The Amazon

June 2023

We booked a flight from a travel agent on the street in La Paz on a whim for a few days' time. The lady had warned us it was a very cheap option and therefore it might be cancelled last minute with no refund. We were happy to take the risk.

We flew on a little plane but having expected a propeller plane, this was an upgrade. We left La Paz at 8 am, and it was still -2°C. 40 minutes later, we were in the jungle in 30°C. We flew super low over the snowy mountains and then descended quickly into Rurrenabaque "airport". The baggage reclaim was a shed outside where our luggage was delivered from the plane via tractor. Then we hopped into a TukTuk for the 10-minute ride to our hostel in town. We had one night at El Curichal hostel and even though it already felt like midday to us, it was only 9 am so we showered and laid in the hammocks until our room was ready. The town was small but well-equipped for tourists. We went out for lunch, wandered around the square, and saw the river. By 5 pm we were starving again so went out for the biggest burger we could find before getting an early night.

The flight from La Paz to Rurrenabaque

Our tuk-tuk airport transfer

El Curichal Hostel

Madidi National Park

The next morning, we were picked up from our hostel and boarded a small river boat with 3 other tourists, Bianca and Florin, a couple from Germany, and Anna-Beth from Australia. We left civilisation and within minutes, we were immersed in Madidi National Park on the Beni river in the Amazon basin. This national park is one of the largest protected areas in the world and has approximately 14% of the world's bird biodiversity! For a Conservation nerd, it was paradise.

We were with an indigenous community organisation called Mashaquipe which run tours and have eco lodges in Madidi and the Pampas wetlands. Our guide was called Domingo (Sunday) and was brilliant. We were taken to see the community of the company owner, who lives in the jungle with 22 other families and travel by raft or boat to Rurrenabaque to sell produce. There, we were shown how to make sugarcane juice with a traditional wooden squeezing machine. Then we got back on the boat for about 2 hours sailing upstream to our lodge. We had to climb up a lot of wooden stairs with our backpacks but once at the lodge, we were rewarded with a glass of fresh sugarcane juice.

We had private cabins with bathrooms with cold running water and mosquito nets, and a little porch with a hammock. The food was amazing. All home cooked traditional Bolivian food. Justin made friends with the chef, Leo from Brazil, who may turn up hoping to stay with us one day in London. Domingo took us on a 3 hour afternoon trek through the jungle, first through secondary forest (30 years old) and then into the primary forest (hundreds of years old). Some of the trees were enormous! He was so knowledgeable and spoke really good English.

We saw Red Howler monkeys, Capuchins, Macaws, Trogons, Orependolas, huge wasp nests and honey bee nests, enormous Leafcutter ants that burrow up to 7 metres deep, Bullet ants, and, unfortunately, millions of mosquitos. Domingo showed us a tree that he warned us not to touch. He tapped it to show that thousands of fire ants come to the surface. He told us a story that within indigenous communities, there are no policemen, rather when someone misbehaves, they strip them naked and tie them to one of these trees for hours, letting the ants inflict pain on the villain and mother nature delivering justice instead! He also showed us an army ant that indigenous people use to stitch wounds. He took one and let it grab onto the skin on the back of his hand with its pincers. He said you let them do that over an open wound and then cut their back legs off. A couple of those, and you're good to go!

After a delicious buffet dinner where we had catfish cooked traditionally in a banana leaf, we went on an evening walk around the camp with a flashlight to see all the tarantulas and spiders! Domingo put his hand right next to a huge tarantula to provide perspective for our photos! Our cabins were mainly made of mesh so we were fully immersed in the sounds of the jungle. We laid awake for a while listening to rustling in the leaves outside our room, and were woken by the sound of howler monkeys and birds.

On the Beni river

Making sugarcane juice

Tasting our sugarcane juice

Our jungle cabin

Inside our cabin

Domingo explaining the indigenous torture method!

400 year old trees!

Red and Green Macaws

Chef Leo serving traditional Bolivian food

Hand-sized Tarantulas

After breakfast, we set off on another jungle trek. It was foggy in the morning but the sun burnt through it and it got so muggy and hot. We saw a Bat Falcon, a Purple-throated Fruitcrow, Trogons, Orependolas, Parakeets, Screaming Pihas, and more ants! Em was suffering with a bladder infection she got in La Paz, and in hindsight, a 3-hour trek through the jungle in 90% humidity probably wasn't the best treatment. By lunchtime, she had no energy left, but we had reached another Mashaquipe lodge where we had a nice lunch and relaxed for a while.

Then we hiked uphill to a Macaw lookout. There were hundreds of Red and Green Macaws, all in their pairs flying and squawking their heads off. We were high up and we were sat next to a rather harrowing memorial to a 22-year-old visitor who had fallen off the cliff to their death back in 2007. It was at least a good reminder to stay away from the edge. We then descended and went to a very old rickety wooden lookout which had become a bit of a wreck in covid. Some slats on the steps were missing so we carefully climbed to the top. From here you could see the cliff we had just been on top of, and all the macaws were nesting inside hollows in the clay cliffside.

Now, completely drenched in sweat, we walked back through the jungle to the river where we were shown how to make a traditional wooden raft. However, while we were making the raft, we stood barefoot in the sand and got annihilated by sand flies. Bianca's legs were dripping with blood! We put life jackets on and climbed on the raft for a very relaxing 40-minute meander back to the lodge. Some parts had very fast rapids where we were told to hold on and we got rather wet! On our walk back to the lodge, most of the group were still barefoot and there was a juvenile Bothrops atrox snake in the middle of the path! It was only about 40cm long. We could tell it was dangerous by the shape of its head but we later discovered it was a twin species of the deadly Fer de lance. Ever the brave soldier, Domingo moved him on with a stick. Another very lovely buffet dinner and to bed, exhausted!

Red Howler Monkey

The Amazon Basin

Red and Green Macaw

Macaw lookout tower

Amazon jungle trekking

Bat Falcon

River Beni

Drifting on the raft we made an hour earlier!

Through rapids!

Guided by the amazing Domingo

Bothrops atrox (highly venemous Pitviper)

Morning sail into the fog!

The Pampas

The next day, we had an early breakfast and headed back to the boat. It was really thick fog and we didn't know how the driver could see where he was going as the river and the sky looked the exact same! Back at the company office, we switched to a minivan and set off towards the Pampas. We spotted 3-toed Sloths, Capybaras, Caiman, Roadside Hawks, Storks, Vultures, Caracaras, and Snail Kites on the way and then had a short boat ride to our eco-lodge on the Yacuma River. The lodge was similar to the previous night. We had a private cabin with a big bed and mosquito net, private bathroom with hot shower(!), and hammocks right on the river.

After lunch, we went out for a boat tour. We saw a glimpse of Pink River Dolphins, Howler monkeys, Yellow Spider monkeys, Capuchin, loads of turtles, alligators, and loads of different birds - Night herons, Vermillion Flycatchers, Trogons, Kingfishers, Jacamars, and loads of Hoatzin. We went to a special spot where we could get off the boat to watch the sunset and then headed back to the lodge, following a dolphin. A bat had gotten into our cabin, had shat on the bed and was still flying around the roof so we had to move into a different one.

After dinner, we went back out on the boat in the dark to look for alligator eyes reflecting back in the flashlight. As soon as we set off, a little frog jumped out of the water and onto Em's leg! There were swarms of mosquitos over the water and we tried to cover our faces as much as possible. Domingo started coughing and declared "I have eaten mosquito!".

Back in our new cabin, we discovered a new pet bat. Luckily we were protected by our mosquito net and it didn't become active until 3 am but we woke up and the whole cabin had been peppered with little bat poops. We were also woken at 5 am by Howler monkeys growling so loud in the trees above us. In the night, Domingo told us a low-flying propeller plane with no lights on had flown over the camp, which he suspected was drug trafficking.

Arriving at the River Yacuma

Our Pampas hut, complete with pet bat

Our lodge's river view

Burrowing owl

Three-toed Sloth

Black wood turtles sharing a log

Blue-crowned Trogon

Alligator

Black Howler Monkey

Happy chappy Capybara

Jabiru

Amazon sunset

After breakfast, we got back on the boat and Domingo said "Hasta la vista baby" as we sped off. We saw more Pink river Dolphins swimming and bobbing out of the water. Then we got out of the boat, put on our wellies and went for a very stinky walk in the swamp to try and find Anacondas. No luck. On the way back, we asked Domingo about his family. He has had a tragic few years. He was working in tourism and married with one child. His wife then gave birth to their twins but died the next day. Then the pandemic hit and he was suddenly a widow, with 2 babies, another child, and no job, so he had to go and work in the gold mines for 12 hours a day in awful conditions and barely saw his children. He showed us photos of his kids now, with their aunts, who take care of them like they're their mothers. He is always so happy and upbeat. He said the bad days are behind him and now he is back doing what he loves. We could tell he was so passionate about wildlife and nature throughout the tour.

Once back on the boat, we went piranha fishing. We each caught at least one and went back to hand them to the chef for lunch. There isn't much meat on a piranha but they were tasty just fried in salt and lemon, and very fresh! We got the boat back to the van and then returned on the bumpy road for 3 hours to Rurrenabaque. A Chinese company is building a tarmac road so it is all road works at the moment. The Chinese investment is a bit dodgy because they seem to be building roads for Bolivia but will want something in return - Domingo told us they used to pay indigenous communities for their knowledge of where to find jaguars and then hunt them. They are also very interested in Uyuni, and all the lithium stored underneath the salt flats, to fuel their booming battery and electric car markets. Scary.

Back in Rurrenabaque, we bid an emotional farewell to Domingo, dumped our bags back at the hostel, and went straight to the little cafe in town we had been thinking about for 4 days. They do the most unbelievable nutty iced coffee and freshly baked chocolate chip muffins. It was well worth the wait. Due to her medication, Em couldn't have a coffee the last time we visited, so now finished with her course of antibiotics, she had been dreaming about it. It was sensational. We had burgers back at the hostel and a comfy sleep.

The next morning, after breakfast, the company, Mashaquipe, sent a driver to provide us with a free transfer back to the airport! So thoughtful! It was a very quick and easy flight back to the dizzying heights of La Paz, and we were reunited with Pedro!

For more, captioned wildlife photos, click on the Photo Album button at the bottom of the page.