Advertisement
Published: April 8th 2005
Edit Blog Post
Part two of my Bolivian Amazon adventure was a three day visit to the pampas or ´grassland´. After a relaxing night of amazing cocktails and some curious dinner menu items (“Winner Chicken”), we were up an at 'em early for a loong trip by jeep to the river port where we would transfer to our motor-canoe.
This bumpy and generally uncomfortable trip allowed us time to get to know the other members of our group and to occasionally smash our heads into the roof as the wheels found another pothole.
Roxy and I had fallen in with two other Australians (retired teachers from Sydney), two Brits (a cool young doctor and her boyfriend) and an abrasive American stand-up comedian making a documentary with a CNN-style video camera.
The temperature had soared again and we were all soaked through with sweat as we dragged our boat out of the swamp and into the river proper. I couldn´t help but feel responsible for the (record) heat as I have been bringing amazing weather with me to each destination. We had a couple of 45 degree days on the river. Hot...
The landscape out here was as beautiful as anything I have
I could have stared at it for hours
Sitting up on the bow with your feet in the water... magic. seen so far. Although it is miles and miles of grassland, you don´t see that from the river which has a 100m of jungle running on both sides. As soon as we were underway our septuagenarian guide, Mateo, was excitedly pointing out all manner of amazing bird life swooping through the trees. It was a very long ride upriver but I found it really soothing and there was the bonus of constant wildlife peering out to look at us.
At first it was just these hilarious little turtles sunning on logs that would awkwardly freak out and stumble into the water as we passed, but soon it was like a zoo. Howler monkeys, cappuccinos, squirrel monkeys, sloths, little yellow (pirate) monkeys, pink dolphins, kingfishers and so on. It was a great show and it helped to ease our minds about all of the truly crap ´camps´ that we were passing - all of which were flooded by the record water level and generally dilapidated. Of the occupants that we could see in these places (run by other agencies) most looked fairly glum and annoyed.
On and on and on we went.
Putterputterputter”howlermonkeeesleft!”putterputterputter “dolpheeens!”putter.
Just as night was
Pirate Monkeys
Before we could arm ourselves we were boarded and overrun. falling, we reached a picturesque little spot on the rivers edge and were amazed to see that we had been spared the prison-on-stilts type camp of all of the other agencies, in favour of a sprawling green farm. Who could have known what good would come of choosing this obscure and cheap little agency?
Our arrival was not a minute too soon as the Mosquito Luftewaffe had mobilised and was launching a Dresden-style attack on our little craft. I am not exaggerating when I say that we had them hitting our face at about 15 bugs to every 30 seconds. It was amazing and I was a bit nervy about all of that, having made the decision not to take my amazingly- expensive anti-malaria tablets and then sharing the boat with a doctor who was dutifully taking hers.
(We were not in a malarial zone and I am still upright eight days later so stop looking at me like that).
Our comparatively luxurious sleeping quarters were slightly soured by the fact that we all went off to sleep soaked with sweat (even 5 minutes after a cold shower) but there was minimal grumbling. We were probably all too
"Hey Speedy..."
Hilarious watching her "hurry" down the trunk when we arrived. preoccupied by the story of the “borros” - tropical moths which lay eggs in hanging clothing land leave them to hatch against your body, allowing the larvae to burrow into your skin.
Sweet dreams.
Morning saw us all groggily picking our way out of frilly pink mosquito nets like dirty and gracelss butterflies from our cocoons. Time for our horse trek.
After picking the biggest baddest black horse (although he was initially smacked-out like he was on valium) it was off into the pampas for more animal spotting. To be honest, I was more interested in the horses than the ostriches and woodpeckers, it was great fun to be riding and it is something that I will definitely be doing again on my trip. We had some very funny moments where we all had to convince our steeds to cross a VERY deep pit of mud which had them baulking and tripping and splashing around. Very difficult for a novice rider, let alone one who knows their horse and what they are doing.
Never fear, me and my trusty stallion “Octurro” got on famously thanks to Mateo and the stick-trick. This sleepy horse was transformed into an
attentive and responsive vehicle as soon as I snapped a thin branch off a passing tree and showed it to him. It was a revelation. You don´t hit the horse, just show him that you are thinking about it. I didn´t even get to show him actually, as soon as he heard it snap off the tree he was off and racing up through the gears. His pace was within reason however, the horses are all naturally cautious of the local Anaconda, which will occasionally eat a cow.
After a relaxing trip out through the bush and an excellent canter back to the farm I discovered more bug bites on my back than I have EVER seen in my life. (This was
through my shirt). I looked like I had been fired upon with one of those non-lethal riot shotguns.
Too late to take some tablets?
Prrrrt.
(Thankfully one of those wise travel-packing advisers had recommended anti-histamines and I was happily deflating in no time at all).
We were all hot and sweaty and bitten so we took off up stream to find a spot to swim with the dolphins. All it took was for our guide
Down on the farm
A world apart from the other camps. We had black piglets! to say: “This looks like a good sp...” and I had charged down the boat and launched myself off the bow...
As the strong current whisked me away downstream I realised that I had forgotten Shirley´s advice about never being first or last.
Luckily I can swim and it wasn´t too hard to get back to the boat to lead the gleeful parade of bombs and flips off the front. Before long we had some curious dolphins breaching around us. Very nice.
On the way back to camp I observed a funny scene where the mosquitos fed on the humans, the dragonflies fed on the mosquitos and the birds fed on the dragonflies. To see it all happening at once in a thick swarm was most amusing.
Our return trip was equally long but eased (at least for me) by cold Tropical Strength Huari Pilsners which hit the spot as the jungle drifted on by. Our final stop in the jeep was shortly after we passed a dog that had been hit by a car and was in the process of being transformed into a clean white skeleton by a bunch of bouncing vultures. It
Impossible without horses
Jo brings up the rear. I grip the fearful "showing stick" in my teeth. was here that we were given the chance to fish for Piranha and I was most confident about my chances of a record haul, having never fished before in my life (shutup Liz).
As you would expect, I wasn´t able to lure any of this smaller variety of swimming dentures onto my hook and watched helplessly as they nimbly stripped away the raw meat chunks. I was the last one struggling out there in the 45 degree oven and got back into the car cursing and trying to find a way to clean all of that raw meat out from under my fingernails.
After a neverending, bone-crunching, ride back to Rurrenabaque it was time for multiple showers and a questionable amount of cocktails and pizza. Our last day in the little river town was spent dozing in hammocks as we waited for our little plane to buzz down from La Paz.
I have had a constant feeling lately that I am a lemming on The Golden Path. I just wander along and everything falls at my feet. I seem to be getting the absolute best of everything while those around me live a more realistic existence
Faithful Octurro
He resented me... I loved him like a brother... It was beautiful. of occasional delays or disappointments. I am reminding myself daily to make the most of it as it will surely come to an end soon in the form of a military coup or a Drop Bear.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.196s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 16; qc: 82; dbt: 0.1002s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.3mb
anonymous
non-member comment
- Ian and Corrie