Amazon Jungle, Bolivia

After spending 3 days in Pampas we headed back to Rurrenbaque for one night and then straight out to the jungle. We didn't have to worry about any roads this time around, the boat left directly from Rurre for a 3 hour upstream journey.

On our way we stopped by a local community and saw how they made all sorts of items from sugar cane. Our guides explained that the community grows, harvests, and processes all of their own sugar cane. They make sugar, juice, and a variety of sweets. First we tried a number of different products, each sweeter than the next. My favorite was sugar cane mixed with peanut butter which formed a sort of bar that you can eat.

After sampling the products they produce we got a chance to make our own sugar cane juice. The group worked to put the sugar cane through a giant press (normally operated by horses, not humans) which squeezed all of the juice out. This was funneled through cloth into a bucket. Once the group had finished we got to sample the juice. We found it too sweet on its own and added lime to the juice. This yielded a beverage tasting almost exactly like lemonade.

After this stop we headed the remainder of the way up stream to our lodge. The rooms there were much nicer than we were expecting, Jordan and I had a private room all to ourselves. After settling in, we ate an excellent lunch and headed our for about 3 hours of wandering the jungle. Our guide Eber was excellent (and thanks to our Spanish lessons we understood almost everything he said) we chased monkeys, found a pack of wild (smelly) pigs, many different birds, and a bunch of crazy plants.

We headed back to the lodge for dinner and then headed out on a short night hike. We got to see tarantulas, other huge spiders, and a tree frog. Afterwards we settled into bed under our mosquito net and slept like babies.

In the morning we headed out for another hike, this time deeper into the jungle. We saw more monkeys, tons of caterpillars, and strangling vines that kill the trees they grow on before turning into trees themselves. We headed back to the lodge and prepared for the real adventure. We were given a mosquito net and two sleeping bags, as we'd be sleeping in the jungle, not the lodge for the evening. We hiked around 3 hours to our campsite, seeing a number of toucans along the way.

When we arrived, we saw the "structure" in which we were to sleep for the night. It was a blue tarp, spread over poles to create a roof and a blue tarp on the ground for the floor. On this we placed mats and our sleeping bags. Over the bags we draped the mosquito net. The only thing between us and the big bad jungle for the night was a flimsy piece of netting. The cook (who followed us on the hike wearing only flip flops for shoes) made a fantastic dinner and we tucked in for the night. We fell asleep to the sound of crickets filling the jungle.

At around 3:00AM I awoke and had to use the bathroom. As I crawled from beneath our net Jordan asked where I was going, she was excited to have an escort for the 40 or so feet to the restroom. While using the facilities we had to be careful to avoid the long line of leaf cutter ants working just at the foot of the box perched over a hole in the ground that we called a toilet.

After safely returning to our beds we slept the remainder of the evening. In the morning we had a wonderful breakfast and started out on our hike for the day. We climbed a small mountain (more like a big hill) and found ourselves on a cliff overlooking a vast tract of Amazonian Jungle. The via was spectacular, especially with the morning fog rolling off over the jungle. Then we saw the macaws. Brilliantly colored and soaring over the jungle in pairs of twos, there were hundreds. It seems they live and lay eggs in the cliff face that we were standing on. It was really the highlight of the trip thus far.

After spending a while looking at the macaws we descended the hill, picked up our gear from camp, and headed out to a river. There a boat had come from the lodge with a bunch of wood and rope. We constructed a raft from the supplies, threw our gear in the boat, changed into swimming attire, and pushed off downstream towards the lodge. The raft ride was leisurely and pleasurable, we were able to jump off into the river to cool off and just sort of lounge in the sun.

It took about an hour and a half (during rainy season it takes only about 30 minutes) and we arrived back at the lodge. We gathered our things, had lunch, and then headed back to Rurre.

Thoughts

We were really unsure which trip to choose before we left. Pampas had the promise of more animals and better viewing. The jungle... well is the Amazon jungle that we all picture in our heads. So, we didn't choose between them and went with the 3 day tours for each. This was a bit expensive, but really this is a rare opportunity and it seemed worth it.

After experiencing both for 3 days I'd say this (and I think Jordan agrees), I wouldn't do Pampas for 3 days again. We had a great time and saw some really interesting things that we didn't (and wouldn't) see in the jungle. However, a 2 day trip would be enough, you see everything you'd like to see in that time. For Jungle, I'd recommend at least 3 days and perhaps 4 would be good if you didn't do 3 in Pampas prior. Absolutely do the sleep in the jungle option, it was truly incredible.

A number of companies offer combo tours, including Mashaquipe. Most do 2 days jungle 3 days Pampas. This is stupid, as I just finished saying, more time jungle is preferred, with less pampas. Mashaquipe offers a 3 day jungle/2 day pampas combo tour, I also don't recommend this. on your 4th day in jungle you get up really early for the boat ride back to Rurre to catch the car to Pampas at 9am. This really gives you 1 day in pampas and really tires you out. We were with 2 people in Pampas doing this tour and they were exhausted. You should go with two separate tours, 2 days pampas first then 3 days jungle.

We really recommend Mashaquipe, they were a great company. Their facilities for Jungle are much nicer than Pampas, thus my recommendation to do pampas first, or you'll be disappointed.

All of our jungle pics can be seen here.

Pampas del Yacuma: Amazon, Bolivia

The Amazon can be visited from many countries in South America, but we decided to wait until Bolivia before making our trip there. "The Jungle" is divided into two national parks: Parque Nacional Madidi (the traditional dense jungle), and Pampas del Yacuma (flat lands along a river with easier wildlife viewing). There are literally dozens of tour companies to choose from, ranging in price from $79 to over $300/pp for a 3 day, 2 night tour (excluding transportation and park entrance fees). We felt very compelled to choose a company that is eco friendly, pays fair wages, has small group sizes, and works to preserve the jungle, because often tourism can have a negative impact or destroy natural places. We decided on Mashaquipe, a mid-range company that employs indigenous locals who live in the jungle. It was a little outside of our budget, but absolutely worth it. We also splurged and took a 45 minute flight into Rurrenabaque (a first for us), rather than brave the 20 hour bus journey down a dirt road.

Day 1: A nice SUV picked us up in the morning, and drove the three hours to the lodge. It was a bumpy dirt road, so of course I spent the majority of the time trying not to puke. Along the way, we saw a sloth (in spanish: Perezoso. Translation: "the lazy") in a tree and tons of bird species. We arrived in time for lunch, which was pretty mediocre, and had an hour siesta before heading out on the Yacuma river. We traveled two hours up the river, and spotted several types of animals. We saw alligators, birds, and capybara, the largest rodent species. The capybara were my favorite... there were tons of babies, and they were adorable. We left the boat, and hiked for a few hours in search of an anaconda. We were unsuccessful, but managed to see a lot of neat birds. By the time we took the boat back to the lodge, it was dark. Our guide was kind enough to shine his flashlight along the riverbanks, lighting up the alligators' eyes. Can I say creepy?!

Day 2: After breakfast, we rode for a few hours in the boat to a spot where there were pink river dolphins. On the way, we saw literally hundreds of alligators, capybara, turtles and birds.The water was very brown, so the dolphins were a little difficult to see. We learned that the pink Amazonian river dolphin is one of the most endangered types of dolphin, mostly because of irresponsible tourism. Many companies encourage tourists to swim with or touch the dolphins, but insect repellent and sunblock can kill them. We enjoyed watching them from our boat, then went back to the lodge for lunch. Afterward, we went back out in the boat to fish for piranhas. The fishing was interesting... we put a little chunk of raw red meat on a hook, and threw it into the water. Within about five seconds, you could feel the piranha nibbling. They were ridiculously good at getting the meat off the hook, making them a bit difficult to catch. Daniel managed to catch two, and I caught one. Toward the end, we took to the strategy of yanking the line out of the water as hard as possible at the first nibble. The piranha would come flying out of the water, unattached to the hook, sometimes gripping onto the meat with its teeth. Most of the fish ended up flopping themselves back into water, but we kept a few, which were cooked whole for dinner. There was not much meat on them, and it was a little creepy seeing their toothy mouths sitting on a plate. At the end of the day, we went back to the boat and watched the gorgeous sunset over the river.

Day 3: Our final day in the pampas, we went out on foot in search of an anaconda. On our way, we saw a family of monkeys run past. We donned our rubber boots and set out to the swamps. Unfortunately, Daniel was unable to join in on this part, because his feet are massively enormous and they didn't have boots to fit him. Or, the reason as Daniel says: "Apparantly they don't have shoes for adults in this country." In fact, the largest boots they had were five sizes too small. In the end, it didn't end up mattering... the anaconda eluded us once again. After traipsing around in the mosquito-ridden swamp for around an hour, we called it quits. After lunch, we were transported the three hours back to Rurrenabaque. This time, I wisened up and drugged myself to sleep for the ride.

Cost:

• Flight from La Paz to Rurrenabaque: $83 per person, one way
• Mashaquipe tour: $185 per person, for 3 days/2 nights
• Pampas del Yacuma entrance fee: $21.50 per person
• Lodging in Rurrenabaque, El Curichal Hostal: $12.90/night, private room and bathroom

Be sure to check out the rest of our Pampas pictures on Flickr

Three Months and Counting

Three months, 91 days. Longer than any time we've ever spent outside the US, on any vacation, or even just not working since it was legal for us to do so. If you read my Doldrums post you know that it wasn't certain we'd ever make it this long. I'm happy to report that we're really settling in nicely and really starting to get into the travel groove. We've expended 13.5% of out budget, meaning at the same rate we could travel for another 583 days or about 1 year and 7 months, right on target. We've only made it through 3 countries and we're on our 4th as I write this post, which is much slower than I'd expected, but not problematic.

Ahead we have Chile, the Falkland Islands, Argentina, and Brazil on our "list" for South America. Then we have Africa, which we have absolutely no idea about at this point. For planning purposes, we really like how Peru went. Jordan took some time to essentially plan the whole thing out before we really got started. This meant we knew where we wanted to go after each stop, but we left our time at each destination open-ended. We plan to repeat the process as much as possible going forward as it reduces friction and arguments by providing a clear next step.

Learning Spanish has also helped dramatically. Being able to ask questions, understand responses, and just generally converse with locals has made the day to day much easier. We get very excited when we ask for directions and understand every word of the response.

We've modified our gear significantly more than I'd expected, picking up different things as we've continued along (and losing a few things too). You can expect a detailed breakdown of our new packing lists in the coming weeks.

So far, Jordan and I agree on our favorite city: Cuenca, Ecuador. It really was a beautiful city with a number of activities, a handful of modern amenities, and endless charm. Jordan's favorite single activity was the descent into Colca Canyon and our time at Roy's, the lovely place we stayed at the bottom of the canyon. Personally, I'm thinking Cajas National Park was my favorite (in spite of the freezing cold rain), the landscapes were just so stunning and unlike anything I've ever seen before in my life.

We've come to love a number of different foods and gastronomically related traditions during our time thus far. The Peruvian classic Pollo a la Brasa (charcoal roasted chicken) is absolutely phenomenal, often served as a full 1/4 chicken with breast and leg including french fries and salad for only $3-4. Jordan has fallen in love with Borrachitos, little balls that are like undercooked brownies topped with frosting and colorful sprinkles. In Ecuador I enjoyed "Tres Leches", a sort of cake that is doused in milk just before being served. We've come to like the tradition of eggs with bread for breakfast, as it sticks with us better than cereal. Finally, soup is a mainstay in South America and you get it before just about every meal. It's quite enjoyable, even on hot days.

Not everything is rainbows and kittens, though. The ascent in Colca Canyon was INSANE and almost killed me (FAR worse than my hospital stay). Constant touts hounding us in the main plazas of Peru were really tiresome. Bus rides still give us nausea (we should buy stock in Dramamine). I'm in real trouble because I find white rice revolting after having eaten it with almost every meal. And really, chicken feet… not something I think we're ever going to enjoy.

I touched briefly on the budget above, but wanted to share some interesting factoids. Our cheapest room was $7.55 in Sangalle in Colca Canyon. We stayed at Hostal San Martin in Lima for $34, making it our most expensive lodging. Our thriftiest meal at a restaurant was $1.50 for soup, meat, rice, and beans for lunch in Montañita (we've made breakfast for sub $1 on our own at hostels). Our most expensive activity by far at this point was Macu Picchu, coming in at $450.33 (including tickets, transportation, lodging, and overpriced ice cream (of course (nested parenthetical statements for the win)) and water at the site. I got a haircut in Arequipa for $7.50. Finally, we spend about $2-3/day on water, way more than I would have expected. Jordan continues to diligently track our spending, so make sure you check out the Trip Spending page.

This post wandered all over, a melange of updates, sentiments, and factoids. Keeping with that theme, I'm going to close with some sad news. We are retiring the Ice Cream Consumed counter. It was a fun idea, but the sad fact is, we eat a preponderance of ice cream and haven't kept up with it. We're going to change the page to be a gallery of interesting ice creams that we see (and of course consume) as we roam the planet.

Cheers, thanks for following along for 3 months, and heres to many more.

P.S. make sure you check out the over 1,200 photos we've taken so far on our Flickr page.