When we spotted the Coati´s in the wild the guide said it was odd, the Coatis were in the trees and normally were seen in the ground. I thought to myself, big flood coming. I was right. Two days later when it was time to leave the jungle (called ´Serere´ and owned by Madidi Travel) we found ourselves wading through thigh deep water to get to where the boat was on the river. And this was in an area of Caimans, snakes, and Tarantulas! Yikes!
I was on a jungle tour with Madidi Travel. Ironically, they are the people who established Madidi National Park, one of the largest protected areas in the world, yet they run their tours on private property outside the park whilst countless other operators run tours in the park itself. They are one of the more expensive operators, having being written about 10 years ago by National Geographic for there role in establishing the conservation area. Definately they are an environmentally conscience operation, and I wanted that, and besides, traveling alone in low season I found I wasn´t getting much other choice of operators. I went for 4 days in the jungle, accommodation was in big screened cabins, and dining was in a communal big screened house. There was no electricity.
There were 2 other girls, both from England in my group, although they only did 3 days. We went canoeing on the lake (well the guide paddled), went for hikes, and ate pirañas. On the first afternoon of canoeing a whopping great big fish jumped into the boat. That was really exciting! and We ate it the next day. In the canoeing we saw numerous birds and caimans (like little crocodiles if you don´t know). Hiking we saw Spider monkeys, Chapuchin Monkeys, Squirrel monkeys, night monkeys (at night of course), red squirrels, deer, coatis, frogs, lots of spiders, a tarantula, and alone walking between the cabins and the big house I spotted a oppossum, a massive toad (way bigger than a cane toad), and the biggest frog I have ever seen too.
I must mention the mosquitos.... they came in swarms and were vicious! Fortunately Serere doesn´t have Malaria, Dengue, or Yellow Fever.
I actually wouldn´t recommend going with Madidi travel in this season, too many mosquitos and too much water. Also I myself wouldn´t recommend it to travelers like myself. I met 8 other travelledrs there at the communal meals, all traveling in pairs and all scared of everything. Meals were boring, as they kept it safe for the timid travel that they attracted. Others wouldn´t sample the forest fruits.
When my two ´companions´ left I had another day with my guide to myself. So we spent a lot more time looking for wildlife.... he indicated it was too hard with the stress the others were having about being in the jungle with spiders and mosquitos.
The return to Rurrenbaque was challenging, for the boat driver. After wading through the thigh deep water to get to the boat the current was flowing heavy in the opposite direction to what we had to travel and there was a lot of debris. The motorised canoe continually crossed to the parts of the least strong flow, and eventually we made it back. We spotted both 2 toed and 3 toed sloths from the river.
My intention after Rurre was to head to the border with Brazil and take boats through the amazon, but after seeing the water in the Beni River, which was headed for the Amazon, I checked my guide book which said Amazon wet season is March to May and sometimes difficult, I decided to go back to the pacific coast.
I booked a flight, but all were cancelled due to the muddy airstrip, so I just got off a 19 hour, overnight, bus trip sitting over the rear unsuspensioned axle. ouch! At least it was a 7th the price!
The fish that caught itself by jumping into the canoe! Delicious.
My travel companions, and the guide, doing the mosquito flap (waving hands to chase them), continually.
How is it that I have such an ability to attract tame monkeys? (That and black men who mightn´t be so tame!) This monkey had been hand raised (found as a baby, no mother, mother probably killed by Indigenous people, they eat them), and released into the wild. There were 4 of us, 3 tourists and the guide, yet the monkey can straight to me and climbed up and clung to me, it even resisted being removed. No kisses this time, fortunately, but a longing that suggested it really didn´t like the jungle and would like to go back to the human settlement. ("Ali, please take me home").
Leave your shoes out to dry in the jungle and they might become a handy place for baby spiders to live.
Blew me away when I saw the Naval base at Rurrenbaque. Boivia has no sea and I was in the ´backwaters´. But then you go look at the big Beni River, which is part of the Amazon system, and realise the possibilities. Rurrenbaque is on the banks of the Beni River.
Notes:
Accommodation, Rurrenbaque: Hotel Oriental $10 private bath, breakfast included. ***** loved this hotel from the moment I walked in and they presented me a glass of fresh juice.
Tour: Madidi Travel SLR to Serere. $69 per day, all included. This price was for shared room and Spanish speaking guide. $10 more for private room and English. I had the room to myself anyway.
Flight (cancelled) Rurre to La Paz, 40 minutes $60. Bus Rurre to La Paz, 19 hours, $9.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please leave a comment or ask a question, I'd love to hear from you!