A book, full of exciting and wonderfully weird characters could be written about the journey to and from the jungle. This update however wont be that long as its currently almost 1am. The smell of my instant coffee has long since lost its allure and Im trying to type out as much as I can before I start drooling on the keyboard.
This update could be broken up into several chapters. The first leg of the journey could cover the bus journey, then the jungle, the pampas and then the bus back to La Pas. But lets smoosh it all together and see how it goes.
Getting to the Rurrenabaque
Before committing ourselves to a certain mode of transportation, which was either bus or plane, we made sure to do our research. The following horror stories were perpetuated by certain backpackers: "The bus driver half sleeping, flying around corners with hundred foot drops on each side, overtaking at night. It was the worst experience of my life". Other crowd favorites included "The worst experience of my life. The plane ride back was worth every single boliviano". With comments like these, our first priority was to find out the current state of the busses. After quickly scouring the city and asking all the right questions we found our company; Yunganya. The best bus company for getting to Rurrenabaque as they used two bus drivers and the seats actually reclined! While most feedback proved to be negative, we were still willing to give the bus a go. Its only 220 k's away...
We were making amazing time and were questioning the 21 hour estimate until we hit the road works. At about 4pm, a huge line of cars and busses had formed. Everyone was out and about, checking out the amazing waterfalls, eating mangos, eyeing the foreigners while the friendly and not so efficient Bolivian construction workers kept doing their thing. As soon as they were done and traffic was allowed through, well madness insured. Imagine Nascar, the drivers step on the gas and attempt to fly past each other. Now imagine doing this with a fully loaded bus. Little old ladies seating in the isle, swaying from side to side because there are no more free seats. The cargo bay is loaded with a billion varieties of potatoes, instruments and probably chickens. To the left is a shear drop straight down into the gorge and to the right, jaggedy rocks and branches trying to scratch anything that passes. Of course, this was all at night, where a GPS systems couldnt possibly safely navigate one through the tiny little windy road. But after 21 hours, a few mini heart attacks (apparently...I slept like a baby), almost getting bogged down in a gigantic trough of mud and the bumpiest road to date, we made it! 
Our tour started at 830am, but they would wait until 9. Getting off the bus, a short, stocky little man approached us, identified himself as one who works for the tour agency and loaded us onto a few motorbikes. We made it just after 9am! What followed was a leisurely 3 hour boat ride into the jungle. It was like gliding on air. Arriving onto a small beach and a short walk into the jungle, we were at our sleeping ground. Interestingly, lunch was at 1 and no one had met the guide yet. We decided to ask one the guy's delivering water to us, his reply was a quite but slightly enthusiastic "I am your guide", mystery solved!
What followed was an amazing 3 days of hanging out in the jungle, and learning about the diverse flora and fauna. Our guide Juan was born in one of the small villages in the jungle. The showcase included a tree who's sap smelled exactly like garlic. By rubbing it on the skin it acts as a natural repellent for both mosquitoes and humans...We were then shown a plant that the locals used to dye their clothes a blood red colour, a tree that could walk several meters, a tree that could produce rubber, drinking and normal vines. Juan had an incredible ear, at one point he stopped the entire group. He stood in the exact same place for about 10 minutes, hypnotized or just enjoying the small respite from our incessant talking. He then trudged off into the jungle, we followed. What he heard, which none of us did, was a herd of wild boars. These guys are smelly and when in danger emit a loud clicking sound. Im not sure what that would do to keep a predator away, its like clicking your fingers at a hungry lion. 
Back at camp, we made massive fires, spears, played with a bow and got to eat some amazing food. On the second day we went piranha fishing and successfully managed to catch 13 fish! We cooked one of them in a large leaf that we took off a tree and shoved into the coals. It was superb! The 3rd day it poured, which was fine because we spent the entire day making rings and necklaces from the nuts and cones that our guide had collected over the last few days. After having lunch, we jumped on the boat and rode back to Rurrenabaque.
Post Jungle
Rurrenbaque, a small jungle town, with a large population of motorbikes and dogs. We stayed at Hostel Tucan which wasn’t too bad. The breakfast as usual was bread and jam, however the showers were pretty good and were much needed. A friendly German kid offered me the local chew of choice. It involved first chewing on a piece of bark, something that they had picked up in the jungle. The second step was to get a handful of coco leaves, stuff bicarbonate soda and the bark in the middle of the leaves, get more leaves and make it all into a large ball. This ball then goes on the inside of your cheek. You know its working when your lips and cheek go numb and all you can taste is the coco. While reducing hunger and fatigue, it totally eats away at the inside of your cheek making it raw for a week.
That night we hung out at the Mosquito Bar, owned by a really friendly Parisian guy named Habibi. Drinking specials included the Mosquito Blaster, a take on the long Iceland ice tea, however not as tasty or as strong. But at $2 a piece, no one was complaining about the prices. We went to bed reasonably early because our next tour started in the morning!
No comments:
Post a Comment