Into the Jungle

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October 24th 2007

Published: October 24th 2007

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Jay and Donna

The Jungle

From La Paz we took the bus along "the world´s most dangerous road" to Coroico, a quiet town in the Yunga mountains where we stopped overnight, before continuing to Rurrenabaque. It was a long slow journey (16 hours), and we were a little apprehensive about it from the various travellers tales we had heard, but the rough dirt road was passable and we even managed to get a bit of sleep on the way.

Rurrenabaque is an attractive little town in the Amazon Basin. In contrast with La Paz, the town is just a couple of hundred meters above sea level, and the weather is tropical. The rainforest is a stone´s throw away and this is the reason we came. Within hours of arriving we experienced a torrential downpour. While taking shelter in a cafe we got chatting to an eccentric South African chap who had been in town for 3 weeks. Apparently, the town´s varied inhabitants include a menonite community, several unhinged German expats and at least a few dodgy good-for-nothings who have fled their original countries to hide out in the arse end of nowhere.

The next morning we set out in a motorised canoe to make

Coroico

View over the valley from town

our way up the Beni river to Chanalan Lodge, a local community ecotourism project in Madidi National Park. Halfway there the outboard engine broke down and we spent 4 hours waiting in the sweltering heat for a replacement boat to arrive (unfortunately, taking a refreshing dip in the river wasn´t an option as the recent downpour had turned the water to a thick muddy brown mixture).

After what seemed like forever help finally arrived and we continued up the river, arriving at dusk. As we walked through the rainforest towards the lodge we were greeted by a cacophony of unusual and bizarre sounds - chirping, barking, clicking, warbling, crying, you name it. Despite sounding very close, the source of most the sounds was not apparent and had to be left to the imagination. A bottle of wine and the first of many fantastic meals was waiting for us when we finally arrived at the lodge.

We spent the next 3 days hiking, canoeing and swimming in the vicinity of the lodge. Maintaining enthusiasm during the day time hikes was sometimes difficult in the oppressive heat but the night time excursions were fantastic. All manner of bizarre (and frightening!)

Canoe

The canoe was surprisingly zippy (when the engine was working!)

creatures would appear after dark. A definite highlight was a night time caiman-spotting trip on the lake where we had been swimming earlier! We also had a fascinating experience earlier that day watching a large group of monkeys making their way through the forest.

Before you could say ´what tarantula?´ it was time to head back down the river again and back to civilisation. Prying Donna from the lake took some effort (just one more jump!) but we were pleased to be leaving the lodge with so many great memories.

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