Down we go!!
Trip Start
Nov 24, 2005
1
19
25
Trip End
Nov 24, 2006
Ruerrenabaque,
Bolivia
Thursday, June 1, 2006
La Paz is the worldīs highest capital city and although we were getting used to the altitude, walking was still a struggle and it was pretty cold! We explored this fascinating city, complete with witches markets and loads of ice cream bars (!) and booked our flight to the Amazon, as we were keen to get to the jungle
01. Potosi´s mined hill
! The little plane we caught was a small eighteen seater and it was a beautiful forty minute flight over the Andes to the main settlement in Boliviaīs Amazon basin called Rurrenabaque. Rurrenabaque is a tranquilo (chilled) little town that reminded Pauley and I of somewhere in Asia, we felt at home immediately! The temperature was in the 30īs and there we heaps of little bars, restaurants and hammocks to relax in! We booked a five day jungle and pampas tour, two days in the jungle followed by three days in the pampas, the Amazonian wetlands.
To get to the jungle we caught a canoe down the Beni river for two hours and then turned into the Tuchi river for another two hours. It is a pretty fast moving stretch of water so the local guide navigating the boat certainly knew what he was doing! We arrived at our camp, had lunch and went on a three hour trek through the jungle. We were provided with white long sleeve shirts, covered the rest of ourselves in insect repellent and the guide made us vine water bottle carriers! Perfect!
It was fascinating walking through the jungle listening to all the birds and hearing what all the medicinal plants were for
02. Iglesia San Franscico
. There was even a tree that tasted like chocolate and another that smelt exactly like garlic! Apparently the Indians used to strip some bark off the garlic tree and cover themselves with it to protect themselves from mosquitoes! We found out how to find water from certain trees and which plants could be used as bandages. There were also poisonous ants, huge butterflies, beautiful macaws and bambi like deers, unfortunately (unlike Katie and Mog) we didnīt see any jaguars! After dinner we went for a night walk to spot the alligatorīs red eyes, look at the stars and listen to the jungle sounds, amazing! We all had the best sleep we have ever had and woke up early for another walk followed by the boat trip back down river!
The following day we set off towards the pampas in a four wheel drive with a group of four fun kiwi girls and a lovely Israeli couple. After four hours and a stop at a wildlife cafe for lunch, we arrived at the river where the canoe was to pick us up. We had to wait a while for the boat but were lucky enough to see pink dolphins swimming past...nice! They are fresh water dolphins that have a long nose and are a translucent pink colour on their underbelly. Beautiful!
After our guide arrived with the canoe we embarked on the journey up river to camp. It took over four hours and although it started raining, we were pretty excited to be in a canoe in the Amazon checking out alligators, cute little yellow monkeys, capybaras (they look kind of like a pig/wombat type creature), amazing birds (one of whom looked like it was ready for tribal warfare!) and lots of turtles! It got dark three hours into the trip, so seeing alligators red eyes next to you and picking up the little jumping fish that would land in our canoe was pretty crazy
03. Surviving the flight to Rurrenabaque
! When we arrived we played cards, had dinner and settled into our mosquito netted beds! We had a big day ahead of us! First thing the next morning we headed to the swamp area in search of anacondas. We were given gumboots and a large walking stick for the journey! The plan was to scout around and find one. That didnīt happen although we did find a four month old alligator which is what the anacondaīs feast on. It was interesting to see the environment the snakes live in and to see their homes made out of grass.
After that it was time for lunch followed by beers while piranha fishing....nice! We caught quite a few and ended up eating them for dinner. They are actually quite small fish but their teeth are certainly nasty! After dinner we went on a night tour in the boat and it was unforgettable to float down the river listening to the nocturnal birds and animals while looking at the stars! The night ended with a bonfire back at camp.
On the last day we woke up early enough for sunrise, to the sounds of howler monkeys. They sounded to me like ghouls walking the forest...scary stuff! Sunrise was lovely and then after a pancake breakfast (they love pancakes here...excellent!) we packed the canoe and headed down river
04. Celebrating our first night in the warmth
. We stopped along the way to swim with the pink dolphins which was a great experience especially as you could see alligators sunning on the bank near us! Apparently the dolphins protect you from the alligators! Excellent! Once back in Rurre and after warm showers we all met up for dinner and drinks in celebration of our trip together, fun times! We had the weekend in Rurre to relax by the local pool and soak up the sun. Of course the day we were meant to fly out it started pouring with rain and as the runway is grass, the plane couldnīt take off! Welcome to the world of mananaīs, all the tourists that were stranded had to hang out near the flight office waiting for updates and always hearing ītomorrow, manana you will be able to leave!ī. We didnīt mind coz we loved the town but after almost three days of waiting we left for La Paz. It was definitely sad to leave but the next adventure is the Island of the Sun, birthplace of the Inca empire, so see you soon! xo
