Animals and Amazonia in Bolivia
Attracta M. Mooney explores the Bolivian Amazon and meets piranhas, alligators and a toucan.
Where to go...where to go... | Kate Johnson
It’s part of the Amazon, but not what you would expect. Instead of lush tropical jungle and endless rivers flowing towards the mighty Amazon river, much of Bolivia’s slice of the Amazon basin offers visitors a less typical Amazonian experience.
For many Bolivia is hardly the first country that springs to mind when planning an Amazon trip. Yet the Amazon basin encompasses over half the country, offering pristine rainforest and savannah lands, also known as pampas. It is these savannah areas, large wetlands overflowing with animals, which draw visitors to the area.
Getting there, however, is not always easy. While the gateway town of Rurrenabaque has an airport, the dirt runway turns to mud at the slightest sign of rain with many flights cancelled during the wet season. The only other way there is via a very bumpy and nerve ranking journey along dirt tracks, even taking in parts of the world’s most dangerous road. With journey times of 18 hours on a local bus or 12 in a jeep from the Bolivian capital of La Paz, it’s not for the faint-hearted.
From Rurrenabaque, it’s three more hours along a bumpy road to the departure point where all tours of the pampas leave. After climbing into a motorised canoe, our group of eight set off down the river, spotting numerous animals and birds along the way. A caiman quickly peeped over the water, the world’s largest rodent the capybara waded through the river and spider and cappuccino monkeys swung from the trees. The smell of bananas attracted the cappuccino monkeys who jumped on our arms and heads and tried to steal the bananas from the boat.
After a couple of hours on the river, our next stop was our accommodation which was simply dorm rooms in wooden cabins built on stilts. Ours came with two resident alligators who lazily basked in the sunshine and the water beneath the cabin. As we lazed in hammocks, we watched numerous birds and even spotted a toucan.
The following day was spent anaconda hunting in a marsh area, where water climbed half way up our thighs. We spotted a sleeping black anaconda, as well as a tiny but deadly milk snake. Snakes spotted, we sailed further down the river to an area inhabited by pink river dolphins. Even though there were alligators and caimans five minutes up the river, we all jumped at the opportunity to swim with the wild pink river dolphins who gently nibbled at our feet. Our last activity of the day, after watching the sunset, took us alligator hunting in the dark. The eyes of the alligators glowed red in the dark and our guide even plucked a baby one from the water, though this isn’t exactly ethical!
By day three it was time to bid farewell to the mosquitoes, but not before we went piranha fishing. They really do have shark teeth. After only two more hours sailing on the river, three hours in the jeep and 28 on the bus, thanks to a landslide, we made it back to the animal that is La Paz. It was worth it though.
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