Blogs from Beni Department, Bolivia, South America - page 29

Day two in the jungle was promising to be full of adventure as we set off into the rainforest for a 4 hour walk after tucking into a hearty breakfast. Before we set off, Glynn and I ventured to the riverfront to watch the sun shine through the morning haze. Down on the muddy banks of the river we were surprised to find a mass of capybara footprints leading in and out of the water. A capybara is like a cross between a giant rat and an otter. We had no idea that such big animals were living so close by to our camp. The first part of the route we followed was the same as where we had been yesterday on our night safari but of course everything looked completely different in the daylight. ... read more

Friday the 13th. Not the kind of day most normal people would book a flight to the deepest jungles of Bolivia but I guess that means we´re not normal (but you knew that already, right?). In keeping with the spirit of things going wrong on this superstitiously bad day, we had a few setbacks. First off, it was raining so heavily in Rurrenabaque that our flight got postponed and ultimately cancelled owing to the plane not being able to land on a soaking wet runway. Not a problem we thought, we´ll just stay put in La Paz for an extra night. Except that our hostel was fully booked! Thankfully a spot of good fortune came our way when we managed to book into the half decent Hotel Avenida just across the road for 100 Bs ... read more

Ok, so i know that these are heading on two months late, but like the saying goes....... 'All good things come to those that wait'. Right so the Bolivian Rainforrest. Upon arriving back in La Paz from our death road adventures, we decided to have a look and see when we could do a tour down the Rio Amazonas (US$60 for 3 days all in....god i love....and miss Bolivia). So how do we get there, well there are 2 choices: 1. A 22 hour bus journey along gravel roads that looked strangely similar to the Death Road Or 2. Stump up and pay $100 Dollars return and fly down with the Military airlines. Tough Choice i know, and after what seemed like hours of deliberation, we went with the flight, shock horror. Anyway, flying in ... read more

Covering a large proportion of South America, the Amazon Basin is the largest river basin in the world. My adventures in this continent, then, would have been missing something without an experience in the Amazon. This is partly why, despite 2 cancelled flights, I was not going to give up on making it to the small town of Rurrenabaque in northern Bolivia. Third time lucky, my flight with Amaszonas Airlines finally left La Paz, thanks to the Rurrenabaque runway being dry enough to accept a landing plane. The flight was an experience in itself. The plane was extremely small, with just 15 seats. There are no cabin staff and you can see straight into the cockpit. I´m not a nervous flyer but you would have to have nerves of steel not to feel some trepidation ... read more

We flew out of La Paz on the 31st January, bound for the Bolivian Amazonian Basin. There are two ways to get there from La Paz. The first option is to catch a 20 hour bus along a very ha¡ry piece of road, that drops off to about 100 metre cliffs in some sections. Not very appealing. Option 2 is to catch a flight with Amaszonas Airlines, which takes around 40 mins. Sounds very appealing. Not when you are then told it is in a 19 seater plane. Both are probably as dangerous as each other, however we chose the flight as the 40 min travelling time was just too appealing. The flight in the end wasnt that bad. It was bumpy sure, and the fact that you can see into the cockpit is slightly disconcerting ... read more