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Having flown into Rurrenabaque we were instantly hit by the heat and humidity of the jungle, which was a marked contrast from La Paz when we were 3500m higher up!
After checking in i walked into town to organise an Amazon tour and booked a 5 day trip with Berraca del Medidi. After i had a traditional Bolivian fish dish with mel and Gosta before drinks at the Mosquito bar in town. In the morning we were to go on sepèrate tours so we said our goodbyes again.
Next morning i enjoyed my last warm shower for 5 days as i got to the office for 7.30am to start the 6 and a half hour boat ride upstream into the Amazon. I was in a group with Camilla and Chris, an English couple that went to Southampton Uni a few years before me, and Max and Stacey, an Aussie couple on holiday. We had Pedro as our guide, who spoke good English was good fun, and more importantly a jungle expert! On our way upstream we saw a couple of caimen, black vultures, fish eagles and some capybara. When we finally arrived i think we were all taken aback by the quality of the lodge it was awesome considering we were in the middle of the jungle. Once we had settled in we started our first trek and it was clear immediately that not much got past Pedro as he imitated animals and saw things normal human eyes i swear cant! We saw various birds such as macaws and parrots and even the rear end of a deer but the highlight was the tarantula. Pedros secret method of spitting on a stick and putting into the tarantulas den certainly worked because out came a huge spider! After the walk we enjoyed a tasty dinner cooked by Rosie, the resident chef and were entertained by her 2 year old daughter who required attention every 5 minutes.
Next morning, and after pancakes and egg on toast for breakfast it was time for the next hike for just under 4 hours. We saw more macaws, mili parrots and an eagle before freshening up over another awesome lunch. We were also treated to seeing a snake weaving its way amongst the trees in camp. In the afternoon we went on another hike and stalked a huge group of wild boar.
Next morning we went on another hike and saw similar animals to the previous days. Towards the end of the hike we also went fishing in a small stream. After initially losing 3 fish in 5 minutes the others finally started to haul a couple on shore and whilst i was impressed with their size in their own right we were told they were to be used as bait for giant catfish the next day. Towards the end of the session, and well aware of the blank i drew piranha fishing in the Pantanal i finally got my fish and added it to the other 3 we had caught that day.
When we got back to camp for lunch it started to rain soo heavily and it continued for the rest of the day and the rest of the night. Instead of going to a platform overlooking a clay patch where animals come to feed we spent the afternoon playing a lot of cards and waiting for our fresh fish dinner. As we caught so many fish we were treated to 2 for dinner and 2 were spared as bait for the next day. Next morning we were up early ready for a 2.5hr boat ride further upstream to a village in the middle of the Amazon.
The village itself was far more developed than you would imagine and apparently has seen huge changes in the last 20 years. We visited the school and medical centre and walked around the main plaza. Interestingly, the village is Christian which i can only assume is because of outside influence on the village historically. We also saw a picture of a Norwegian man hung on the wall of the village hall. Apparently, he lived in the village for 9 years before going for a walk into the jungle and to this day has never been seen since...
After that rather eery tale we went to Pedro´s parents house where Rosie had cooked another super meal. Once we were all suitably filled we said our thank yous and headed back downstream for 45 minutes where we stopped on a small beach to go fishing for catfish.
We were told that because it is wet season it is hard to catch anything, but after 10 minutes i had a bite. Having lost a few fish the day before i yanked hard when i felt the bite and wasted no time reeling in. To my astonishment i had caught a monster catfish and with the help of a couple of the others we hauled all 35kg of fish on to the shore. I swapped reels feeling my work was done for the day and after about an hour of watching the others fish it was time to go rafting. The 5 of us and Pedro loaded into a small inflatable dingy and armed with oars we headed to the rapids and floated (sometimes rather uncontrollably) downstream for an hour or two back to camp. Here the catfish was prepared and taken to the kitchen for Rosie to cook for dinner whilst we all freshened up. The catfish itself was delicious and there was enough to easily feed 20 people. We ate only a fraction of the fish that night despite all eating to the point of bursting. That evening we went on a nightwalk, but we only saw a few tree frogs, a scorpian spider and one more snake - mainly to Pedros disappointment.
Next morning we had a 6am start and went off on a rather more fruitful walk. We saw howler monkeys, spider monkeys, capuchin monkeys and squirrel monkeys before heading to the platform overlooking the clay. Here we saw white chested parakeets and macaws eating. After a while of seeing nothing a big black bird flew down and when asked what it was Pedro responded rather comicallty "a duck, the black duck". Despite trying to remain as calm as possible all 5 of us roared into laughter and certainly scared anyway jaguars that were even thinking of making an appearance that day. Anyway in high spirits we returned to camp for a traditionally cooked catfish lunch before heading back downstream for 3 hours to Rurrenabaque in the afternoon.
It was a fantastic tour and Pedro and his company more than delivered, i would certainly recommend the trip to others.
Back in Rurrenabaque we said our goodbyes to Chris and Camilla before i freshened up under a warm shower. That evening i headed to the mosquito bar with Max and Stacey for a few cocktails before going for dinner in town.
Next morning i found an internet cafe and uploaded my jungle photos. I also got my rather smelly laundry seen to, and managed to book a 3 day Pampa tour despite having no money as both cashpoints in town had ceased operating. The cash issue started to become more pressing as the day continued, but despite this i managed to find my way to a swimming pool overlooking the jungle city to cool down and chill out for the afternoon (even if i was the whitest person at the predominently Israeli pool) before returning my mototaxi to town once more for the evening.
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