jungle in Peru in search of the lost city of the Inca Sun God. Many people had tried and failed before but when I heard of another expedition setting out I left my ship (I was a sailor back then) and signed up for the fun. When you are young you can do all sorts of things like this and travel the world. Aunt Molly still has a collection of postcards I sent her from distant lands. Anyway, we hacked and we slashed with our machetes, big chopping knives, through the jungle, but in the end we found we were going around in circles. That often happens you know. So I bade farewell to my companions and our guides and went off travelling on my own. I wanted to see the ancient abandoned city of Machu Picchu high in the Andes mountains and that's were I headed for. Sunrise Over the Andes It was really worth the trouble getting there and so was the long early-morning climb up the mountain just to see the sun rise over the Andes and watch as the light spread out over the beautiful ancient stones of the empty city. I still have those memories stored away and sometimes when it's quiet I flip through my photo album and remember the great times I once had and look forward to many more. There are always interesting and exciting things to do boys and girls, you just have to be adventurous and brave. Although I wasn't brave the night the huge Python snake crept into my tent. I was out of there like a greyhound. But back to my story. After I left that beautiful place I looked at my map and saw I was near Bolivia and thought to myself, 'I've never been to Bolivia, I wonder what it's like?' So I set off and in a few days found myself on the shore of Lake Titicaca one of the highest lakes in the world. The most unusual thing about this lake is that all the Uros people live on floating reed islands. They cut reeds and pile them up and then cut more and make houses for themselves. They are very friendly people and I was invited to stay awhile with them. I was very tired from all my exploring and travelling so I agreed. School By Boat I made some nice new young friends there too. One morning I noticed all the boys and girls preparing their reed canoes and I asked where they were going. Itchu my little friend explained they were going to school. The school for all that part of the lake was on another floating island and they all had to paddle there every morning from their islands to get there. What fun they were having. Although they had never heard of cycling or walking or getting a bus to school they still got there. One day before I left I saw everyone preparing the canoes again and I was told it was a big day because there was a big football match on. I couldn't understand how you could play football on a lake but when we all gathered at this big reed island not far away I saw it had a pitch with goal posts on it. What a strange sight to be sitting on a floating island, high in Bolivia watching a game of soccer. Our team won the tournament and there was a big party with music and dancing and loads of fun. I was sad to leave the next day but it's a very big world and I still had lots more of it to see. Look up the places I have mentioned in your atlas, boys and girls and see if you can find them. Who knows, one day you might get there too! Bye for now, Uncle Jasper