Anacondas & Alligators

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We rose early and climbed into our wellies for a morning anaconda hunt. We spent the next few hours squelching tentatively through the jungle marshes, battling the rays of the sun and the army of mosquitoes that threatened our gringo skin. Jane was the first to spot a scaly skin amongst the tangled plants in the murky water, and we watched captivated as a huge snake slithered between our feet. Back at the lodge we cooled off in the river, leaping gleefully from a makeshift rope-swing and allowing ourselves to be carried downstream by the strong current. Half an hour after our swim, as we lay dripping on the shore, we watched with horror as a six foot alligator slunk out of the water we had been swimming in and stretched menacingly on the muddy bank, a few metres away from us. The adrenaline generated by this near-miss was immense and we all squatted on the jetty like kids on Christmas morning, looking excitedly down at the powerful predator with whom we´d unwittingly shared our swimming water.

The afternoon was spent on the river; the air was warm and fresh, the water was placid and the noises from the undergrowth were a perfect contrast to the angry car horns of La Paz. We came across a school of pink dolphins, who swam playfully near the canoe and broke the surface of the water with gentle sneezing sounds. We noticed that other tourists, in a nearby boat, were apparently still shaken by the encounter with the alligator and remained inside their canoe. However, Tom, me and our friends jumped in the river and swam with the dolphins, trying to not to think about what might be lurking in the murky depths.

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Photos

No, like this!
Tom shows a local man how to use binoculars.

Look who was swimming with us...
Notice the clever camouflage of sticks and moss

Swimming with dolphins
Too quick to capture on camera