The Pampas

"My Friends you will have the most amazing time, hey my friendzzz one girl she cry so much I say what is wrong , she say nothing its just so wonderful all the animals I want to stay here forever!! My Frienddzdzdzddz you will see Alligators, Caiman, Capybara my Friendzzz you swim with Piranha and dolphin you drink tea with monkeys, my Friends, My Friends I love English music, smack my bitch up, Stone Roses, Pulp ahhh Common People, sorted for e and whizzzz yeah.. hey My Friendssss" --- Jonny, the Pampas salesman September 2007.

We did see all these things though (ok no tea with Monkeys and we didn't cry).

After looking at Thorntree (lonely Planet Forum) to gain an insight into which company is best for a Pampas tour, and being none the wiser, we wander into Amazonia travels office and are subjected to the above.. its hot we are bothered so buy two tickets immediately and head for the pool.

The next day we sit around in the office waiting for the tour to start.. "My Friends ......." agagaghrrghh, eventually we are driven to a different office where we are fused with another group, bundled into an very uncomfortable jeep and we are off on the bumpiest dustiest drive ever.

The guide stops at a Petrol station and we are asked to leave the vehicle as he climbs on the roof to fill up the petrol tank?? think this is for the boat perhaps....

pigstop

The journey to the river (3 hrs) is not so bad, thanks to Bradley who has purchased a bag of cold beer and we merrily tuck into a pleasant breakfast and learn his fail safe method of winning at roulette which is paying for his trip (more later if it works for us, see you soon if not). Saw a couple of Toucans and Ostriches on route.

We get to the river which is narrow and shallow and clamber into a long wooden boat, same sort as we used for the Pantanal and we are off.

aligator

we turn the corner and see an alligator straight away, followed by a group of capybara, then another alligator.... a prehistoric looking bird.... then another aligator...turtles.....a large blue kingfisher...a caiman...more alligators...more capybaras. All only a couple of meters away, it was as if they had been carefully arranged for our viewing pleasure. Its the only water for some distance and the river is low so there is more beach and fresh new grass - optimum conditions for seeing the most wildlife, but we didn't expect to see that much. The birds were amazing in abundance and variety, so many crazy colours and strange types- we feel like we ve stepped back in time. And family after family of those cute capybara grazing, having mud baths and swimming around, bless them they look so huggable.

"the whole situation was running along nicely like a canoe on wet grass" Iain Banks.

jaribu stalks stand about 5 foot high.

Lots of these magnificently odd golden birds in big groups that were very chatty and got quite flustered as we passed and flew across our heads to the no more safe other side.

Spotted some howler monkeys,Turkey vultures, birds that swim with their bodies under the water and heads above like snakes and lots of birds that look like those early beautiful litho illustrations. Their really are hundreds of alligators here, they stop sunning themselves and slip into the water as we pass- you can just see the bubbles once they submerge the water is as brown as the lake in charlie and the chocolate factory. Then when you look you see so many bubble trails around the boat its a little unnerving. But its the Camain (not so many of these) that really give you the willies- they are 6 foot monsters with massive wide jaws and unlike the alligators they are very dangerous to humans and attack by ambush. They don't sleep apparently- freaks, I like to see the ones basking with there mouths open. Bugger not having a proper zoom.

Caiman

The turtles are really funny they all just lose their balance and plop into the water as we approach.

We saw the pink river dolphins (more on these later) and some spiderish type monkeys. Unfortunately there are a couple of tour companies that dont treat the animals with respect and we came across one of them straight away. The Anaconda tour boat revved into our lives, they scared the dolphins, and they fed the monkeys. Also they allegedly take bribes to kill the odd alligator etc... its not legal but no one knows exactly who has done what so they get away with it. The people in their boat look like meat heads and they star blankly at us when we venture they shouldn't be feeding the animals. We steer well clear of them and luckily our camp is further down river than all the others. The lodge is on stilts on a high bank with a great view of the river and space for a small army, theres only 7 of us but it makes you worry about how rammed with boats the little river must be in those times.

At nightfall if you shine the torch along the river bank the alligator eyes shine back red, we counted 23 in the part of the river just below us.

Had some nice fried chicken and beer for super and played cards.

Unfortunately I spotted a vampire bat in the lodge and tried to shoo it away with a boot. It just crawled eerily over the ledge. I saw a program about them and that's the way they slowly move on and off their prey and we were for dinner. Everyone had a good sleep apart from me, I was awake for hours listening to the squeaks and flapping of those evil things worrying about the lengths they would go to to get under my mossy net and suck my blood.

Well everyone survived the night without double bite marks much to my surprise and after an early breakfast we went off on a walk to look for big snakes(as you do). It was a hard slog across humid grassy plains and through marshy lake beds to seek the Anaconda in borrowed wellies with holes in(nice). Im not that interested in snakes so of course Im the one that nearly steps on a cobra anaconda. We then spend some time trying to thrash it back out of the long grass to be told later their bite can make you deaf and blind(alrighty). Bradly got stuck in the swamp up to his middle which was a bit of a highlight. A nice dog joined our expedition and we saw some peachy water lillies and birds but doubt we ll do any more snake walks.

After lunch we veered away from the macho morning and went to swim with the pink river dolphins. Apparently they attack the alligators on mass and keep them away making it safe. Im still being a bit of a wuzz though and us girls only swim for about 5 mins. You cant get Dave out even though things kept brushing passed him in the murk. And and he merrily swims in the middle of about 15 of them while they have a blow hole noise competition.

These amazing creatures were thought extinct, resurfaced in the 50 s and were promptly forgotten about then Jaque Cousteau astounded TV viewers in the 80s with a film of them. They are steeped in myth and killing one is said to be extremely bad, paramount to killing a witchdoctor. Local tribes associate unwanted pregnancies with the creature and say it takes human form and donns a white suit to serenade the ladies. There are barmy tales of them living in underwater cities wearing catfish shorts & sting ray hats walking on turtle shell pavements & lounging in hammocks made from anacondas. It is likely it stems from how odd looking they are and the fact they can change colour from white to pink. Very rare, only found here and a smattering in Brazil, fabuloso!

Along a walk way our guide beckoned to us from the undergrowth, he had found a very tiny baby giant anteater. We left her waiting patiently for her mum to return, here she is.....

There was a viewing tower from which we spotted a dead Alligator in the river that the vultures were pretty interested in. Later our guide said it would have been killed by one of the less reputable companies for a fee and just left in the water, very sad.

went for a night boat ride just using the paddles and had an alligator in the water in between the shore and boat, it was right up against our side. I could have put my hand out and patted it, but I preferred to sit there & whimper. It used our boats proximity to the shore to trap and catch a fish, I nearly jumped into Dave's arms (in a cartoon stylie) as its jaws snapped shut. In retrospect it was cool.

2 fish jumped into the boat at one stage to save themselves from a similar fate, they may also have been aiming for Daves arms.

Got up at 5 for another paddle down stream to hear the dawn chorus. The Howler monkeys started to sing and sounded like the steady moan of ghosts with throat infections, very pleasantly strange. They are pretty shy and as we moored the boat they went quiet. And stayed that way as we hacked towards their tree like a herd of elephants (difficult for 8 people to quietly creep through Jungle). Dave and I did get a good look at them through the bins, they had some babies clinging to their bellies and were surprisingly cute for big monkeys (bet they don't have these at monkey world Jason). Here's a photo of a postcard as we didn't get near enough for shots as they stay very high in the tree tops. Acually these are not howlers(but equally cute).....will update soon....

On the final morning we fished for Pirhanas. They had a nack of just nibbling all the meat from the hooks at lightning speed. The way to catch them aparently was to yank them out of the water as they took hold and hope they caught their teeth. The guide caught a few and so did Tom, Dave caught a fish but not of the fierce kind, here´s one of the blighters.....

Reluctantly took the return boat journey and arrived on shore to find out there was a lorry driver stike against the apallingly dangerous roads in the area. They had blockaded the roads to hit the tourists as this was the only way the government would take note. We dont blame them but the 2 hour walk at mid day down a straight and dusty road with the sun beating down wasnt too welcome.

That evening back on dry land we had fantastic pinácoladas and tequila sunrises at a local bar. Our new found friend & wild card Bradley hustled the locals at pool after serveral stupidly strong long island iced teas. Him & his partner were meant to be leaving early the next morning, we knew this wasnt the case when Dave heard "wheres me tooth?" their antics & humour would be with us for a while yet.

Pool therapy and very tasty chicken sandwiches with golf sauce were the order of the day. A good rest before our next pursuit towards the salt flats the following day.

more photos of the pampas

Jungle...Welcome to the jungle!

We reluctantly left the tranquility of Coroico and lugged our luggage into town to catch the bus to Rurrenabaque. We met two Spanish girls (Maryosa y Marta) who had a local contact there with some inside information on a really decent guide to take us into the heart of darkness. He didn't work for an agency so all the money would go directly to his indigenous village who had paid for his extra education in medicinal plants etc....

The journey itself was a gruelling 15 hrs around roads fit only for goats and we were reassured of our safety when we stopped after 5 mins for the driver to fix his bus by moving an inside wheel (2 on each side at the back) to the outside. It was not long after this whilst the entire bus was shaking and it rained baggage that we chose the green pill and drifted into a matrix of calm.

At 5 in the morning after what seemed like 20 mins we arrived in town and stumbled off into the inky blackness, some groggy negotiation later and we had a bed for the night in what turned out to be a very pleasant hotel with a hammock wheel in the courtyard (8 hammocks radiating out like spokes).

Nice relaxed town , the only people not on mopeds are the tourists.

nice tree in Rurrenabaque

indoor market

Later that day we headed straight for the local outdoor pool, which was large and refreshing, and stayed there for the duration drinking limonada mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

The next day we awoke to the sounds of a Cockerel with a cough, left most of our luggage at the hotel and headed for the shore where we met Flora who was to help translate as we only have a smattering of Spanish. We all clambered in to a very long boat and gently motored upstream humming The Flight of The Valkeryies. Great to be out on the water again... a relaxing 3 hours watching the jungle drift by.

We had lunch on the riverbank (a yummy chicken stew) cooked over a wood fire and carried on meandering upstream between steep cliffs with forests hanging onto the sides at ridiculously acute angles.

Visited a couple of Spartan villages on route to pick up supplies, they just had palm roof mud shelters with dirt floors and no furniture that we could see, harsh to live with so much dust. The token dog, pig and chicken (with unfeasibly long running legs) milling around.. here´s a toilet....

Our guide Valdemar decided it was time to set up camp and we beached the boat and watched him disappear into the jungle. He returned having found a suitable place (where he would only need to clear bamboo and not trees) and with Justin(boy Friday) and a couple of machetes set about creating an incredible campsite just within the interior. We helped clear the site using bamboo as brushes, and within 15mins we had a clear flat piece of land slightly higher than the beach but only a hop, trip and a jump away.

They constructed a roof from plastic and separate sleeping quarters for two´s with mossy nets tucked reassuringly under mattresses. I must admit I had my doubts when we arrived but it was peachy. Lying in bed looking straight out at the jungle was amazing. I think we had spaghetti bolognase for tea- always a safe option.

Valdemar told us tales about people on previous trips. He really opened up, perhaps because straight away we all pitched in which he said only 10% of people did. It would have been such a relentless job for them if we hadnt, driving the boat alone looked pretty tough- navigating the currents & shallow waters & avoiding floating shrubberies, setting up camp, cooking, leading a walk, the cycle continues.... it was nice to feel we´d lightened the load and they could enjoy it a bit more. Flora interpreted his stories but Valdemar would elaborate for 10 mins while the Spanish girls laughed and Flora would summarise in a sentence so we did feel we were missing out a little, but hey.... should ave learnt more Spanish.

Our guide lost his flip flops so Dave saved the day and gave him his, he was v chuffed as they were Havaianas (the gift moves on Sid).

Pancakes for breakfast. The river was really high, massive trees in flower floated by that yesterday had been rooted in the banks. Too dangerous to navigate by boat so off into the jungle for our first walk.

Paranoid about bugs I dressed up like a proper charlie (even with head net for a while), here's a picture of the intrepid explorer drinking from the only type of bamboo that is filled with water.



Our guide would stop and explain about the flora and fauna. Wether it be a contraception, snake bite antidote or a pipe made out of bamboo for mimicking the puma, everything had its use, really interesting.

this is apparently a cure for a lazy eye though he could have joking at this stage.

We came to a stream to cross with a branch for a bridge & a pole to balance which got stuck in the mud and made it more difficult. Anyway I got nearly to the other side and promptly fell in. It was actually really deep and my head went under, my bag, the works (did get out pretty sharpish though). My pride was more hurt than anything else as the one thing I normally have is balance. Here's a photo of before I fell in, Dave was kind enough not to take one of the aftermath, bless him. To be honest though the rest of the 3 hour walk was pleasant (apart from the squelching hiking boots) I was wet but cool.

here's a giant Saber, they use these for emergency signals, if you hit the trunk the sound travels for miles.



Dave's favourite fruit.

Butterflies & insects our only friends.. didn't see many animals, a few birds and a glimpses of wild pigs (boy do they stink & make unnervingly strange sounds) but it was lovely none the less.

Here's one of the big blue butterflies that were in abundance floating through the dappled leafy sun rays.

At dusk we went fishing and laughed at our guide failing at the task of catching fish with a bow and spear. While we tried to fish with a weighted line and meaty hooks. Then 2 fish committed suicide and jumped out of the water behind him, we shrieked ¨behind you!¨ and then Valdamar saved face and actually speared a third as the sun was setting over the water... all were much

We did a small night walk but because it was a full moon and so light all but bugs were in hiding, well they said you don't get to see many animals in the jungle.

We awoke to a pink sunrise sunrise the next day and the boys had already been fishing and caught a massive catfish. We watched it gutted on the beach and Valdamar wrapped it in palm leaves and gently smoked it over the fire while we pootled up the river to the second national park (Pilon Lajas) for a walk. Normally you only get to go round one park on these tours so it was a treat.

It was different, less dense with more views and undulations and a massive cliff face that red macaw parrots were nesting in high above. Lots more butterflies and a fresh water stream that we filled our water bottles in.

We came across a garlic tree (they do exist!) and rubbed the bark over our arms (as mozzies don't like it) and continued on our smelly way.

Back at camp we had a Delicious lunch and quickly packed up as Valdamar had noticed a hole that was the nest of a red bird sitting in the tree and was worried about a small hungry mouth within.

Before we left he magically produced ice and we had a well needed cool drink (it was very hot & humid in the day). Still not sure how he did this, we only had a polystyrene box and surely ice would not keep in this for 3 days?......

When we arrived back in Rurrenabaque I was so relieved to remove the white shirt I had buttoned up the whole time. It was filthy but amazingly I hadn't been bitten once so it was worth it. Fantastic to have a shower, the water ran brown.

Spent the next 3 days hanging out by the pool and reading. There were 2 parrots living in the grounds but they were a lot quieter than the previous featherd pool friends. One was licking water from the pool edge so dave swam over to give it a decent drink, here they are....

some pretty green striped lizards lived in the compost heap and we watched them running around.

Got drunk for the first time on our trip the next day. Went down to the river for lunch and just kept ordering another beer as it was so refreshing & easy to watch the riverside antics. Were still there at tea time when the spanish girls turned up, hic!........ heres the view.

The sky has become very hazy and we find out its due to forest burning in Brazil and Paraguay. This happens every year at this time, we dont know if this year its more extreme but it does seem severe for visability to be affected so much here. All flights in and out of Rurenabaque are cancelled for 10 days and sunsets and rises cease to exist- the sun just dissapears 5 degrees off the horizon. I have to say though we probably wouldnt have been able to stand the heat and stay here had this not been the case.... doesnt make it any less scary they are burning so much though. We suspect Bolivia is doing a fair bit also and blaming the other countries, have seen some evidence and heard tales to this affect.


more photos of the Jungle

Coroico & cool by the pool

We had decided to stay on in Coroico at the hotel Don Quixote where all the cycling gang had lunch. We waved them goodbye somewhat smug at our choice of staying in the tropics rather than "the worlds most dangerous" bus journey back to La Paz.

Discovered we were the only guests (again!), the place was sadly run down which was a shame as it was a wonderful hotel & spot. We relaxed by the pool soaking up the rays & watched the bee eaters feeding their young in the palm tree & the turkey vultures riding the thermals above. Dave took to hiding in the corner of the pool to get the best view of the house martins swooping down to drink. Great place to while away the hours.

paddling pool & shark

They had 4 parrots here's 2 of them.....

the two Ronnies

sadly it does seem normal for parrots to have their wings clipped and become pool pets, I suppose its slightly better than a cage but we haven't seen many of these beauties in the wild. At dusk they were ear shatteringly noisy so we decided to say just one night.

Beat Dave at Pool 2 0. Spent a long time looking for the chalk only to find they had dug a hole in the chalky wall for just the job, here it is......

Woke up early to some serious thunder, went on for an age and sounded amazing. Lounged around the pool to get our last fix of those dive bombing birds & saw our first humming bird. Sad to leave as its been so relaxing but the pools too murky so we are off to the posh hotel up the road.

This is the view from our room at hotel Esmeralda.....

This place is a bit expensive at 10 pounds a night but beautiful grounds and facilities surrounded by banana and orange groves, so well worth it for a few days of recuperation.

Met a really nice couple from Leeds who were both reading Sherlock Holmes from the book exchange and scaring themselves.

We hung out by the pool, played pool, read and Dave had his first sauna ( I couldn't get him out, that boys not human!). Had my first encounter with sand flies, how can something that small inflict such long lasting & irritating bites? Naughtly sand flies!

they had a hammock and whilst lying in it the shear drop below messed with your mind, making you relaxed one minute to tense the next
here's Dave...... a little tense I think.

I was feeling a tad delicate so Dave went into town for drugs (we are rattling a little when shaken). Anyway it turns out today is the first day of spring 21st sept (sorry uk folks) hence all the trumpet playing, megaphones, cheering & singing that could be heard. Lots of people in the street in costume having a bit of a party.

more photos from Coroico here