It is rumoured that in the rainy season, flights to the jungle NEVER leave on time. These words didn't really hit home until leaving 5 hours later than scheduled. By 1130am I was on board the smallest plane ever flown for someone my size (only 15 seats) and bound for the small town of Rurrenabaque, in North Eastern Bolivia. The flight certainly was the kind to raise your heart rate. You felt every bump, every change in altitude and I swear I heard the motors cut out on numerous occasions. I arrived at the "airport" (a strip of grass) choking on the thick, humid jungle air and a lot more shaken than before. The scenery passing over huge forests was pretty ok though.
Rurrenabaque is almost exactly how I imagined a small jungle town to be. Lots of motorbikes (and their variations), mud, rain, unbearable humidity and heat, Mosquitos etc. Due to the delay, I had missed my departure to the pampas so was forced to bunk in a nearby hostel for the night. This worked out ok in the end because there is always interesting produce on offer in jungle towns. I examined the goods down by the river as explored the town (only a few streets) before retiring to the hostel in preparation for some jungle action the next day.
A 3 hour drive along a bumpy ass road in a packed out troopy was the order of the day next morning. But we had soon arrived at the boats to be taken to the campsite. The signs were good after seeing pink river dolphins straight away frolicking by the thin, dugout canoes. The pampas (flooded wetland) was something I had been looking forward to for a long time on this trip. To actually be in the Amazon felt surreal, though not in the heart of the jungle, wildlife is still extremely abundant. A myriad of bird and monkey species. As well as turtles, fish, caiman (including the camp "pet" Pepe), sloths, Anaconda etc. I was able to swim close to some dolphins (the water looked sketchy) and we took many trips up and down the river in search of more animals. Night activities included hammock chills, games of ping pong and cards. It was the definition of chilled. My mosquito net also worked which was a bonus (there were heaps).
I rested my weathered, sweaty body back in Rurrenabaque before heading into the jungle the next day. A 3 hour boat ride up the river in pouring rain and a dangerous current was "just what I needed" but fun all the same. I was ponchoed out and prepared, though I thought we were going to flip on a few occasions. It was time to trek it through the forest to the campsite, carrying a large container of water on my back. We also passed through some pretty raging streams (I nearly lost a thong!!). The jungle was real cool because it was much more interesting. The amount of useful plants is staggering and something you wouldn't think of unless you were told straight up. With only myself and my Danish friend in the group we spent much time learning of all the resources the jungle had to offer. From water holding vines (drinkable), leaves that can colour hair (I didn't try), medicinal plants (arthritis, cuts, stomach problems), palms used in architecture and some special mushrooms there was lots to see. Our Guide Alvearo was extremely knowledgable and alerted us to macaws, toucans, monkeys, tarantula, frogs and hundreds of different insects (including crazy psycho ants). Walking through the jungle was also an amazing feeling. Being surrounded by towering trees with huge parasitic vines big enough to swing on (it was fun). We dabbled in a spot of piraña fishing but ended up a bit short (apart from a small unknown fish) but the experience was fun all the same! I came out expecting a rod of some sort, but was handed the string of what resembled more of a kite it was real cool haha.
The return journey to town was much quicker and calmer. I spent a night in town before my flight to La Paz the next morning. We enjoyed the night game and toy fair, playing coin toss, shoot the cans etc (real old school) that night. If you can deal with heat, humidity, mosquitoes, constantly wet clothes and that sticky feeling, then the Amazon is truly an amazing destination. I learnt a lot more than I thought was possible, ate and drank lots of weird things, saw so many animals and cool plants and could have easily stayed there a lot longer than a week.