Pampas Tour in the Bolivian Amazon

Right so, we’ve been cajoled into working for one more week in the Wild Rover, as they’re short on staff…or maybe it’s because they love us so much, who knows?! PLUS, someone managed to clone my ATM card, so I’ve to stay put until Ulster Bank manage to send me on my new Debit Card, so just when we thought we had cut the umbilical cord connecting us to this place, we’re back in the womb again! Hello Hotel California!

We did manage to escape for a few days for a wonderful trip to the Amazon Basin however. Just before we finished up work we booked ourselves a 3-day Pampas Tour with Hoatzin tours, which we booked for  the knockdown price of 1200Bs (€120) each, including return flights to Rurrenabaque which was our starting point of the tour. 1200Bs was a steal considering the standard price is 1800Bs and I paid almost double that for the 3-day tour when I was in Brazil this time last year. So we packed up our stuff, said our hasta luegos (knowing we’d be back in a few days’ time) and paid off our tabs for the last month.  Wow this came as a shock, damn that Dice Game, 14 Baby Guinnesses??? In true “Murphy’s Law”, that day there were protests on the streets of La Paz, so getting to the airport was more like as episode of “Challenge Aneka”, with some Colin McRae- wannabe taxi driver bringing us through the narrowest streets to avoid the road blockages. We arrived at La Paz Airport, a glorified barn and checked ourselves onto our flight with Amazonas Airlines. “I’ll give you seats 3A and 3C” said the air stewardess, “lovely seats beside the window”. We discovered when we climbed onto the tiniest plane in the world that all the seats are window seats, separated by a miniature aisle, wide enough maybe for an 8 year-old to walk through. In noted, once I folded myself into the cramped seat that the plane was a Fairchild aircraft. “Wonderful” I thought “a smaller version of the plane that crashed into the Andes into the Andes in the movie Alive”. As the cockpit was so miniscule, there was no door separating us from the pilots so we could see everything, and hear everything, including the concerning rapid beeping! There were into total about 10 people on the flight. The propellers started up and before long we were hurtling down the runway and thrust into the air, hanging there it seemed by the grace of God and the warm air current. As scared as I was, this was thrilling; the smallest plane I’d ever been on and we were coasting over the Alti-Plano of La Paz, the huge snow-covered peaks of the Andes and 30 minutes later we were gaping out the tiny window as the majestic mountainous jungle of Rurrenabaque and the Amazon. It spanned as far as the eye can see, like something from Jurassic Park, there were vertical rock faces covered with thick foliage, flanked by row after row of tall palm trees. We landed on an air strip short and narrow enough to be considered a country lane, complete with grass growing up the middle and we taxied to the airport with was a corrugated iron-roofed shed. Getting off the aircraft, the first obvious thing that hit us was the immense heat and the stifling humidity. Coming from the frigid evenings of La Paz, baking in 35°C+ heat and 98% humidity at 6.30pm was a shock to the system certainly. Amazingly, we had switched climates dramatically in 40 minutes; at least the alternative 22 hour bus journey may have allowed for a more gradual acclimatisation! We hopped into a taxi and made the short spin into the town centre, along a road which on one side had those aforementioned majestic jungle mountains and on the other side had small straw-covered huts and wild chickens running all over the place. “Now THIS is South America” we thought; unimaginable poverty, yet the most beautiful, smiley little kids running after the taxi and waving at the Gringos as we drove by. Animals everywhere and gorgeous brightly-painted huts; this is the stuff I’ve seen on TV! We picked a hostel at random, one called Los Tucanes, which cost us 100BS per night but was one of the most unpleasant hostels of our trip. There were huge holes in the curtains which made me question their presence in the first place, a fan which was so slow it made no difference to the damp warm air of the room and THE most uncomfortable bed ever! But for one night we just sucked it up and dealt with it.

                The next morning we arrived at our tour company at 8.30am and of course, in true South American-style, we didn’t get going till 9.30am. Our rickety-looking jeep picked us up carrying Flo, from Holland, Chan from Korea, Pierre from Italy and Franco and Chino from Chile. In the cramped jeep we quickly formed a friendly rapport during the 3 hour drive to Santa Rosa, from where we bailed onto a long, canoe-style boat and where we met our guide Alex. We were warned about the presence of many mosquitos on the river, so we promptly covered up. Even still we were getting quickly abused by mosquitos! Apparently linen pants aren’t enough to deter the massive mosquitos of Rurrenabaque! The hour or hour and a half journey down the river towards our lodge was amazing; every 5 minutes or so we stopped to observe some animal or other. We saw alligators swimming by the banks, Paradise Birds with their bright blue faces, Cormorants, Eagles, Egrets, Howler Monkeys watching us from the tall branches and cute little Squirrel Monkeys. The encounter with the Squirrel Monkeys was hilarious; Alex produced a banana and within seconds they all jumped onto the boat and climbed all over us too in the mad dash to feed on the banana. Our close proximity to them allowed for some great photos and we were assured that they’re not aggressive and will not attack you. Good thing really, cos I had 3 crawling on my head. When we finally arrived at our basic lodge, we surveyed the accommodation (beds with large mosquito nets on them, and some toilets and showers very much open to the elements!) and dumped our bags. We swallowed down the cold juice we were given with gusto, MAN we were sweating so much, it was impossible to keep your face dry! That evening, we were brought to a common area on the river for all the tourists the congregate, play football (yes, EVERYWHERE you go in South America will have a football pitch, even in the Amazon!) or just chill out and have a cold beer. We were treated to a beautiful sunset before taking our mosquito-bitten asses back to the lodge, where a surprisingly sumptuous slap-up meal was waiting. When darkness fell, we again went out on our little canoe and with the help of some torches, searched the banks and the water for the tell-tale red eyes of Cayman alligators. Elusive as they were, we managed to spot a few small ones before retiring to the lodge for the night.

                The next morning we were exciting about the possibility of seeing an anaconda. We were brought to an area of open grassland and swampland, where we searched with the other tour groups for the giant snake. Our guide was telling us scary stories of the largest snake he has seen in all his time in the jungle; a 10m monster with a body as large as a big dinner plate. Not knowing whether or not he was taking advantage of my gullible nature, it made me a little more wary when walking through the waist-high grasses, although we were told that a snake that big was very rare and that we should expect to see something no bigger than 2-3m. The grasses soon turned into knee-deep swampland where the attention was focused as this, we were told is where they all like to hang out. One tour group later told us that they saw the head of one (about the size of a mango) sticking out of the water but when the guide tried to catch him it slithered away to safety. Whose safety I’m not sure! We unfortunately saw nothing however, and at this stage it was 10.30am and absolutely baking hot. The heat was reaching 37°C and we all appeared to have come straight out of the shower we were sweating so much, I had never experienced that humidity before; it was like walking around in a sauna, absolutely horrible!! Thankfully we were brought back to our lodges soon after, less disappointed at the lack of anacondas and more grateful for the breeze that was blowing in our faces as the boat raced down the river.

Next we were brought to a wide area of the river where Pink Dolphins love to swim in abundance. Were you brave enough to get into the murky brown, smelly water you could go swimming with the dolphins, but considering the stories one girl told me of them biting her foot, I was less than keen to get in! Not to mention the fact that a few hundred yards away there were plenty of alligators, including Pedro, the alligator that liked to lurk around our lodge – there was no way I was stripping off to get in there! That being said though, some brave souls did get in and the dolphins became curious. Not on the same level as Fungi now mind, but we got some good photos nonetheless. That night we took it easy, grateful that the sun had gone down and given us a slightly cooler night. We played pool and chilled out on the deckchairs by the river, listening to the sounds of bats, night insects and birds while watching the beautiful starry night sky and admiring the dramatic electrical storm in the distance.

                The next morning, our last, we were brought to the more sheltered parts of the river in the hope of catching piranhas. Unlucky for us though, the f*ckers decided not to show up and the fishing trip was rapidly abandoned and we were brought back to the Dolphins for some more attempts at photographing them at play. After lunch it was time to leave, say goodbye to our lodge, Pedro the alligator and make our way back to Santa Rosa again, where our chariot would bring us back to Rurrenabaque.

                The three days were one of the most amazing 3 days; we saw so many animals up close and it was refreshing to get out of the suffocating altitude of La Paz for a few days. One thing I won’t miss however is the presence of large frogs in the toilets and the showers, making me uneasy as it meant there were more than likely lots of snakes about! Now that we’re back in the Wild Rover, I can appreciate the cushioned toilet seats, toilet paper and clean, hot showers! It was a fascinating experience and on return to Rurrenabaque that evening, we were treated to the spectacle of anniversary celebrations which resembled a miniature Carnival! That evening we all decided to stay in the same hostel, a really cosy hostel called El Curichal, which actually had working fans!! It was a great ending to a wonderful 3 days but I have brought back with me, the worst case of ass mosquito bits ever!

Where we stayed: Los Tucanes de Rurrenbaque  http://www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/bolivia/rurrenabaque/62680/

How much: 100Bs double room, private bathroom

Where we stayed: El Curichal Hostel http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/El-Curichal-Hostel/Rurrenabaque/72078

How much: 90Bs double room, private bathroom

How much was the Tour?: 1216Bs with Hoatzin tours and Amazonas Airlines