Hi All,
This is installment no. 2… I gave up on my journal after about a week so I figured I better document something somewhere!!!
The beginning of Seb and my trip to the jungle set the scene for what was to come. We arrived at the La Paz military base to be searched by armed guards with German Shepards in order to catch this twelve seat army jet to the small town of Rurrenbaque. The scenery of the jungle was absolutely amazing, and like no country side I have ever seen before. Upon our arrival at the pueblo, the dust swirled like thick cake batter cloaking our skin and getting in our mouths. I knew there was something to be worried about when the first thing our guide said to us after introducing himself was ‘mucho mosquito.. mucho mucho mucho!’ Seb and I, plus four very proper English people were then bundled onto the back of a Jeep for the four hour drive to the river.
Stepping out of the jeep, your ears are bombarded by what sounds like a jumbo jet taking off, or some poorly maintained diesel engine. The noise is actually that of a swarm of mosquitos. I have never seen anything like it! They are like a cloud, or the kind of plagues of locusts you see in movies. I stepped into the canoe desperately clutching the remnants of my bottled water, and my malaria tablets!
We canoed down the river for a few hours, looking at the turtles, different types of bird and all the other wildlife along the banks before arriving at camp. Camp is a very illustrious word for the four pieces of wood covered with a sheet of tarpolin with some flea infested mattresses (quite literally as we were told watch out for the bed bugs Seb and I were being very thankful for our Aussie sleeping mats) covered with godsend mozzie net inside. Being safely inside my net after dinner, I was extremely disgruntled with the call to put on more repellent (you go through a bottle a day) and hop into the dark canoe. Cloacked by the night, it was time to go alligator hunting. Slowly drifting down the river with my torchlight trained on the banks, I was amazed at the rows of eyes that glared back from the darkness. Especially astounding were the alligator eyes which glisten bright red.
The jungle was a hum of activity with the animals chatter obviously away to one another. Reñe, our guide decided it was time to put on a show. Hushing us, he picked a good spot, and then caught an alligator!!! It was an incredible sight to watch him pull it onto the boat. Upon which he proceeded to give us a tutorial on the parts of its body and let us all touch its scaly back. With a soft ´gracias´ and a pat on its tail, he let it slither silently back into the night.
Later in the night, safely in bed, I was woken with a start to the shrieks of the howler monkeys outside. After very little sleep, and absolutely covered in mozzie bites, we were woken early for the nexts days activities. (I couldnt believe what they were when I heard!) We were going hunting for Anacondas! The trail through the pampas (grassland) began slightly up the river. Seb and I walked through shoulder high shrub and jungle for about two hours. The guide was busy up ahead, looking for Cobras (which kill you instantly!) and other deadly snakes. Just when we though the tall grass was scary, things got more interesting. Our journey plunged us into waist high water with things I tried not to think about at the time lurking inside. Apparently, the Anacondas can reach up to 16 metres, and after 4.4 m they are strong enough the strangle you, suffocate you and eat you whole! A few days later we saw a video of a 10 m snake it took 8 people to lift that was caught near wear we were (!)
The next adventure was pirahna fishing, which we did only after we were allowed to swim!!! in the river!!! Nothing was caught, except Seb managed to hook a boot. Normally when you fish, you start with meat as bait, and then upon catching one, you use that pirahnas as bait for others. After this unsuccessful event, Seb and I got to feed capaccino monkeys bananas with our hands! V V cool!!! We also got to see Capibaras, which are like giant wombats who have absolutely no defence mechanism except plunging into the river, and as such are the food source of the entire jungle (pumas, snakes, jaguars… everyone eats them)
Back on the Jeep after a few days In The Wild I greeted the dust like a familiar friend. We are both absolutely covered in bites, sleepless and in desperate need of a shower… but it has been quite an adventure.
Be Well,
Seb and Nikki