Pantanal - Bolivia

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We crossed the border and stayed in a hostel in Puerto Quijarro which was more like a hotel. With supposedly the biggest swimming pool in Bolivia (25metres!) and a great view of the Pantanal we thought we’d splash out and stay for a week. From here we did a boat tour of the Pantanal (world’s largest wetland ecosystem) and got up close to some alligators, otters and lots of birds. We spent our days lying in hammocks, doing some lengths in the pool and getting up to watch the sunrise. It took us a few days to realise that there’s a time difference and had actually been getting up at 5am, eating lunch at 11 and going to bed at 9! No wonder the hostel owner looked at us funny when we ordered food! We found a good restaurant run by a local Bolivian lady who served some lovely beef meals for under a pound. After a nice weeklong holiday we reminded ourselves that we were travelling and got on the bumpy night train to Santa Cruz de la Sierra. It was a bit tricky trying to eat dinner in what felt like an earthquake and it went on for the whole 14 hours.

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