In La Paz we joined up with a wonderful English couple we had met on our Machu Picchu trek and again at Lake Titicaca. Together we decided that a jungle visit was in order and chose Pampas near Rurrenabaque to be the place. We left La Paz for the airport ensuring that we crossed the road in the correct place to get the taxi. In La Paz not only do they have zebra crossings but they also have zebras crossing. They have people dressed up in a full zebra costume as if at a children’s party clearly indicating the appropriate place to cross and ensuring that cars respect this. If a pedestrian attempts to cross at an undesignated point they run the risk of being chased by a Bolivian dressed from head to toe in a donkey outfit. Works a treat I’d say.
We took a 40 minute flight from La Paz to Rurrenbaque in a tiny plane where we were practically sitting on the pilot’s lap. The pilot himself in good Bolivian fashion was so tiny that he couldn’t properly see over the dashboard and out the front window. When we landed after being tossed about the air for 40 minutes we all had to wait in the scorching sun on the runway until a minibus arrived to bring us directly into the village. No mention of an airport whatsoever.
Rurrenbaque was like no other place I’d been to in South America. In fact it reminded me an awful lot of Asia. The heat, the broad streets and the one story lay-out of the houses and shacks. Also just like in much of rural Asia there were few cars on the road and most people went about their way on mopeds.
We began our jungle adventure the next day with a three hour boat ride along a river that was teeming with exotic life. Within seconds of setting off we spotted countless capybaras, caiman and turtles. I had never ever heard of a capybara before and found these enormous rodents both charming and amusing. The caiman hung out in ever corner of the river either basking in the sunlight on land or lurking in the muddy river displaying only their sharp, observant eyes. The turtles were also making the most of the strong heat, all arranged on top of each other on sticks or fallen tree trunks that provided them with a warm lounge area out of the water.
And then there was the bird life; eagles, heron, turkey vultures, flamingos, snake birds, parrots, red-breasted meadow lark, ostrich, and so many more whose names I could never begin to remember. It was an overload of wildlife and I loved it! That night we stayed in huts that were more comfortable than they appeared where everyone could sleep safely and soundly after the heat and excitement of the day. But not before one last nighttime boat trip where we got to see what caiman eyes look like at night with torch lights shone upon the river. Equally enchanting were the fireflies buzzing about the tall trees at the side of the river which brought a perfect close to our first day in the jungle.
That first night there was also vast forest fire on the other side of the river. We couldn’t establish if it had been a natural occurrence or man-made but we knew it would make our planned activity for the morning, searching for anacondas, extra difficult. The flames leapt up to a startling height and we could hear the terrifying crackling sounds as we felt charred remains of grassland and trees fall around us. The only advantage was that the area was cloaked in smoke which meant that not even one mosquito stuck around to sample our blood.
In the morning we went to see the devastation caused by the fire and felt very fortunate that we had had the river to act as a natural defence barrier. Moving away from the scorched earth we began our anaconda hunt and after a few hours our intrepid guide discovered one snoozing away peacefully within the protection of a hollow tree truck. Satisfied that we had achieved our goal we ventured back to camp seconds before a tropical storm broke out and torrential rain pelted the ground. It was as if nature was reacting to the fire and without a doubt would have quenched any last remaining embers. At our camp, while we sat out the rain it was as if the wildlife sensed our disappointment in the weather and instead came to us. In the tree tops above us we saw huge red howler monkeys and at the base of the canopy a family of what looked like jungle raccoons. The area is so full of life that it is impossible not to be confronted by some exotic species of other, even when you are not looking.
Later on when the weather cleared we went in search of pink dolphins that swim along the river. Some of us (including myself) jumped in the water in the hope of befriending them but while they didn’t mind showing off they decided that they weren’t in the mood to play with humans that day. After we had dried up somewhat we went further downstream to go piranha fishing. We were given simple hand-made fishing lines with bait on them. As I watched the others fish and saw all the piranhas bite away at the bait I realised with a shudder that they must have been all around me while was trying to court the dolphins. Both my Newfie and I both feel that fishing is cruel (just because you can’t hear fish scream doesn’t mean they’re not in pain) and so we decided to secretly feed the fish without any risk of them having their mouths torn open or get a hook in their eye.
Before we knew it, it was time to leave the jungle and go back to Rurrenbaque and then further still to the ridiculously high elevation that is La Paz. But not before one last long lazy sail down the most interesting river I have ever been on. It gave us a last opportunity to say goodbye to all the captivating birds and animals and we even managed to spot some new monkeys who had ventured out in search of thirst quenching river water. As if we hadn’t experience enough incredible wildlife during those days during the drive back to the village the guide suddenly stopped the car and pointed to a tree right next to the road. To our astonishment there was a sloth clinging on to a branch staring down at us with the cutest face imaginable.
I was still thinking of his adorable eyes when we got back to La Paz and readjusted to city life, albeit Bolivian style. However seeing the bizarre sight of zebras and donkeys saunter about the place made the transition just that little bit easier. In Bolivia you are never far from bizarre wildlife, even in the cities.
Conortje 
