The next afternoon we headed off to Rurrenabaque on a bus that was not quite what I was used to. It was comfortable enough, until the aisles started filling up with people and sleeping children. So much for using the aisle as leg room.
The road was also just the other half of Death Road. Winding, high and narrow.
We arrived in Rurrenabaque 17.5 hours after we left Coroico. Tired, stiff and, most of us, bitten by nasty little buggers.
We managed to get a tour leaving that morning with Fletcha tours. 2 nights, 1 day in the jungle followed by 3 nights, 2 days in the Pampas - all for $20 a day, $100 in total. In between we would have to stay a night in Rurrenabaque.
Claire, an American girl from Texas that we met on the bus, would be joining us.
Four Polish people, two couples, a columbian and a Venezuelan joined us with their own guide. We took the tour company´s boat out to their camp in the Jungle, 3 hours of scenic river.
The accomodation was basic, but the beds had mosquito nets and I managed to score and extra super thin matress to go under my existing super thin mattress.
Our guide, Jory, took us for a walk through the jungle immediately. We didn´t see any big animals, though we did see Capybara, giant guinea pig - poos on the way.
We did see leaf cutter ants though. Very cool. Massively long lines of them all streaming to the same place. Looked exactly like it does on TV. Only better.
We walked all the way to the top of a hill and when we got up thyere, Jory told us to look down. We were on a cliff face inhabited by thousands of Parakeets and a few Macaws. When we made a loud noise at the top, the birds would fly in a huge circle making a hell of a racket.
We then walked back down, in the slippery mud - it really does rain in the rainforest - and headed for the bottom of the cliff we were standing on to view it from a different angle.
The following morning it was raining. We were told we had to wait for it to stop before we could walk to the community - who we were to pay 50 Boliviana´s to for their conservation efforts, or so we were told.
It didn´t stop raining between breakfast and lunch, so we played shithead.
After lunch the guides decided we could take the boat around the the community instead. It stopped raining just as we were walking toward the boat.
The other walk to the community revealed a little more then they would have liked. We came across a huge area of burned forest. Recent, some of it was still smoking.
The four of us refused to pay for what we saw. Conservation efforts? They were burning the forest to grow crops that they could sell in the town.
We ended up having to pay the money, but refused to visit the comminuty. Our little protest.
After our night off in Rurrenabaque, we headed by 4x4, a bumpy and long 3 hour ride, to the edge of the Pampas region. There we got on a boat to take a 3 hour slow cruise to the lodgings. The four Polish people were on this tour with us as well.
On this very first ride we saw almost everything we were told we were going to see, and more.
A giant Guinea Pig. Giant. Huge. The size of a small bear, I would say.
Birds of Paradise
Alligators and Turtles. Lots of them.
Squirrel Monkeys and Howler monkeys.
Pink Dolphins!
I wasn´t sure if everyone was pulling my leg, because I had never heard about them, but there they were. Plain as day. Sort of. This picture is of one that is a juvenile, which are purple/grey, but they are pink. I´ve seen them with me own eyes.
And plenty of birds, including Herons and Kingfishers.
The only things left to see, on our list, were Anacondas and Tucans.
That evening, before dinner, we went to the sunset bar, around the corner, and had an ice cold beer while we watched the sunset over the Pampas from their viewing balcony.
The next moring we came out of breakfast to find one of the guides feeding bread to the biggest Caiman I can imagine. It was at least 4m long. And eating bread.
Theat afternoon we went for our trek through the Pampas. At times the water would be over the Gumboots they gave us. Very hard work slogging over all that, especially since it was the hottest day yet.
Halfway across the long section, we came across a Caiman that had died of dehydration while trying to get to better waters. It was HUGE. Bigger than the one we had seen that morning. Scary stuff. No picture of it though, sorry.
The slog through the pampas/swamp/marsh was worth it though. We came across two Cobras - no one told us there were Cobras! - and two largish Anacondas.
After a well deserved power nap back as base, we all went for a swim witht he pink dolphins. Well, Claire,, Jory and I did, everyone else chickened out. It was great fun, mainly because of the adrenaline pumping.
There are Alligators in these waters you know!
A different sunset bar was the setting for our second Pampas sunset, and Amy took this spectacular shot.
The next day we went Piraña fishing, and caught quite a few. Then we headed back to town after lunch. On the way we saw more of the same spectacular animals, but the highlight was this family of Giant Guinea Pigs.
Two more things:
1. If you go to the Jungle or Pampas, take deet. The highest percentage you can find.
The mossies in the Pampas bit us on our thighs and asses right through our mossie-proof pants.
2. Since I still didn´t have a camera, all these pictures are curtesy of Amy and Jason. Thanks guys.
2 comments:
That is actually called a Capybara, which is the largest rodent in the world.- It's NOT a giant Guinea Pig, I laughed when I read that. XD Although Guinea Pigs ARE the closest relitive of the Capybara.
Tomato, Tomato.
And once again, is it wrong for me to think it is cool that someone is posting comments on a blog that is two years old?
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