We arrived at the airport and waited for a bit, it slowly got busier with other travellers. We checked our luggage and crossed our fingers. No flights had been taking off in the previous few days due to smoke in the Rurre area from forest fires. We hoped it was a good day for us. And it started off great. We lined up to board and ended up chatting with Alex and Patrick a German-American couple from San Francisco and a girl named Maria from NY. We exchanged info on our upcoming jungle treks, discussed our overall travel plans and just were really excited to meet fellow Americans travelling. (We´re quite uncommon). The next thing we knew the plane was delayed for an hour due to smoke. We ate breakfast at the cafe, and waited some more. We were just about to teach them our favorite Carioca card game when we were allowed to board! This was it! Or was it? We probably jinxed ourselves when we started snapping pics on the plane because we were then told it would be another 20 minutes. The next thing we knew the flight was cancelled all together. Our options were now taking the next plane (scheduled to take off at 430p the next afternoon but no guarantees), or we could take a bus that left at 11a that morning. The 5 of us realized that we could split a jeep and get there that night in time to do our scheduled trips the next day. After a few calls we found a driver and got excited about leaving (again). The driver picked us up at the airport and after a trip back into La Paz to get more money, we were off!
Most of the 12 hour ride was uneventful. The ride was pretty bumpy, roads curvy but there were great views of the country. We had a bit of a problem just after it got dark when we got a flat. Patrick helped our driver change the tire and we were back on the road in no time. (Thankfully Patrick neglected to tell us that the spare was as bald as could be...) Just after midnight we pulled into Rurre, happy to have made it that day just a few hours behind our original schedule. Our hostel had a bar next door and we decided that we needed 1 quick beer before heading off to bed. The next morning Erin and I met up with our friends again before we headed off on our own. That was when we decided that we liked their company so much we would postpone our jungle trek in order to take a pampas trek with them. (the pampas is more of a grassy version of the jungle. similar animals and insects with fewer trees). After letting our tour company know we would be back a few days later to go, we signed up with the new company and were once again ready for our next adventure.
We loaded our stuff into the jeep and got psyched up for a 3 hr jeep trip followed by a 3 hr canoe ride. The 5 of us were under the impression that it would just be us on the trip but we made a stop on our way out of town and picked up 2 French guys Pierre and Charles. As they walked up we all really hoped they would be fun and add to the dynamic of the group. Our fears grew when we talked a bit to them and realized they had opted for the bus ride the day before and it took them 21 hours! They had just gotten to Rurre about an hour before we picked them up and hardly talked the entire way to the Pampas. We were way off though, it was the bus ride that made them tired. Without them our trip would have never been as fun. They were great!
The jeep drive was long, hot and bumpy. And we got another flat about halfway through the trip. (Patrick by this time is really good at helping change flats). We arrived at the head of the river and moved all our belongings to a canoe, lathered on sunscreen (no sun cover overhead) and started our trip. Along with the 7 of us came Sabino our guide and Freddy our cook. This was where the fun started. We were barely on the canoe for more than 10 minutes when around one bend was an alligator, within just a few feet of us! (the river was about 20 feet across and pretty shallow)Then another! Then really exotic birds. Then capibara (cousins of rats, and are the largest rodent in the world, which us girls nicknamed ROUSes, Rodents of Unusual Size, Princess Bride anyone?). It seemed like every corner had another surprise for us. Beautiful cranes, storks, turtles and monkeys! About halfway through the ride Sabino let 2 canoes pass us before he pulls the canoe over to the bank. We were all kind of wondering what he was doing when he pointed up to some trees and there were a bunch of little monkeys looking down at us! Sabino started calling to them and they came down and seemed just as curious about us as we were about them. We were so close to them, it was amazing.
We made it to our cabin in enough time to unload our things and head over to a nearby bar. We had a beer, watched the sunset and relished the idea that we were finally there. The previous 2 days had taken a lot out of us. After dinner Sabino took us on a night canoe ride. Armed with bug spray and flashlights we headed out on the river. Sabino taught us to shine our lights on the river bank and look out for glowing eyes. There were so many. Big alligators, small baby alligators all looking right back at us. After seeing them in the daytime it was really cool to see them glow at night. When we returned to camp Sabino informed us that we were going to get up early and watch the sunrise, see the animals and listen to the birds in the early morning. We dutifully agreed and went to bed, all 7 of us in one dorm room. The beds were basic and uncomfortable. And it was sticky hot. We did get mosquito nets, a blanket and a small pillow but everyone was so tired nothing mattered. After getting used to the jungle noises, we all went right to sleep.
We awoke at 5am to howler monkeys. They are larger monkeys and make the craziest noise. I think its similar to the noise your stomach makes when you are very hungry but MUCH louder and nonstop. We were curious as to whether they do this every morning (love nature wake up calls!) or if they had another reason to do it. We soon learned that they like to howl when it is going to rain. We climbed into the canoe and started off in search of the sunrise when we realized that it was cloudy and beginning to rain. No sunrise for us. Sabino turned us around and headed back to camp.
After breakfast Sabino told us to put on rain gear, grab the rubber boots that were stacked up nearby, we were going searching for Anacondas! After a short boat ride we pulled up to the bank and got out. And started walking. In the rain. At first it was kind of fun. The grass was just above the knee and we trudged though on the prowl. After cutting across a huge swampy field we came up to a small pond. Sabino motioned for us to stand on the edge as he slowly zig-zagged through the pond. Anacondas like to stay at the bottom of the water and usually lie straight as a stick. If he felt one with his boots, he would pick it up and show us. We searched in different puddles like this for about 3 hours. And if I was not there to live through it I would never think that the jungle gets cold. But it does. It got a bit windier, half of us had holes in our rubber boots and there were no Anacondas. We all decided that we were ready to be done. Unfortunately Sabino takes his job very seriously and continued to search. Our new French friends start singing to us as entertainment and at one point when Sabino wanders off, Pierre teaches us Ticky-Tocky. He used to teach it to kids at a summer camp but his Rugby team adopted it as their favorite post match, drinking dance. You can only imagine what we looked like, in the middle of the jungle, drenched and cold doing a crazy French song and dance. It was great, at least it helped us warm up. Sabino soon abandoned the search and we headed back to camp. We got warm dry clothes on, had lunch and took a long nap.
That afternoon Sabino took us out fishing for Pirañas. And to spice things up it was going to be a contest. Bolivia vs. Germany vs. France vs. USA. We made him promise however that if it started raining again (it had stopped when we were eating lunch) he would take us back to camp. We fished for about 30 minutes (France up by 2 or 3)when it started raining again. True to his word we started up the motor and headed... in the wrong direction to our camp. We soon pulled up to a farm along the river. He pointed to a building and we all went in happy to get out of the rain. We walked in and realized that it wasn´t a shelter just in case it rained, it was actually someones house! 2 bedrooms, an open area with a few hammocks and kids everywhere. Two families was eating lunch when we came in. It was a bit awkward but clearly we weren´t the first or last tourists to use their house to get out of the rain. The family had snacks and drinks for sale... definitely a way to subsidize their income. The Bolivia vs. Uruguay football game was on the radio and we listened in along with a few more locals that had come to party as well. After 30 minutes or so a few of the men went outside. We were a bit curious and watched them go outside. That is when I looked out the front door and lying on a board next to a tree was a pig. A recently killed pig. It actually was still squirming a bit. I told the others and we all looked on in shock. Sure I eat meat but don´t usually see the process. As interesting as it was, it was kind of gross. Really gross when the dog came over and licked the blood on the ground. At this point the rain had slowed and we headed back to the canoe. We all walked pass the pig and made comments. And the men working on the pig laughed! I´m sure they thought we were the crazy ones! Then Alex shouts to watch out and on the ground in front of us are hooves. Unfortunately the hooves were not currently attached to an animal. And nearby in a tree we see the head of a lamb, wedged between 2 branches. The lamb was the owner of the hooves. YUCK. It was like we were in some kind of scary movie!
Back in the canoe the Frenchies (they liked being called that) and Sabino smoked us in the fishing contest. I believe they had 15 to our 6... not sure how many Sabino had but I´m sure it was a lot... It started raining again and by this time we really were done. We headed back to the cabin and changed into dry clothes and had some tea to warm up. For entertainment Pierre and Charles taught us the Wolf game. Its a strategy game where 2 people out of the group are wolves. The rest are villagers, some with powers, some not. The point of the game is to kill the wolves before they kill the villagers. After a few minutes of explanation we start to play and are quickly addicted. Even after spending only a day (or 2) with the people in the group everyone can kind of read each other. But then it gets tricky... are they lying? How well can I read them? How well can I read Erin? How can I convince them that I am actually a villager when the want me gone? It was great fun and even when we were served dinner we continued to play. It was only when Sabino came in and started telling us stories about being a guide when we stopped.
Sabinos stories were incredible. He had been a guide for about 13 years and before that he had lived with an indigenous tribe for a year studying natural medicines. He had even learned their language and taught us a few words. He told us of a time he was searching for Anacondas and found a huge one, or rather it found him. The snake was huge and it bit his hand and then coiled around his neck rather quickly. Luckily there was another group and guide with him because it took all those extra people to get him untangled. Another story was the time he was bit by a tarantula. The poisonous kind. He had learned from his time in the jungle to use iguana skin to get rid of the venom and to basically save himself. Truly amazing. The most scary story he told us was of the Cannibals that lived in the Madidi National Park. Madidi is one of the largest national parks in Bolivia. But when we heard that there were Cannibals in the area we freaked. It isn´t something Lonely Planet ever mentioned when it talks of what can be seen in the jungle. He said that we were safe and if we were ever trekking through Madidi our guides would know where not to go. But he did say if they found us, we would not survive. Thanks for the info Sabino.
By then we were pretty tired and ready for bed. Unfortunately Erin any my beds somehow became covered in Bat Guano. Great. Rather than switching the sheets we opted for a new room. We said goodnight and once again after getting used to the jungle noises were fast asleep.
We awoke to rain. Again! We were supposed to take a morning canoe ride and but we all vetoed that idea, Sabino included. Rather, we slept in, had a nice breakfast and played Wolf. Then Sabino surprised us with a marvelous gift! He had found an alligator skull the day before and was telling us that he uses the teeth to make necklaces. We all figured he would make them for himself or sell them. We were all completely taken aback when he pulls out 7 necklaces!! He had stayed up late the night before making them and gave them to us! It was so unexpected and so special, truly a great gift.
We continued playing Wolf when we looked outside the cabin and saw monkeys! All these monkeys were walking along the boardwalk that connected our cabin with a nearby bar. The monkeys were going on the other side of the cabin to eat the organic garbage left nearby. We all ran out and were watching them when Sabino asked if we wanted to feed them bananas. Who wouldn´t? At first I was scared, I thought they had claws and when they grabbed the banana they also grabbed your hand. But the monkeys had fingers! Little baby fingers! They were so cute! We watched for a bit more and took turns feeding them when it started raining again. Back to playing Wolf!
After lunch we packed our things and headed out. The plan was to make our way back to get picked up by the jeep with the possibility of swimming with the pink river dolphins. We were all pumped but Erin was the most excited. We saw people swimming with them on our canoe trip in and we wanted to do it, except for the idea of getting nibbled by pirañas. It would be worth it right? When we arrived to the area they usually hung out in, Sabino pulled us up to the bank and got out. Nearby was an alligator and he marched right over and touched it! We were all tempted but I don´t think anyone got as close. Except for Erin, but that was against her will s Sabino picked her up into the air and carried her over to the alligator - she screamed the whole way (but I think she liked it)! That´s when we noticed the dolphins! 6 of them swimming around and playing. They do not have as large of a dorsal fin as bottle nose dolphins so they are not as easy to spot in the water, but every so often they´d come up to the surface. Beautiful pink river dolphins. We were all talking about going in to swim when Sabino told us we couldn´t. There was a cayman nearby and it was too dangerous. (They are related to alligators but are larger and more aggressive. Alligators wouldn´t go after us but caymans would). Normally the dolphins protect from the cayman but Sabino explained there were not enough, there needed to be 10-15 dolphins. Dissappointed we watched a bit more and then continued on our way.
We arrived back at the pick up area and decided after 3 days in the pampas we ought to do a show for the people who were just getting there. Ticky-Tocky anyone? We loaded into the jeep and headed off. Slowly. All that rain made the dusty dirt road mud. We were even warned not to open the back vent windows because if we tipped they would break. Tipped? Yes, it actually came pretty close. Too close for comfort but our driver got us out of the huge tracks we were in with only a scare. The other thing that kept us busy was watching for two toed sloths. Sabino pointed out the trees they lived in and we looked and looked. Patrick was the first to see one!(and the most excited, he and Alex had been looking for them the entire trip). We all got out and took pictures and watched him make his way SLOWLY down the tree. Poor guy was soaked (like the rest of us) but was really cute and remarkable to watch.
We made it back in the early evening and decided to meet out for drinks and dinner to end our trip on a great note. Our trek into the pampas was crazy, rainy and incredbly fun. We never stopped laughing. We laughed so hard we cried and our stomachs hurt. Who would have thought that a 3 day rainy trek into the papmas would be such a good time? Many thanks to Sabino, Maria, Pierre, Charles, Alex and Patrick for such a memorable trip. Hope to see you all again soon!
1 comment:
Very nice minutes of our trip. Hope to see you soon too.
Continue to give news and take care!
Chears
Pierre
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