Jungle Tour (E)

 

I spent two relaxed days in Rurrenabaque waiting for Ulli & Suse to arrive. To my great surprise they quite enjoyed the bus ride although much of it is on roads similar to the “world’s most dangerous road”. Together we shopped around for jungle trips and found an agency who offered trekking tours through the rainforest.

We opted for a four-day trip and set off into Madidi National Park on a small boat on the rivers Beni & Tuichi. It took us three hours to reach our first night’s camp where our guide Juan-Carlos took us to a short tour through the dense forest. We learned a lot about the local fauna and how plants & trees are used by the local tribes to treat illnesses. After sunset we took our torches and went to the jungle to see all kinds of insects before enjoying our last night in proper beds & huts.
The other two nights were spent on thin camping mats under a mosquito net and a plastic sheet to protect us from the nasty crawlers and the odd rain shower. Our camps were in the middle of the jungle without comforts such as bathrooms or showers so we had to improvise and use the rivers to cool off after the tiring treks. The days were spent by walking through the rainforest with all our gear, food and water for the entire journey – hard work considering heat and humidity levels. To make things a bit more challenging, sandflies waited at the riverbanks and in our camp, leading to dozens of itchy bites that would annoy us for many days.

Despite the inconveniences the three of us really enjoyed the tour. The sound of the jungle without any noise pollution was amazing and living without electricity or mobile antennas a nice change from everyday life. We saw fewer animals compared to the pampas tour but the odd encounters left us stunned as we were hiding behind trees to watch huge herds of wild pigs crossing through the forest, spider monkeys climbing high up in the treetops or seeing a young Pucarara (one of the most dangerous snakes of the Amazon) crossing our path.

Back in Rurre I packed for my flight to La Paz and said good-bye to the girls as they took the night bus back. We met again in La Paz the day after where we celebrated our successful trip with a good dinner and delicious chocolate cake.


Our guide Juan-Carlos coming home from a successful fishing trip

Pucarara Snake

Caterpillar

  

Another nice caterpillar

Flight back to La Paz