Piranhas and bananas

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A terrible night´s sleep. I was desperate for the loo, but was afraid to leave the protection of my mosquito net, for fear of the swarms of bugs that hung in the air and the huge black cockroaches that carpet the floor and threaten to crunch beneath your feet. Still, the night didn´t last long. We were up and in the canoe by 5:30am. The atmosphere in the pampus was so different at this hour. We watched the sky turn a shade of milky red as the sun rose and listened to a chorus of throaty growls as the howler monkeys rose from sleep.

We spent the remainder of the morning piranha fishing. This was a primitive affair - a chunk of meat was tied to a string and dangled over the side of the canoe. Fishing was really good fun, and only Tom was successful, catching three tiny but furious-looking piranha.

We had to hurry back to Rurrenabaque to catch our flight, so Jules, Tom and I jumped in the back of a jeep heading into town. It was the worst journey of our time in South America so far, even more horrific than the bus ride from Uyuni to La Paz. The road was unbelievably bad and we drove at breakneck speed. We were thrown from side to side like rag dolls as the manic driving reduced the four hour journey back to Rurrenabaque to a one and half hour ride. The flight back was magical - we shared the sky with the setting sun - and returning to the hostel felt like coming home. A host of familiar faces welcomed us back and all seemed happy to see us.

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Photos

Porcupine in a tree
Because Lucy wouldn´t believe me