It was an obstacle for us to arrive to a department where there was not PNR delegation. People in charge of the net programs in departmental planning knew very few about it and they waited much from us. As we were instructed in Bogotá at fantastic speeds, the advantage that we took them was very small. Even more, we had to borrow everything: Computers, paper, typewriters, telephone, etc. It was a plus that in the department they were very kind and they didn't complain about the annoyances that we cause them.
Almost all the decisions we had to consult them with the central level; hard phone communications and congestion are bread of every day for the precariousness of local Telecome13 equipment. We had the luck to be in the airport with people that knew the region, not being this way, we had arrived without knowing at least where was the governor's office. Anyway, the department collaborated with us with 2 months of rent and feeding.
Another obstacle was the scarce possibility to visit directly the indigenous communities, for the distance and the enormous consumption of gasoline that mean the overboard motors. I could only be within the communities in three occasions, two days long each one. In the department the centralization is very hard to avoid, because there are communities at a distance of 15 days by river and those connected by air only have flights every 15 days, like Barrancominas and San Felipe populations.
About the central levels, the decentralized institutes regional offices are all in Bogotá or Villavicencio, it complicates the deskwork a lot. In many times the officials were not, after (at least) 40 minutes of insistence, or they didn't want to respond because "they were very busy", and that neither would be a cheat, because the regional offices assist the whole Orinoquia or Orinoquia and Amazonia the both.
NOTESClick
for go back to the note mark.
The state owned telecommunications company. It uses to be the only one phone company in rural areas.