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Published: November 10th 2007
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That´s it. Finally our ticket is booked for Rurrenabaque. We are off to the Jungle and Pampas.
2 options to get there. By bus on a long 18 hour trip or fly there on a 45min flight.
Flying there was the 1st option until we realised that the flight costs $60us. The bus on the other hand costs $10us. The choice was made for us, we are doing it the hard way. After all, who needs comfort.
The following day, we get to the bus terminal and found our bus. Don´t know how to describe it. It´s just bigger than a minibus and 3 times smaller than a normal long distance bus. It is also used as a cargo bus so it was heavily loaded a the top and down low!!! You should´ve seen the horror on Renata´s eyes and mine. Oh! and there are no toilets on board. Now Renata really starts to worry..... we were reassured the bus makes stops every three hours. A bit of a relief.
The trip has been the worst we have ever taken in South America or elsewhere. we got to experience what was "Semi Cama Local". Cramped bus, very slow, music blaring
in our ears, exhaust fumes coming straight up to my window. Hell! What´s more, the bus only stopped 3 times in the whole journey: one at a police check, one for a 5 mins pee and one for dinner for one hour.
Not to mention that the road was just a dirt road, very bumpy and very dusty with roads no wider than 3-4 meters to allow for both sides to pass. It was a scary experience as there are no barriers to stop the bus from falling into the void. The scenery was fantastic though as we were going deep into Bolivia´s Amazon basin.
We eventually made it to "Rurre" after 20 hours. Don´t know how but we did.
We weren´t going to do it a second time on the way back. Suddenly, that $60us didn´t sound too bad. We are flying on the way back!
Rurre is lovely! we spent 3 days in The Pampas in a camp through an agency called "Anaconda Tours".
The program consisted of:
Day1: Watching and observing wildlife, daytime and night time: Aligators, caimans, turtles, birds of paradise storks and other birds and finally monkeys.
Day2: Searching for Anaconda and
Piranha fishing
Day 3: Swimming with freshwater Pink Dolphins and Piranhas of course!
We had a whale of a time, enjoying every minute of it even if the weather wasn´t that good and despite mosquito bites. We met a couple in the bus with whom we got on really well ( Arnau and Lisa ) and had good fun together. Guys, you are great!
As we started off on the boat trip to our camp, we couldn´t wait to see the animals so each time we saw an aligator we asked our guide Adalit ( who´s been great ) to slow the boat so we can take pictures, only to realise that the river was packed with them. After the first 50 aligators, the innovation faded and we only wanted to see BIG aligators. The other ones were boring now!
As we get to the camp, we settle into our quarters consisting of beds and mosquito nets, so we started to go heavy on insect repellents. These bastards were on a mission to suck as much blood as possible. To give you an idea, Arnau counted as much as well over 150 bites. Nasty!!!
Our night trip
to the river allowed us to observe aligators while hunting. Fascinating.
The second day, we went to the pampas to try to see an anaconda. The trip in itself proved to be more enjoyable than the actual seach itself. We went through muddy, smelly waters watching carefully where we put our feet only to find that 200meters ahead, the only way to get through is going into a pool of mud reaching our knees. Lovely! No one cared if our feet were soaked or not after that, you just carry on.
Adalit, our guide, the best, eventually found a baby anaconda. As soon as the rest of the crowd found out, they were running and shouting, scaring the animal away into the tree roots. Knives were coming out to try to cut the roots and get it out. It was a joke! These were people pushing each other and screaming, all for a lousy picture. No respect for nature! I have no respect for those people.
In the afternoon, we went Piranha fishing. Exciting stuff although I wasn´t able to catch a single one. In fact I managed to loose one ( fished by another guy ) while I was
Our "famous" 20hour bus
with Renata´s bagpack on the top inspecting its teeth. The little bastard bit my finger. It ended up flying in the air, returning to the water. Home sweet home!
Day three, we went swimming with Dolphins. They are quite shy animals. We were either brave or stupid to swim in the river as it is infested with piranhas and aligators by the shore. Our guide says it´s okay, so we trusted him. We can now say to people we swam in an amazonian river with dolphins, aligators and piranhas. It was fantastic!
Our trip is coming to an end. Time to pack and head back to Rurre.
We were supposed to fly the next day but weather conditions weren´t great so we had to wait an extra day. Which we didn´t mind. With Arnau and Lisa, we hired two motorbikes and went riding around Rurre for the afternoon. Our adventure didn´t stop there. On the way back, we had a flat tire and no civiliasation for another 45mins. We had to carry on and at one point when the actual rubber from the inner tube was sticking out of the wheel, Renata boarded Arnau and Lisa´s bike. It was a cosy affair. We make it back
eventually. The bike guy wasn´t too pleased but hey.
We loved Rurre and the many adventures that came with it.
Our flight the next day was on schedule. We are off! Back to La Paz, to catch our bus to Copacabana on the Lake Titicaca. The highest navigable lake in the world. Slowly making our way to Peru.
An adventure finished, we are looking forward to our next one.
Chau Chau amigos!
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alan smith
non-member comment
Thanks guys. Makes Wroxall seem a bit tame! Apart from the anacondas, alligators and pirhanas - they're just the same here! Thanks for the update. A bit nostalgic for me; I was in Peru exactly 1 year ago this week. Looking forward to seeing you again eventually. Alan. Pam. Dani