Garret and I were supposed to fly home last Friday. After spending a relaxing day at the pool following our Pampas tour, we packed up and went to the TAM office at 3 pm. We wanted to stay longer actually, but the thing is, Rurrenabaque doesn’t have an ATM (and credit cards are really unheard of in South America unless you’re buying something quite expensive). We even considered a cash advance or Western Union but couldn’t stomach the fees; so we reluctantly agreed that it was probably time to continue on anyway. So with just 5 Bolivianos leftover (less than $1) after airport taxes, we checked in for our flight. But two hours later, the plane was canceled for one of the following reasons; all of which were given at one point or another.
#1. The airplane has a flat tire.
#2. The airplane was delayed in Trinidad and won’t make it here until after dark (Rurre has a grass airstrip and no lights).
#3. Only four passengers were booked from La Paz to Rurre, so the incoming plane was cancelled.
The next flight wouldn’t be for two days, so we were all offered cash refunds. Some travelers were irate, now facing perhaps the bus to La Paz (20 hours) due to a needed connection there. But for us, it was actually a blessing! Cash when we needed it; and we could rebook our airline tickets on credit card with the other company, Amaszonias! We could live a long while here on 960 Bs. (nearly $140)! We decided to go volunteer an animal rehabilitation center about 45 min. away by boat and colectivo.
The Volunteer Bunkhouse
Inti Wari Yassi has three animal rehabilitation centers in Bolivia. Our friends Aimee and Ryan volunteered with them when they were here 11 years ago, and had such a meaningful experience so we decided to look them up. Their newest animal center (less than one year old), Jacj Cussi, is just in the process of being built and housed two pumas currently; and will soon have a third. Unfortunately poaching still exists in the rainforest, and many times a mother is hunted and killed for fur and the babies sold as pets on the black market. After about six months though, cute puma kittens get big and the lucky ones get donated to organizations such as Inti Wari Yassi; the others get killed. Cats that have lived in captivity at a young age can’t be released into the wild again because they lack the instincts that their mothers should have taught them at a young age. So at Jacj Cussi and the other two park locations, cats live in a cage at night, and are walked on 6 meter leashes by two volunteers for about eight hours a day. Ever wanted to walk a puma? Volunteers are desperately needed (especially male); but the minimum time commitment for this job is a couple of weeks (so the cat can get used to you).
The Cocina (kitchen) Area
Cool Leaf Bug Loved to Crawl on Us
We were assigned the other less sexy (but equally important) job of construction. The land was purchased less than a year ago, and there are only two buildings so far; a dorm, and a rough kitchen. There is no electricity or running water, so it is like a camp with all bathing, washing and water collecting done in the stream, and cooking done with gas stoves or over an open fire. Although there are many buildings which need to be built, the most pressing one is a third cage for a cat at another park which needs to be transferred as soon as possible. So, the 4-5 of us on construction spent our days hauling rock, sand and cement 1 km up into the jungle hillside by hand. We also put in several cement posts. Did I mention that it’s hot here yet? My alarm clock in the shade of the dorm rooms said 95, and I really can’t describe the kind of humidity present. Then there are the thousands of jungle insects, which get really excited about people and downright hyper about sweat, particularly the sweatbees. Factor in the fact that we couldn’t really shoo them away or protect ourselves because our hands were busy balancing heavy loads on our shoulders on rooted and uneven terrain; and that’s sort of the picture. Now just imagine it much, much hotter! We dreamed of dipping in the creek, and did at every break. Sometimes we were so hot we just walked straight into the creek, not even stopping to take off clothes or shoes. They dried in minutes anyway.
Did I Mention how HOT it Was?
Don and Garret Try to Fix One of the Three Broken Wheelbarrows
The Butterflies Loved Our Sweaty Shoes
Volunteering is fun too though, as you get a chance to meet other people, work for much needed projects, and of course have a new appreciation for the vacation that you are on. The first Americans we have come across were volunteers, and one was actually from Encinitas. Lots of Australians too. After coming back into town with two of our new friends, we promptly enjoyed large ice-creams all around which we’d been dreaming of for days. Then we went straight to the pool, and cooled off.
Waiting for a Ride Back to San Buenaventura and Rurrenabaque
We Dreamed of Pools For Days!!
You Scream, I Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream!
The temptation to stay in our jungle bungalow a few more nights was extremely tough to resist; however, the Pampas were calling. I in particular wanted to go hunt for Anacondas. The Pampas are large low lying grasslands in the Amazon basin. They generally offer more opportunities to view animals due to their open views, particularly in the dry season, since the animals all come down to the rivers to drink.
Deeanne & the chief at the park entrance
Arrival at the lodge
Pampas tours out of Rurrenabarque are notoriously bad. The problem is there is so much competition that prices have been driven down to unsustainable rates. This is combined with a lack of oversight and regulation. Tour agencies commonly catch and trap animals in order to guarantee tourists’ sightings. Local ranchers graze cattle in park land, burn fields to clear them, and hunt predators that threaten their livestock. Then there is the trash problem – it is everywhere. Some reviews have said it doesn’t matter what agency you go with, if you go to the Pampas you are supporting their destruction. We decided to find the most environmental and proactive agency we could for our three-day/two-night visit. After reading numerous reviews online we chose Bala Tours.
Caracoles Lodge
Our motorized canoe
Tuesday morning we set out by Jeep for the three hour ride to Caracoles Lodge on the Rio Yacuma. Two other couples were headed out at the same time so the six of us and guide shared two jeeps. Our driver managed to make the 3 hour ride in 2 ½ hours somehow dodging most of the potholes. The lodge was nice, and after settling into our quarters we had a brief lunch and headed out for our first excursion.
The river is really low in dry season
Serere on the riverbanks
The Pampas are best viewed by river. We piled into a motorized canoe and headed down river. During dry season, which lasts until November, the river is teaming with wildlife. The river was so low we often hit submerged trees and other debris. Every 10 feet we encountered Spectacled Caiman. Apparently the over-hunting of Black Caiman has lead to an overpopulation of the smaller Spectacled Caiman of which there are thousands. We also saw quite a few Capybara; the largest rodent in the world. The only thing that came close to the countless Caiman in numbers were the birds. Every corner we rounded caused birds to take flight. We encountered Serere, Kingfisher, Cormorants, Eagrets, Cranes, Herons, Storks, Cardinals, and countless others species. My favorite was the Green Kingfisher.
Caiman along the riverbank
Capybara - the world's largest rodent
A Black Caiman eyes us
It had just rained making it a bit cold when we arrived. I was hoping the second day would warm up so we could go looking for Anacondas, which come out to sun after a cold day. The second day turned out to be cool as well and so we opted to go looking for Pink River Dolphins. The only fresh water dolphin in the world lives here and on a lucky day you can go for a swim with them. After a delicious breakfast we headed out in our motorized canoe. Again we encountered countless Caiman, before long though we came upon a group of about six or eight Pink River Dolphins hunting. Our guide Yadmani told us it was perfectly safe to swim, apparently the Caiman are quite wary of dolphin. The dolphins use their noses to attack Caiman and can break bones and cause internal bleeding. By our count though the Caiman seriously outnumbered the dolphins and hanging out in the boat sounded much safer.
Turtles sunning themselves
Amazon Pink River Dolphin
A family of Squirrel Monkeys saw us coming and immediately hurried down to the bank to greet us. Our guide told us that previous tour companies fed them and so they now associate humans with food. One of the older ones still remembering “the good old days” jumped onto our boat in search of food. He clambered over the entire boat including my lap. The guide backed the boat away from the bank, and he quickly realized that he was about to be stranded; so he made a heroic leap for the bank. He landed getting a little wet and promptly yelled at us. The Squirrel Monkeys have learned that humans mean no Caiman also and so all of them came down to the river to drink while it was safe.
Squirrel Monkeys coming to greet us
Squirrel Monkey jumping on Garret
Safe drinking for Squirrel Monkeys
After returning for lunch we (minus Deeanne) went Piranha fishing. I have never seen anything like it. I thought there were a ton of Caiman but you put a piece of beef on a hook and just dangle it above the surface of the water and you will get Piranha leaping like mad. We caught maybe a dozen, they were all pretty small though so we threw all back but two. If bleeding I would not advise wading into an Amazonian river.
Deeanne relaxing in a hammock
Anaconda skin
The lodging proved to be extremely close and so both nights we had to use earplugs to get any sleep. We had asked to move lodging but were informed we would have to pay an extra $50 USD for more private accommodations. This [after our tour already cost three times as much as other tours] didn’t go over too well. The entire lodge was empty and it would have been an easy concession. The second night we did manage to sleep a bit better. I woke up excited to go looking for Anaconda. We took a short boat ride and then set out on foot along a dirt road. The morning was brilliantly hot – no luck though. The Anaconda eluded us. We did spot two skins that had been recently shed and again numerous Caiman in the swamp, but no Anaconda. Returning we had a brief lunch and hung out in the hammocks a bit more before heading back to Rurrenabarque. The drive back was much bumpier than the drive out. We did however spot one of the coolest animals of our entire trip – a Three-toed Sloth with baby.
View of the Pampas (grasslands)
Three-toed Sloth with baby
The whole trip felt a little bit like a Disneyland ride. The wildlife just lined up on the banks for us, and we drove by in our motorized canoe. All that was missing was the soundtrack, and maybe characters dressed up selling frozen lemonade. But it was still a fun experience, and, after talking to other travelers back in town we felt better about choosing the tour we did. Dolphin Tours (and I’m sure many more) did trap and catch an Anaconda for their tourists to see. At least Bala didn’t trap or handle the animals.
I’ve been excited about visiting the jungle since we came to South America. Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia have all had jungle; but two of the most famous areas for their biodiversity are Manu (in Southern Peru) and Madidi (in Northern Bolivia). More than two thirds of Bolivia’s landmass is jungle, and Madidi is considered to be perhaps the most biodiverse region on earth; with 1200 different species of bird and 6000 species of plants and still more being classified (by comparison, the Continental US and Canada have just 700 species of plants combined). It is also relatively easy to get to from La Paz. Travelers can choose either a 20 hour bus ride each way, or a 45 minute flight. You’ll laugh that we actually debated whether we should spring for the airplane tickets at $65 each way; or just tough out the ride for $12. Time becomes a relative matter when traveling; and in the end it wasn’t the number of hours that pushed me in favor of flying; but the idea of that that time would be spent sweltering in a bus sans AC. So, in the end, we chose to fly. We booked tickets with TAM, a military airline notorious for canceling flights whenever they aren’t full enough, whenever there is a hint of rain on the horizon, or whenever they just want to go home early. We were delayed a day leaving La Paz due to weather, and it looked iffy the next day even as we were checked in and waiting. The problem is, the airstrip in Rurrenabaque, Bolivia is only grass, and they can’t land planes here after sunset. So once our 5 pm flight was slightly delayed, it was a race against the clock to see if we would be able to board and fly out before dark. Needless to say we were all thrilled to finally leave the ground and be on our way to Rurre.
The View Outside the Window Leaving La Paz for Rurrenabaque
Grass Airstrip in Rurre
The tropical humid air of Rurre was a welcome change from La Paz. After being at high altitudes more or less for most of the past three months, it was wonderful to be back near sea level, and actually hot. We checked out several tour companies, and decided to book with Madidi Travel, a company renowned for their conservation efforts and featured by National Geographic magazine. Our three-day tour started with a boat ride down the Rio Beni, a large river flowing northeast that drains into the Amazon. After about two and a half hours on a motorized canoe, we had a 2k walk from the banks into the lodge. The eco-lodge is in Serere, a private reserve with five lakes and walking paths. The private cabins all have full netting on all sides, and a bathroom with cold water shower. One of the most amazing parts of the tour is just sitting in bed listening to the sounds of the jungle (it can be absolutely noisy sometimes!). We could hear monkeys, birds, insects, and from our room we saw bats hunting at dusk, butterflies, and a small jungle cat. It was like being outside because it had no walls; but there were no bugs because of the excellent screens. There was also a wonderful main house where we ate all our meals and relaxed, while watching the resident monkeys and parrots.
Riding up the Beni River to Madidi Lodge
Leaving the Beni River to Walk 2k to the EcoLodge
Home Sweet Jungle Home
La Casa Grande was Great for Relaxing
The Resident Monkey Gets Comfy
Our guide, Choco-Mano (Chocolate Hand) was the lead guide when National Geographic came and did a feature story on Madidi in 2000. A gifted jungle man of 61, Choco knew every bird and animal call, animal tracks, plants and pretty much anything you could want to know about living in the jungle. If you ever found yourself on “Survivor Amazon”, he’s the guy you’d want on your team! So we listened and believed when he told us on our first walk that there was a jaguar nearby; he saw a place where it had likely rested. Sure enough, just a few steps beyond we encountered a pile of feathers; evidence of the cat’s last meal. We made plans to come out and track it later that night; at 3 am after the moon had set and all was dark.
I’ve never experienced darkness as complete as the darkness at 3 am in the jungle. Due to the very thick canopy and the fact that the moon was already set, it was complete darkness. Garret was walking behind me, and we would stop frequently and just stand still and listen with our headlamps off. Even though he was wearing a white shirt, I could not even sense his presence when we stopped just inches apart. I couldn’t even see my sleeve actually. It was an amazing night, and though we didn’t see the jaguar; we sure had fun looking. As the sun began to light up the morning sky, we took to the canoes and went out on the lake. We were rewarded for being up so early by seeing a tapir bathing, many birds, and some hungry piranha. I wasn’t thrilled about fishing for piranha, but everyone else was. Choco caught the only fish of the morning, and we returned for breakfast. The rest of the day was spent walking, looking for pigs, caimans and monkeys. We didn’t see pigs; but we saw a large black caiman and several species of monkeys.
A Black Caiman Lurks Near the Lake Edge
Spider Monkey Swinging
Sunset over Lago Fernandina
A Tapir Swims into View
Garret Tries Piranha Fishing
Our last day we saw an anteater in the forest (but it was too dark to photograph), lots of monkeys and a passing snake. Literally. The snake passed behind me and in front of Garret as we were walking through the forest in a blur of speed. Note to my Mom: There aren’t any snake pictures, but feel free to skip the snake story and just go on to the next paragraph! We were walking through the swampy area of the end of a lake, looking for anaconda actually; but didn’t manage to see any. As we lamented the fact that we hadn’t seen any Choco regaled us with stories of walking through swamps and having an anaconda wrap him up (this has happened to him twice). Both times he has had to put his machete to good use to save himself, and one time he was rewarded by finding the attacking anaconda pregnant with 14 little anaconditas inside; which he of course dried and gave to his nieces and nephews as presents. Oh, and I think it was 7 meters long (around 22 feet). Perhaps the snake has grown a tad with each telling of the story, but in any case it was big. Kinda reminds me of stories I’ve heard parents and grandparents tell kids [who may be whining about not having an i-phone or other nonsense] about having to walk to school when they were little. Uphill. Both ways. In the snow. Barefoot.
Bacon”]
Choco Brings Home the [Banana
Forest Canopy
Huge Spiders Make Webs over the Trail
All too soon, our three days in Serere were over and it was time to return to Rurre. We had a dip in the river Beni, and began the hot boat-ride upstream. Tomorrow we would leave for the Pampas and have another adventure.
