Dangerous roads and mosquito infested jungle

Saturday 26th April

Well, I have just returned to La Paz after 3 days on the edge of the Amazon Basin exploring the pampas. But before I start jumping ahead let me fill you in on what I've been up to since my snowy peak adventure...

La Paz is a crazy city. Full of smoke and cars and more car fumes and people and alcoholics anonymous centres... alas it seems that most of the folk who should attend such places don't, such as the taxi driver who decided to drive off road and wrap his car around the lamp post just yards from where me and a friend were walking. I love lamp posts.

I signed up to cycle 'the world's most dangerous road' which is basically a single track gravel road cut into the edge of a sheer mountain side. Its stunning. One of the most amazing places I've been. It was a photo of these roads that first triggered my interest in Bolivia and by gum they lived up to my expectations. Unfortunately the nickname 'death road' also lived up to its reputation and a middle aged man in my group fell off his bike and off the edge with tragic consequences. So that was a terrible shock and needless to say we didnt finish the road. These places deserve and demand respect... I just learnt that another cyclist was killed 2 days ago, knocked off the edge by a bus. Sometimes its easy to dismiss the disclaimers you sign for these things, but they're there for a reason!

To top off that rather somber day I then fell quite ill for a few days, boo. However, I am now marvellous again so thats all history, yey.

On 23rd I flew north from La Paz to a small town/village called Rurrenabaque. Its on the edge of the jungle and the starting point for my 3 day pampas tour. Stepping off the plane I almost melted, coming from La Paz at 3500m altitude it was VERY hot and humid. I was annoyed with myself as I'd forgotten to take my penknife out of my hand luggage at the airport... but luckily the nice check-in man took it from me and then went round security and gave it back to me when I got on the plane!!!

My taxi met me at the airport... it was a scooter. Good job I only had a small rucksack. I then spent one night in a hostel hoping that the electric ceiling fan wouldn't fall down as it was a tad wonky. The next morning I set off for my pampas tour.

It started with a 3 hour jeep ride on a spine numbing bumpy road... boing boing. We then unloaded the jeep and loaded the boat which took 1 an a half hours to get us to the lodge. The wildlife in the pampas pretty much smacks you in the face. Within minutes we were seeing huge stork birds, parrots, vultures, crocodiles, squirrel monkeys, dolphins... Anyhoo, we arrived at the lodge and I found a nice hammock to swing in for a while before that evening's crocodile hunt. Croc eyes glow red in torch light, and boy oh boy were there alot of red eyes. Yuri, our guide, caught a baby croc so we got a close up view, it was about 2 years old and probably 50cm long. In the dark, the plants were full of little glowing bugs and fireflies which looked like they were reflecting the stars in the sky... the night time is deafening with all the bugs singing and buzzing and the odd frog splooshing into the water.

Back at camp I almost trod on an Anaconda in the darkness... yikes! Thank goodness I had my headlamp on. Although apparently they aren't poisonous... they just give a nasty bite.

Next morning we went off down river to a marshy bit to hunt for Anacondas... alas 2 hours of plodding about in knee deep water and mud we didnt see any (although we heard and saw movements from about 3 or 4). We returned to the lodge for lunch... yum... then headed out again to go piranha fishing. I didnt hold many hopes for catching anything but ended up catching the most in my group... 2 piranha, 1 sardine and a slimy catfish thing later we left our fishing spot to watch the sunset.

Day 3 consisted of going swimming... in the same river we caught piranha, hunted crocodiles, where anaconda live etc... with pink river dolphins. They like to nibble your feet under the water which is a bit disconcerting as you can't see below the surface. One girl in our group got a hefty chomp on the bum from a piranha too... hee hee. I decided to get out at that point.

We then headed back to Rurrenabaque by boat and then jeep. My little plane back to La Paz was literally waiting for me when I got to the airport so I jumped on (the dont have security scanners so penknife was safely carried on, phew). The runway is a grass and mud strip cleared from the surrounding forest so a few bumps later we were airborn.

There... a brief yet rambling run down of Beagle in the jungle pampas... loved it and was ace to be away from 'civilisation' for 3 days although am glad to be back so I can tend my poor bitten feet and legs and liberally apply aftersun to my burnt bits (I ran out of suncream on the last day, oops).

Right, off to book my bus south. Chau...