Rurrenabaque - Jungle & Wetlands

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Rurrenabaque is the jumping off point for adventures into Bolivia's portion of the Amazon jungle and wetlands. We decided to start with a three day trip into the jungle, so packed lots of insect repellent and climbed aboard a boat as it sped up river.

On the way to our jungle camp we stopped off at a sugar cane planation and collect freshly picked oranges off the tree.

Once at our camp we begin our jungle training with bow and spear practice, before heading out on a trail for a three hour hike. Although it was early afternoon the tree canopy prevented much of the sunlight getting through and we seemed to be walking in perpetual dusk.

Once the sun had set, and after dinner, we went out again to see what the jungle and river banks were like at night. The noise was almost overwhelming. We were also introduced to the friendly neighbors living in the roof of our jungle hut, huge tarantulas the size of your hand.

The next day we hiked deep into the jungle and slept out over night under the cover of a simple plastic sheet and a mosquito net. The blankets we brought with us provided some insulation from the cold dirt ground, but it was a long night with little sleep. Even so it was a great experience to be surrounded by the jungle, and a million blood sucking insects all intent on eating us. God bless mosquito nets!

In the morning we built a raft and paddled/punted down the river back to our camp, which felt like a five star hotel after a night in the jungle.

With our time in the jungle over we headed back to Rurrenabaque for a shower and a solid bed, before heading off the day after to the wetlands.

The next three days were a relaxing holiday compared to the hard activities of the jungle. We sat back in a long boat and watched the wetlands drift by as our guide pointed out the wildlife. It was amazing to see so many creatures all in one place. Crocodiles lined every bank and birds were constantly flying from one side to the other. The pink river dolphins were a sight to behold and great fun to watch.

It wasn't all gentle drifting though. We did some piranha fishing, although Tracy and I failed to catch anything (sorry George, guess we need some fishing instruction from you), and made rings from nuts with the ends off and then polished for and hour.

This time when we returned to Rurrenabaque we know that we would soon be missing the warm humidity of the jungle as we headed to higher altitude, so spent one last day in shorts and T-shirts before boarding a plane to La Paz.

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Photos

The huge spider that lived in our roof
It was the size of your hand!