The Jungle

Now talk about a change of scenery! I finished climbing Huayna Potosi, went back to La Paz, had a much deserved beer - my hostel had a microbrew on the terrace and each night you got one free beer. They actually had a decent porter and a decent thick stout - slept, organized my things and was off to the jungle the next morning. Luckily the bus ride was 18 hours so I had lots of time to relax.



















The road to Rurrenabaque is also known as the World's Most Dangerous Road. It is narrow, windy and has sharp drop offs. There is also the infamous death road bike tour down the same road as buses, cars, trucks, semis etc. I heard of a korean girl dying a few months ago on the bike tour and there is an annual death rate of about 100. That being said, I luckily had a good AND sober driver. It was an incredible drive with beautiful views with a windy river down below, lush forests on both sides, some houses that are farming on the mountain sides. It was very slow going because it was one lane and very windy. Wait did I mention it was windy?! I was only nervous when we were backing up to let other vehicles pass. There were a few times when we were backing up and went over a bump which was lower in the rear that I would grip the seat in front of me and/or look out the window to make sure we were okay. Well one of these times, I was looking out the window and I saw a small memorial. That was reassuring!!




















So I traveled the 18 hours on the bus, arriving in Rurre at 5am. They let us stay on the bus and sleep some more until the sun came up. So around 7, I went and organized a trip into the jungle with 2 different parts. One going into the Parque Nacional Madidi and the other headed into the pampas, as it is popularly known but my guide said savannah is more appropriate. Each part had a 3 - 4 hour boat trip on 2 different rivers and ended up at lodges along the rivers.

I first went into the jungle and into Parque Nacional Madidi, an Unesco designated 1.8 million hectare park comprised of rivers, lowlands, Andean peaks and tons of wildlife. They have 867 - 1150 different species of birds - toucans, parrots, macaws - yes I saw blue and gold macaws flying and heard them in trees - parakeets, hawks, eagles, buzzards, herons, storks, kingfishers, thatchers etc. as well as mammals, reptiles and flora and fauna. There are indigenous communities still living within the park boundaries as well.
So from Rurre, we, Amy and Lisa from England joined me, went on a 4 hour boat ride upriver to Torewa on the Beni River. Luckily the long, narrow boat had a motor because it was hot and humid! I definately can say I prefer the cool and even frigid mountain air. But hey when else am I going to get a chance to get into the Amazon jungle. So I sucked it up for the first 3 days. Then a windstorm and cool weather blew in just as we arrived at our other camp up the Yacuma River. No more hot and humid weather, no mosquitoes - it was nice. But I also froze the first night. I did not bring my sleeping bag because who needs a zero degree bag in the jungle??!! Well the last 2 days were on the cooler side - I never took off my fleece the second to last day. Strange I know but at least I was not sweating!
We went on hikes in the jungle, during the day and night. It is seriously dense. After 4 - 4 ½ hours, I felt claustrophobic because of all the vegetation. I just wanted a view. But I enjoyed the constant dull roar of the jungle - both day and night. During the day, there are just tons of birds and monkeys calling out to one another. It is similar to the constant noise you hear at a festival or an elementary school playground. At night, you hear the insects, bugs and frogs. At sunrise and sunset the din increases. It is actually quite peaceful -strange I know. One day while we were hiking, we started hearing the tops of trees crashing, one after another. Then we could see squirrel monkeys jumping from one tree to another - they are so cute. They have a long tail and are predominantly yellow. They live in groups of up to 100 monkeys and can travel 20 - 25 km a day. So they were chasing each other through the jungle. We also saw the brown capuchin monkey and the nocturnal monkey. The Capuchin monkeys live in the highest part of the canopies and live fairly cordially with the squirrel monkeys who live in the secondary part of the canopy. They will cry out to the squirrel monkeys to alert them of eagles flying overhead but at the same time will eat the squirrel monkey's eggs.

Our boat:





























Our lodge:


































The walking tree or so it is commonly called because it does move towards the sun as it grows. It grows extra "legs" to help move the tree in the direction of the open canopy above.



















The largest termite nest I have ever seen:



















Nature's art project: