May 14 (Day 21) - Arrival in Rurrenabaque

We organised to head into the Amazon Jungle for a few days and try our luck at some warmer weather. We decidedto stay in Serere, an area in the Madidi National Park that was privately owned and protected for conservation. You could fly to Rurrenabaque which took about 45mins or you could bus for 15-20hrs, we chose to fly.

The flight from La Paz was worth the money by itself. The plane fitted 16 people, one on either side of the plane. We put the cotton wool in our ears and buckled our seat belts. We took off and headed out towards the snow capped mountain ranges. We didn't fly over the mountains, we flew next to them, level with some of these enormous rock faces and snow tipped peaks. The plane bobbed around a little as we passed through the ranges which made it even more fun. Within minutes we had passed the mountain ranges and we were heading over the thick jungle.

We landed on a rough dirt runway and were greeted by the beautiful warm heavy smell of jungle air.

Off to the tour office to be told that we had missed the boat to Surere as there was only one a day now due to the fuel shortage. We were due to leave at 7am the next morning. Looks like we were stuck in Rurrenabaque for the night. This worked out to be not that bad. The town is a really cool little place to have some time. It has the feel of a little beach side town in South East Asia ... almost. We found ourselves a great little hostel to sleep for the night. We wandered the streets for alittle bit and came across an American selling banana bread (you all know how much Mia loves banana bread) and other sweet delights from a wagon. We chatted to 'Ronnie' for a little while, catching up on how he came to sell banana bread in the Bolivian jungle then headed back to our hostel to lay the afternoon away eating our very tasty afternoon tea and reading while lying in hammocks. It almost felt odd to lay back and have nothing to do, nowhere to go and nothing you 'had' to see. After a short little nap we got up and jumped on the back of 2 local motorbike taxi's to take us up to the mirador for sunset. We arrived up the top of this lookout to where a small oasis had been built. A pool with umbrellas and lounge seats, a cocktail bar, small restaurant and blearing music to go... and full of Israeli's. We enjoyed the sunset over the river and the town from the deck and based on our "Death Road" experience and how Israeli's have a knack of dying in groups in tourist places we decided it best not to stay for long.So we jumped on the back of the motorbikes, in our thongs, without helmets, for the trip down the loose rock road now in the dark, without lights.

May 15 (Day 22) - Arrival into Madidi National Park

We arrived at the office at 7am sharp, keen to start our jungle experience. We have since found out that rural Bolivian Time is on the same timzone / clock as Fiji time ... it happens when it happens. After waiting for 2 hrs for the final people and supplies to arrive we boarded a small wooden boat and as we hopped in we were told that the trip that usually takes 2hrs would now be 5hrs long as they had to down size to a smaller motor to conserve petrol and use the current to assist in floating down rather than motoring. Right, great start.

We sat with the other 4 people on the putt-putt boat and headed down the Beni River, which eventually flows into the Amazon River. Stopping to pick up some bananas and look at a few animals along the way. We finally arrived only 3 and a half surprising hours later with numb bottoms but keen smiles. We walked for about 30mins to reach the main lodge where we were introduced to our guide Choco (not to be confused with Anthony Mundine) and sampled some of the amazing organic food for lunch. It was sooooo good to be eating vegetables again. No street food or white bread with dulce de leche here.The main lodge was a 3 storey open wooden building surrounded by fly screens. The first level had the kitchen and dining areas and the second was where all the hammocks and other cushions lay. The top level was where a few staff members slept. The lodge sat next to San Fernando Lake. A huge lake that was not for swimming due to the large number of Camen (Amazonian Crocodile).

The lady who is in the founder of the Serere Park, Rosa Maria, was almost taken by a crocs 6 years ago in the one of the lakes ... since then there has been no swimming in the lagoons ... Rosa Maria now walks with a heavy limp and has very little feeling in her left leg . She doesn't hold a grudge, she now just kills every croc that she sees, so much for Eco Tourism... only joking.

At the main lodge there lived a very brightly coloured Macaw that had been rescued from a market in Rurre and taken back there to recover as well as a very cheaky and super cute 5 month old spider monkey who again had been rescued from a market in Rurre after his family had been killed by hunters.

The first afternoon we headed out for a walk to spot some of our first animals. Choco took us through the jungle, making all sorts of noises to call to the monkeys, birds and anything else living in the thick surrounds.Brendan attempted to replicate these sounds at a later date but just made Mia almost wet her pants with laughter instead of attracting any animals. Choco explained about a few medicinal uses of the plants, showed one German guy how much an ant bite hurt by putting it on his wrist as well as informing us of the many dangers in the jungle like the '24hr ant'. This name is the English or Gringo name given, pretty much explaining that if you are bitten by the '24hr Ant' you are in trouble within 24hrs. Quite self explanatory really ... like the 2 hr Bolivian bean soup Mia ate in La Paz.

We saw squirrel monkeys darting through the trees, tarantulas hiding between roots, ants trekking in a line carrying leaves, very large yellow tailed snakes and many other things. We returned to the lodge just in time for a beautiful sunset over the lake. It was a great afternoon and an awesome intro to the jungle.

After dinner we set out in the wooden canoe's to go Caimen spotting.We stepped out from the lodge and had looked up at the amazing sky above. The stars were out in force. The lake was so calm and the sky was so clear that the stars were reflecting onto the lake. We had never seen a nights sky and lake like it. As we got in the boat we were kindly greeted by millions of bugs that decided to fly into any open hole, your mouth, nose, ears, eyes, anything. We finally got away from the bank and quietly paddled down the lake, torches in hand.Soon we were spotting red eyes all around us. Fire flies were lighting up the dark jungle in flashes of light, like hundreds of people taking photo's of us. We didn't care if we saw a caimen or not, the night and the jungle were just amazing.

But we did see some caimen and many of them. We paddled up to a few small ones but stayed away from some of the bigger ones ... much to Brendan's relief. He was seated and paddling at the front of the tiny thin wooden canoe, literally with his feet dangling above the water. The more crocs seen from a distance the better in his eyes, or feet as it may have been.After a few hours sitting in the very narrow wooden boat, we headed back to the main camp and onto our private lodge. After a cold shower to get the deet off us and any bugs we had accumulated along the way, we hopped into our very large bed with our mozzie net over it and fell straight asleep.

Ma y 16 (Day 23) - full day in Serere

We had a great breakfast to start the day including all the trimmings and home made peanut butter.

Then off on our morning boat trip on San Fernando lake to check out the birds. Choco informed us that we would not be getting out of the boat so it was fine to wear thongs. After having hiking boots on for the past few weeks we jumped at the chance.

We paddled along the shore line, spotting birds, butterflies and a few caimen. The sun was starting to get warm and the mozzies were out in force.

We pulled up onto the bank underneath a very large tree that overhung the lake. We hopped out for what we thought was for a stretch of the legs before more boating.

Many ant bites, twig spikes and "squished fruit between the toes" later, we returned to the boat. After 2 hrs of trekking through the jungle in our thongs we were almost laughing at how Australian we must have looked.It was still another amazing experience as we spotted more monkeys, spiders, birds and other weird and wonderful jungle life. The monkeys are just hilarious. Darting around the trees, watching you but moving just before you can get a photo. There were so many of them at one point we were certain they were plotting an ambush onto the gringo's below. I swear I heard one say..."if you have any poo, throw it now!"

In the afternoon we went fishing for Piranhas on Gringo lake. Mia caught two piranhas, a yellow and a white one. Brendan just got frustrated that he was in the wrong spot but kindly, yet cursingly, unhooked the fish from Mia's handline. We watched the sun go down and then we, I mean Brendan and Choco, paddled us all back to land before walking in the dark through the jungle and back to the lodge for dinner. On the way home Choco, the master spider spotter, pointed out a number of very large and hairy tarantulas. They look quite amazing while sitting still, black and fury, but then they move and the hibi juibi's get you. Choco lured a few out from their large nests and they weren't happy.

We returned from the dark jungle still with all our fingers intact from the piranhas and our bellys ready for another great meal.

May 17 (Day 24) - Last day in the jungle

The early bird catches the worm, or in today's lesson, the early walkers see the Howler Monkeys. These monkeys generate one hell of a noise which can be heard from kilometres away in the jungle. It's almost like the sound of a train passing through a tunnel crossed between water going down the bath drain, a very haunting sound. When you see them you wonder how these small little monkeys do it.

After the morning walk it was time to pack the bags for the afternoon boat journey up the river. They say ticks like to bury themselves in small, damp and dark places ... I guess that theory was proved wrong when I found one burying itself in my crotch as I took my morning shower.

I took myself to the kitchen and got the little Bolivian assistant, who spoke very little english to remove the tick. The comment about never seeing one so big before was rather embarrassing but I told him it was something that I was to ... he then pointed to the tick.

The morning was spent lounging around the lodge, and Mia undertakinga small course in Amazonian Jungle Jewellery making. Seeing these guys make a decent looking ring out of a small nut shell could have saved me some $ if we had of done the trip this time last year! We are now both sporting Amazonian wedding bands.

Bolivian time got us again ... the boat due to arrive at 11am turned up at 12.45 pm. And the 3.5 hr boat ride downstream, was going to take 7 hours to go back upstream. The lawnmower at home had a bigger engine that this boat (by the way ... how are the lawns looking Richard?)

The time on the river was peaceful, allowing us the chance to spot some wildlife that we hadn't seen during our walks, and also let mother nature put on another spectacular combined sunset and bird show. At some points though we were almost sitting still, the little motor just couldn't compete with the current heading down stream. These were the frustrating times.

We finally arrived back into Rurrenabaque after just over 7 hours sitting in the little wooden boat. It was dark and we were hungry but happy to be on land. We enjoyed our last night in Rurre before flying back to La Paz and transferring to Copacabana the next day.