Well, I'm back in La Paz after a week in the jungle! I made it back safe and sound with far fewer bug bites than I expected but more than enough to make my life miserable. We had a really great time in Rurrenabaque and we ended up doing a 3-day pampas tour (sort of grassy lowlands) and a 2-day jungle tour with also some time to relax and hangout in Rurre. It really was a fantastic trip and a chance to see the slower, small town side of Bolivia. Rurrenabaque is a small town northeast of La Paz and its the gateway into the Amazon Basin in Bolivia.
Our trip didn't start off so well. We were supposed to fly out to Rurre on Friday but because its the rain season and the runway in Rurre is grass, our flight was canceled for the day. So after spending 7 hours in the La Paz airport, we headed back into town to try again the next morning at 7am. I also got sick (again) so I was not really feeling well to travel. Luckily, we flew out on time on Saturday and we found ourselves in HOT, humid weather in an itty bitty town full of rustic restaurants, small tiendas and tour agencies. The tours to do in Rurrenabaque include trips to the pampas to swim with pink (no joke! pink!) dolphins, ride horses and admire the wildlife. The other trip is into the jungle and into the Parque Nacional Madidi, one of the most pristine, intact ecosystems in the Amazon. We had no trouble booking our tours and we were off the next day for the pampas.
View from the balcony of our hotel in Rurre, Hostal Beni. Nice except there was a frog in the shower that scared the crap out of me!
Our first wildlife viewing, a macaw! Too bad it was at the restaurant where we had lunch.
The pampas trip was pretty relaxing. Because its the rain season, the water levels are really high in the rivers and we ended up spending most of our time in the boat, which would have been fine except they were these rickety canoes with hard wooden benches and NO shade. We spent our time riding in the boat, looking for wildlife, riding horses, riding in the boat, sleeping in hammocks and riding in the boat. 3 days of sitting on those benches was so painful! But we did get to swim with pink dolphins. Its weird to think that dolphins in general live in the rivers of the Amazon but they do! There are pink and gray ones - their coloring depends on what they eat apparently. Anyway, they are attracted by the sound of the motor so we were constantly seeing them playing near the boats. So cool!
Ready for the boat!
Five hours later....
Beautiful views of the still river water on the pampas tour.
We got up at the dawn to see some wildlife. It was impossible to get any wildlife pictures but we did see a sloth in motion. The best thing we saw was the sunrise.
My horse! As some of you might know, I'm not the best horsewoman to ever live. My horse was slow and nice and had a baby with it that followed it everywhere. Amber's horse was really fat and kept yawning. We thought it was pregnant at first but it turned out to be male.
A glimpse of a pink dolphin. They were IMPOSSIBLE to get pictures of! They would jump and take a breath but you could never tell where they would pop up. But when we were swimming they came within a few feet of us!
Our accommodations in the pampas were pretty nice. Full showers, flushing toilets and big mosquito nets. They were really nice except for the immense bugs! Well, it is the Amazon after all. Amber and I would freak out because they were these HUGE HUGE HUGE spiders in our room. We're talking visible eyes and hairy bodies. I think I'm a pretty hardy traveler and that I can take a lot of gross things but I have to draw the line at huge hairy spiders. I think I'm way too much of a princess for jungle life.
When we came back to Rurre, we decided we wanted a day break before heading out the jungle. It was a good decision since it turned out that we were in Rurre during their annual festival to celebrate the founding of the town. They festivities last 3 days during which they have these elaborate parades with costumes that depict the history of Bolivia from indigenous tribes to the Spanish invasion to today. They also filled the main square with games, booths, music and even a trampoline. That night we went to the square, had a couple of beers and listened to live bands playing folk music. It was such an interesting experience to see a festival in this little town.
Old man taking part of the parade. They paraded for days, dancing up and down the streets. I'm sure there's some historical significance but they even had a parade at 6am.
More dancing.
I'm not sure what the stuff of his face is or means but I got a picture of it.
Re-enacting the river. I thought the boy on top would fly off!
We then headed out to Madidi Park for the jungle tour. It wasn't as relaxing or as luxurious (relatively speaking. None of it was particularly luxurious) as the pampas tour but at least we did a bit of hiking. The hikes were like adventure walks through streams, up hills and through many many bushes. Actually, hiking in the middle of the Amazon is hard, hot and humid. But we saw some really interesting plants and gorgeous views. Overall, though the jungle was harder and more rustic, I liked that we were actually moving around and doing things. That said, 2 days was definitely enough!
Our cabins in the jungle. The structure to the right is just to hang up hammocks.
Some type of mushroom. Toxic, I'm sure.
Sun peeking through on a stream.
A tower of fire ants. Apparently building a house for themselves but it was over a foot tall! Ants everywhere in the Amazon.
Swinging on a vine! Its a bit blurry but you get the idea. Yes, I see the joke. Where's Tarzan, right?
Amber and me in front of an amazing view of Madidi. It was so hot during the walk up!
A cool relaxing swim after hiking through the rainforest all day. It felt sooo good!
And now we're back in La Paz. We're just here really to organize ourselves and set off for the next part of our trip. Amber and I are splitting up, which is a bit of a bummer because she's really great and because its easier to travel with another person but we have different plans. I'm not to worried though since I'm heading directly to Uyuni (well, after 16 hours worth of bus time) to meet up with a tour group to go through the Salt Flats, which are supposed to be out of this world. I'm excited to see them! I was pretty tired from so much traveling when I got to Rurre but because it was such a quiet, idylic place to be, I was able to recharge and now I'm ready for more!
This is how I want to remember myself on this trip.
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