SANTA LUCIA

The river crossing at Santa Lucia serves at least three communities deep in the Chaguite Grande mountains, a remote tobacco-growing region of the municipality of Condega. The Rio Pire swells tremendously during the rainy season and because of the relatively flat terrain, the locals were forced to wade through waist deep water for about a hundred meters just to reach the main run of the river, at which point they must risk their lives trying to swim across the swiftly moving water. A suspension bridge at this crossing allows the residents to at least cross the main river without fear of being swept away and drowning.