Blogs from Rurrenabaque, Beni Department, Bolivia, South America - page 7

Chers lecteurs, chères lectrices, Nous interrompons notre programmation régulière afin de vous partager des nouvelles en direct de Rurrenabaque, dans la zone nord du pays. Nous apprenons à l'instant que, suite à des pluies torrentielles (rappelons que nous sommes dans la saison des pluies), les eaux de la rivière Béni qui rejoint l'Amazone, ont décuplés jusqu'à inonder à plusieurs niveaux, les rues du petit village de Rurrenabaque. Outre les rues, ce sont des maisons qui voient leur plancher recouvert d'eau, forçant certains habitants à déménager temporairement leurs biens. C'est en revenant d'une excursion de trois jours dans la pampa, qu'Isabelle Lajoie, une Québécoise en visite dans la région, nous apprend que déjà, le niveau de la rivière avait visiblement monté. Puis aux petites heure du matin de la nuit du 21 février, mademoiselle Lajoie dit s'être ... read more

In rainy season Rurrenabaque can take upwards of 22 hours on a bus from La Paz, this seemed like one bus journey too far so we decided that we would splash out and fly. After shopping around we found that TAM was the cheapest carrier. I had never heard of them but the agent assured us they were perfectly safe - the only difference being they flew from the military airport as opposed to the commercial one. We arrived at a dark terminal the first thing to hit us was the smell which was akin to a farmyard- our eyes adjusted to the light, to see a platoon of soldiers lying about - there were no civilians. At this point we saw a sign and realised that TAM stands for Military Air Transport. After 20 minutes ... read more

Nice little town - really just a stop on the way to the Bolivian jungle or pampas. Great city. Shame we didn't have much time to explore but checked out some markets (chose not to buy any llama foetuses). The view of the city on the way in is awesome and the mountain backdrop just beautiful.... read more

My second jungle trip, a 2 day walking tour through Amazon proper ignited my senses like nothing I have ever experienced before. So here follows: A SENSORY JUNGLE EXPERIENCE. The sweet bite of the juice from the tiny mangoes that fell from the trees with a plonk. The sun beating relentlessly down on the beacks of our necks, our scalps and our thighs as we sit in the boat. The occasional cool splash of river water on your cheek as the boat rocks. The welcome sahde dappling your face as you enter the tree line. The sighs of relief and the stagnant heat that makes you flop as you enter that perfect little pituresque clearing with wooden lodges. The sting of sun in your eyes as you look up to the canopy, trying to see the ... read more

Following advice from other travellers against taking the coach to Rurrenabaque,  (the road is supposed to be worst in the country aside from death road), we boarded a 12 seater plane to leave cold, snowy La Paz and just 35 minutes later we landed in the middle of the jungle in 36 degree heat. This country is crazy.  During this journey we learnt 3 things: 1. Small planes suffer acutely from turbulence. 2. Mountains (like those around La Paz) cause turbulence 3. When you combine said turbulence and small plane the result is a truly terrified Steve who is convinced he will not be visiting the Amazon after all.  So after a tense flight (Ellie was so happy it was short, she couldn't have coped with anymore stress radiating from the seat next to her), and a ... read more