Hi guys!! This site is so fantastic! It is such a wonderful escape from reality when I sit down and browse through your spectacular photos and read Krista's wonderful posts! Thank you so much for sharing this awesome experience. I can see that you are having the time of your lives and I am so happy for you!! Can't wait to see that you ae both home safe and sound and to have a look at all the interesting rocks and treasures that Krista brings home! Take care of yourselves and keep the amazing photos coming! XO HaiL

Hey Guys,

Your adventuring is awesome. I showed your site to the other surgical clerks and residents. We had your pictures up on the projector. That freak dog really is something, but so is Fergus' ability to sleep in any position/condition. My supervisor told me to tell you to watch out for something called 'butt flies.' Now that you're out of the jungle you probably won't have to worry about them. Thanks for all the great pictures! Good luck with the last leg of your trip.

Slept pretty good the first night at the camp despite the heat...lucky for me I am just like my Dad and it is really never too hot...the mosquito nets do intensify the effect a little bit though. We were up for breakfast at 7...Rosa our cook really could work wonders with limited supplies...that's for sure. On the river by 8 and right away we spotted squirrel monkeys and even an anteater moving from one tree to the next...they are a lot bigger than I thought. Gators and pink dolphins swam by us from time to time and once again the sun was out in full force. We went up river and saw alligator pelts hanging in the sun to dry...common to find leather goods of this variety in Bolivia. We attempted to find an area shallow enough to get out of the boat without it being over our rubber boots...poor Ferg and his super teeny sized boots! Some fun getting them off! We finally pushed our boat with oars inland enough to pull up on what used to be a relatively large island...not much left of it now. The flowers here were pink and white and were absolutely everywhere...so beautiful...they even climbed from low bushes into vines and exploded again up in the treetops. Right away we spotted a Camybara...really ugly animal that looks like a rat the size of a dog. After that we wandered around looking for the elusive Anaconda...really not a good season of the year to see this guy but we searched around. We found a large poisonous frog hiding in a stump, and not far away a tree frog that actually looked like part of the tree itself, also a ratton or mouse climbing up what turned out to be the wrong tree. The guide whistled and all of us quitely appraoched and there up in the tree was an Anaconda...this one was about 2.5 m long and around 4 years old...the mouse had got him on the move smelling lunch. These creatures can live to be 100 years old and grow many meters long. He had a yellow belly which made him easier to spot and we were actually the only group on the river to find one...pretty cool. Not 10 minutes later we spotted a baby Cobra...really tiny and very fast...Billly our guide picked him up so we could get a closer look...wild! After that it was time to climb back in the boat and head back for lunch...we had free time until 3 while the heat dissipated a bit and most people lounged in the hammocks at the bar or fed the gator and the monkeys that came into camp from the woods. No shortage of monkeys around...just before dawn the sound of the Black and Red Howlers in the forest was crazy...woke almost everyone from a dead sleep and continued for 2 or 3 hours! At 3 we were back in the boat and off to fish for Piranas with small lines and hunks of meat. Ferg looked like a fisherman gone crazy with my shirt wrapped around his head...improvising to beat the heat! Was so hot in the boat that everyone was dragging their limbs in the water all the way up and back...typically people catch some but no one in our group had any luck. Further up river we came to a spot where the water was calm and covered with light green lillies...so many that it looked like there was no water underneath...they would close in again soon as the boat slid through...was really pretty. Headed back to camp for supper and really enjoyed the breeze...the animals we saw included Birds of Paradise, Vultures, Hawks, Eagles, Owls, Anteaters, Gators, Pink Dolphins, Camybaras, Cobra, Anaconda, Red & Black Howlers, Capachinos, and Squirrel monkeys...to date. Rosa cooked a great meal which everyone devoured in minutes and we even got juice that had a few ice cubes...never wanted something cool so much in my life. Sweat just sat on the skin and Billy said the temperature was close to 40 degrees...crazy hot. After dinner we watched the sun set and then we went out on the river in the full moon and it was like a different world with the frogs screaming. We were looking for gators...their eyes glow golden in the light and we spotted 4 in our travels...3 for me 1 for Billy...Ferg said I have eyes like a hawk! On the way home we turned off the lights and really enjoyed the moon on the clouds...a little cooler now that the sun had set but not much yet...noticed a difference around 4 AM but nothing too exciting. Played with the kitties at the camp and had a beer before lights out...one kitty was named Salmonella...found out the other little black one had no name so we collectively named her Ecoli...the owners got a laugh out of it when we explained why. Off to bed and attempted to get some rest...challenging with the primitive bunks and the heat. We were supposed to get up at 5 and watch the sun rise...I was awake but no one was moving so just rolled back over and tried to ignore the howlers...Billy had over slept...must have been the 2 bottles of wine/ Port we all shared as a last dinner treat. No one really minded and soon we were up and at 8 we had breakfast...delicious Empanads de Queso and Pancakes. Then we hit the river and spotted a Tucan with a brilliant long orange beak...a pretty elusive bird, very cool! A family of Capachino monkeys were playing on the tops of the flowered bushes and they were a hoot to see...really playful and interesting to watch...not as shy as the howlers either. Next we ventured out in search of Pink Dolphins...we jumped out of the boat and into the river and there were at least a dozen of them swimming around us...the general rule is that Gators eat dolphins and dolphins eat Piranas so if there are Dolphins ideally there should be neither Gators or Piranas...saw 2 gators on the way there though! Was really fun and the water was refreshing after 3 days with no shower and the oppressive heat...though Ferg would never get out of the river. Back at camp we had lunch and packed up our things for the ride down river...Ferg sprawled on the front of the boat and I kept waiting for him to fall asleep and into the river...3 hours later and we arrrived back at Santa Ana...hottest day yet by far and I even had to put my Safari shirt over my head to block the sun by the end of the ride. All of our white shirts were far from whaite at this point but we were happy to have had them for the adventure. We stepped out of the boat to wade again and the water was unbelievabally hot...lugged our gear to the Jeep and piled it all on the roof. Didn't see the huge Jabadoo birds like we did in this area on the way up river...the things are as tall as the cows and their nests take up the entire treetop...huge, huge birds! The drive home was as hard on the body as the way up...everyone kept checking their watches and after 3 hours and change we arrived back in Rurrenabaque around 5. The hike to the hostal with our retrieved packs was so hot...never loved a cold shower so much. We went back to Moskkito Bar for happy hour and then headed to bed...flight due to leave at 11 the next day. SURPRISE TAM cancelled the flight...from Monday to Thursday...unbelievable. Some people on a tight schedule were pretty irate...Ferg and I played a lot of pool. We decided to change hostals and went to the Hotel Safari to beat the heat at the only place with a pool in town...was awesome as there literally were only 5 of us staying at this paradise situated right on the Rio Beni. Had it all to ourselves and only had the resident Ostrich on the second day. Played in the pool all day and then stayed out there for dinner enjoying the peace instead of venturing into town. That was the end of the sun thogh...it rained that night for 17 hours straight (didn't keep us out of the pool though)...the river reached unnavigable heights and even the river ferry was not operating...pretty big deal considering it is the only way for the people living in San Buenaventura to get over to town. We had taken a ride of there the day before waiting for the plane and it is a pretty quiet village but nice to walk around. Interesting situation - stuck in paradise! However, there are no bank machines and most people were running low on Bolivianos...even hard to change Travellers Cheques because it is not the high season and there really were not many people around...eating on VISA and being creative. River was rising and rising so we decided to try and get tickets with another airline...tough competition though as everyone was thinking the same thing. Wednesday was totally booked but we asked to be put on standby and hoped for the best...if the TAM flight did not go on Thursday it would not go again until the following Tuesday...way too late! The high river...now up to the top of the first town street...worked in our favor and at 5:30 the next morning we got up and made the call... 4 people did not make it back down river on time so if we busted it we were on...escape! Amazonas is a little 12 seater and soon we were piled on and moving down the grass strip...funny like out of a movie, as soon as we started moving we see 4 people on motorbikes racing down the road to the airport waving thier arms like mad cats...talk about a close call...5 more minutes and we would have been bumped. Arrived back in La Paz by 9 and were treated to amazing mountain views on the way into the city...even Chacalayta the ski hill Ferg and I climbed at 5400m...wicked sunny day! Have spent the last 2 days in La Paz dealing with the details of VISA applications...not sure what we Canadians did to Brazil but what a lot of running around. Lucky that we made it home when we wanted...we were able to get our applications in and we pick them up tomorrow at 10 instead of having to wait the weekend. Just got back from a great candlelit dinner and tomorrow will do some shopping and catch the bus at 5 for Argentina...18 hours and no bathroom - my kind of Fun! Will cross at Villazon and head east from there skirting around Paraguay on the way to the falls. 3 weeks in Bolivia has been wonderful and have throughly enjoyed the diversity of this huge country. After a week in the jungle the city seems like a different planet...looking forward to seeing what Argentina has to offer. Hope you all are Happy & Healthy...Loved the kitty Valentine Mom - YOU ROCK xoxo Kris

Welocome to the jungle...what an adventure in the Amazon. Travelled to Rurrenabarque, a little frontier town situated on the Rio Beni in Western Bolivia's Amazon, for a 4 day Pampas animal hunt. Getting there was interesting to say the least...TAM (Transportes Areopuerto Militaire) offers to fly people to this remote region...other options included a 31 hour bus ride or renting a 4X4... if the roads are even passable...we decided to fly! The plane was 6 hours late leaving La Paz so we had a crazy 8's marathon at the airport and killed time with cold toes. The cold didn't last long, however, and once airborne you could feel the temperature rise even during the 1 hour flight. We landed on a grass airstrip in the middle of dense forest and were lucky that it didn't rain or we would not even have left La Paz...ideal conditions are required to fly over the Yungas or no go at all. It is neat to see the landscape change from desolate, rugged highlands to lush forested lowlands. Although it lies more than 1000km upstream from the great Amazon river, Bolivia's portion of the Amazon Basin better preserves the classic image many travellers associate with the mother of all rivers than the real thing itself. While Brazilian rainforests continue to suffer heavy depredation, the archetypal Amazon forests of Northern Bolivia remain relatively intact. Was a good landing but we had heard or share of horror stories while killing time at the airport. The airport itself is a small building on the edge of town and a pickup truck goes through the hysterical formality of driving the bags 30m to the terminal...then you crowd around the truck and jostle for your turn. We piled into another pickup and made the 8 minute drive to the Amazonas tour office to get the agenda for the next 3 days. After that was taken care of we headed down the road to our hostal and settled in...La Curichal was a nice clean place with a friendly host and soon as we dumped our packs...and took care of a spider residing in our room the size of my fist...we were off on foot to explore the town. Had great food at the 'Moskkito Bar' and took advantage of 2 for 1 Happy Hour then found our way home in the dark...hint- hit river and have gone too far! Up early and stowed our packs at the office...travelling super light...and climbed in a 4X4 to ride to Reyes then on to Santa Rosa and finally Santa Ana de Yacuma. We travelled though the Reserva Biospherica Del Beni...created by conservation international in 1982. The 334,200 hectare Beni Biosphere Reserve was recognized by UNESCO in 1986 as a 'man & the Biosphere Reserve' and boarders the Reserva Forestal Chimane a 1.15 million hectare buffer zone and indigenous reserve for the sustainable subsistance of the 1200 native Chimane people. The combined areas are home to over 500 tropical bird species and more than 100 different types of mammals. The best time of year to visit the savannas is June and July, however, if you are adventurous you can still brave the rain and explore the flodded Pampas earlier. It rained and rained the entire way to Santa Ana...the road was flooded and still the ride was rough like a form of torture...11 of us piled in the jeep. We stopped for lunch at a local place serving Alameurzos...which is a set menu. Today, it consisted of soup (unfortunately, they consider soup cooked with meat and then the chunks removed vegetatian- great fun the next day when trapped in a boat)...followed by rice, cold chopped beets, and mystery meat for Ferg & an egg for me. Waded through the water and finished off the 3.5 hour jeep journey...almost got stuck and even rolled almost over in the mud a couple of times...water was well over the raised tires...everyone leaned to the opposite side. Like magic it stopped raining almost the instant we climbed out of the jeep...we piled our gear on our backs and waded through water up to mid-thigh in places to walk down to the boat...was tricky because you could not see the bottom and holes were frequent...I of course fell in one, while Ferg...being Ferg...took off through the trees exploring his own route away from the group. Ended up waiting almost an hour for the boat to return from up river then we all piled in on the bare planks of a 30 foot low boat powered by outboard motor. We passed cows and horses free on the Pampas in water up to their necks on the way to the main river...the Rio Yacuma. At the edge of the river we encountered the pink dolphin...not as cute, however, as one would think. The ride was another 3.5 hours with frequent stops in the now full sun to see tonnes of birds and even monkeys right on the edge of the river...we fed them bananas from the boat because there is definitely no where to get out. With very tender bottoms we arrived just before dark at the camp...lucky for us it was still above water- but just barely...a lot of others on the way were definitely flooded! The second bonus was that the Amazonas camp was located right beside the only bar on the river and the whole affair was connected by walkways up on poles. The bar owner had been living up river for over 5 years...he had 2 cats and an adopted pet gator who swam around the place and reputedly had even climbed up the stairs into the building on one occasion. We slathered on 2 types of bug dope and enjoyed kinda cool beers before dinner. We all were bunking together in a cabin beneath the bug nets and not long after dinner the generator left us in total darkness. Was beautiful night...2 days until the full moon and the frogs made noise like I could not believe was possible...Thanks, for the headlamps for Christmas...wouldn't want to fall in with the gator on the way to bed! Great first day in the jungle!

Hi Fergus and Krista. I have to say a special "thank-you", from my Kindergarten kids. They are really enjoying the animal pictures. The hairless dog pictures have generated the most excited response. They haven"t seen the rainforest animal pictures yet.They'll be really excited!! Love, Mom

Happy to hear that you are back to the city. Hope all goes well for the plans and paper work for Brazil. The pics are awesome. Fergus you look so adaptable to just about any situation. Continue to travel safe and have fun

Keeping our fingers crossed that you guys get Un Stuck. Cant,t imagine leaving Wes on the high and dry. Each one of Fergus,s updates continues to leave us in awe. So much history!!!!!!!! Hope you continue to have a great time and travel safe. Dig deep for the patience.

COCHABAMBA, Bolivia (Reuters) -- Bolivia's fractious coca farmers appointed President Evo Morales as their leader for another two years on Monday, backing his calls to limit the cultivation of coca as the best way to fight drugs.

Morales, sworn in as the South American country's first indigenous president last month, rose into politics as the leader of coca growers in the tropical Chapare region and led protests against U.S.-financed programs to destroy crops.

"Nothing can change. Evo must carry on being president of the six federations (of coca growers) as he has been since 1988," Asterio Romero, organizer of the federations' congress the city of Cochabamba, said on Sunday. A resolution on Morales' leadership was passed on Monday.

The backing of the coca farmers is important for Morales as he seeks to negotiate the many demands of the poor country's labor and social movements, among whom the so-called 'cocaleros' have a particularly rebellious reputation.

Standing in front of a banner reading "Long live coca, Death to Yankees," leftist Morales opened the coca congress on Saturday with a call for farmers to respect a government accord limiting the amount of coca each family can grow.

Bolivia is the world's third-biggest producer of cocaine after Colombia and Peru, and Washington has been closely watching Morales' policy on coca following an election campaign in which he criticized the forced eradication programs.

The United States, by far the biggest aid donor to Bolivia, says that in Chapare most coca, the raw material for cocaine, ends up with drug smugglers. Poor farmers say coca is mostly used for traditional purposes, from hunger suppressants to protection against altitude sickness.

A key element of Morales' policy on coca is to seek greater commercial uses for coca leaves and have coca removed from a U.N. list of narcotic substances. A survey is being carried out to assess the legal demand for Bolivian coca.

We are stuck in the Jungle of Bolivia, It is the rainy season and our airline seems to have stopped flying, it isn{t always best to buy the cheapest tickets, the airline is calles tam it stads for military transport, if anyone wants to look them up to complain about thier shoddy service for me feel free, the flight has been delayed four days, this is interfering with my travel plans, it is nice here, very hot, the jungle tour was good lots of aligators, (I fed one a beer) an anaconda birds monkeys etc, not too many bugs, food not bad, very pleasent, their was no rain on the tour so I can{t complain too much now, I have to get us to carnival asap to meet wes, this may requre some difficult arrangments, and traveling, their are no flights, overland is the only way, I may be living on a bus from now on. This town is called Rurrembarque and is on the river Beni, It is next to Maddidi national park. Pete I was thinking the same thing about the fredericton site, we could call it ferg and petes fredericton adventure.

Happy Valentine's Day to you both. How fortunate you are to be spending it together..making memories to last a lifetime.
Thanks for allowing us to journey with you through your photos and travelogues.Even if I were 30 years younger I couln't keep up the pace you two are setting. Love today and always.

I enjoy reading of your adventures but I'm sure not half as much as you enjoy doing it. Keeping your Mom as calm as possible and remind her what she did when she was younger but that you are much smarter. When i get my foot out of my mouth, I'll try to talk her again. We are meeting this morning for muffins and visit with Linda who is down from Fredericton.