So after being at some form of altitude for a few weeks we were very excited to head back to sea level and more importantly to the heat of the Amazon.
Visiting the Amazon was one of the things on our list to do whilst in South America. As the Amazon reaches into nearly all of the countries we would be visiting we had some deciding to do as to where we would make the expedition. A combination of research, word of mouth, timing and money brought us to the conclusion that Bolvia would be the best option for us.
We departed from the highest airport in the world (La Paz) in a 16 seater plane that flew straight through the high Andes and down into the jungle town of Rurrenabaque. As soon as we landed we were hit by the tropical heat and noticed straight away the increase in oxygen which our lungs welcomed! That afternoon we scoured the different tour agencies with some other people we met on the plane ride and booked our tour to depart the very next morning. From Rurre there are two main options for tour; the jungle or the pampas. The jungle tours are more focused on nature and ecology (and also feature some killer mosquitos!), and the pampas tour is based on the rivers and is more wildlife focused. We opted for the 3 day, 2 night pampas tour.
Our group was a total of 7 people and we headed on the very bumpy 3 hour bus ride to our departure point on the boats. We arrived meeting our guide Jimmy and hauled into the small motorised wooden boat that would be our means of exploring for the next few days. Within 5 minutes of leaving we were already spotting alligators basking in the midday sun as well as numerous different species of birds, our favourite were the Herons in "yoga position" which was with wings stretched at the top of the trees.
We arrived at our lodgings set on the side of the river bank to a sumptuous 3 course lunch (the food was absolutely outstanding throughout the tour) and explored our simple surroundings, the lodge was built on stilts and there was a section with the kitchens and dining tables, a number of dormitories, flushing toilets and showers, deck with loungers and hammoocks and a games room with a pool table. We immediately felt relaxed.
After lunch we headed for the water and took in an afternoon ride where we spotted numerous types of monkeys including; howler, capuchin and squirrel, as well as the many alligators that lurked on the banks. Sunset was approaching and we headed for a spot where most of the tour groups met up and there was a little shack selling cold beers which were very welcome after the day in the heat! After the sun went down it was attack of the mosquitoes so we quickly covered up and applied as much deet as possible! With flash lights in hand we returned to the lodge in the dark picking out the many alligators and caimans in the water as the flashlights picked out their shining eyes...creepy! We then had another luxurious dinner and it was lights out under our well needed mosquito nets! The next two days consisted of numerous activities including a morning walk through the swamplands in search of the illusive anaconda (none to be seen), sunrise boat ride to see the wildlife wake up, piranha fishing which was lots of fun and we got to eat them for lunch! One of the highlights was the opportunity to swim with the pink dolphins that are abundant in the pampas, unfortunately they were very shy on the day we went out so we opted to stay in the boat, the rest of the group got into the water and while they were swimming our guide took just us into a small tributary where we could see 4 dolphins playing which was a magical moment.
We thoroughly enjoyed the pampas experience and our guide was extremely knowledgeable. He had grown up in the jungle so really was the real deal...the best story being how when he turned 14 as a right of passage into manhood he had to track a puma through the jungle for 10 days smothering himself in garlic to detract from the human smell - incredible! His skills at fishing and also spotting the different animals were just amazing and we even got to see a small family of red monkeys which are rarely spotted. Even on the bus ride back from the pampas we saw an ostrich and also a sloth!
But our time in the Amazon was soon over and we headed back to the altitude of La Paz ready for our next adventure.
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