Hello Everyone,

Thursday 3rd of July, Following our 4 day tour we decided not to stay in Uuyni as it was very touristy and we wanted to get up to La Paz. It meant another long journey however 10 hours is nothing to us nowadays.

Friday 4th July, We arrived in La Paz after an overnight bus which actually arrived an hour early. We jumped in a taxi and went to a Hotel we had been recommended from another couple. After a bit of bartering with the price we checked in and went for a snooze. When we woke up we went to book a Pampas tour in Rurrenabaque, which is in the Amazon basin. The jungle was something that we had both wanted to do in Bolivia so it was exciting getting in booked. Apart from that we had a chilled day and took in some of the sights in La Paz. We felt like we quickly acclimatized to the altitude (3660m), although you do feel really out of breath climbing up hills..huff and puff!! First impressions of La Paz were good, it is after all the highest capital city in the world! Many many cafes, markets, street treats, museums, churches and lots of TRAFFIC....some people think its "just another city" however when you see the women with their big skirts, bowler hats and pleated hair you know its a city with a difference and one that MUST be explored.

Saturday 5th July we checked out the hotel we were staying in and booked into the "Wild Rover" hostel, which is know to be a party hostel. Its Irish owned and all Irish people who work there, really good atmosphere. So that evening it was PARTY TIME in La Paz. The theme was dress up in a Toga which the bar staff organised. It was a brilliant laugh and as you can see from the pics it was only Jamie who got dressed up, I chickened out! After lots of fun in the hostel a load of us went to a club called Orange.....It was a late night which we knew would prove difficult the next day.

Sunday 6th July, slightly hungover we were up and away by midday to the airport to catch a flight to Rurrenabaque. When we got to the airport the check in desk for TAM, who we were flying with looked closed?? We went and showed someone our tickets and guess what??? We were at the WRONG airport...Here we go again! Jamie had a little freak out but we were so early that all we needed to do was jump in another taxi and head to the military base where our plane was leaving from. After a little bit of palaver we arrived at the correct airport (military base) and got on a tiny little plane (20 seats) for the 45 minute journey to Rurrenabaque. The journey was amazing, the scenery went from bare desert to huge snow capped mountains to lush green rain forest all in the space of 45 mins....Magnificent!
We arrived in Rure (Rurrenabaque) on a dirt landing strip to a small shed collected our bags and went to the hostel. The place we stayed was called Hotel Oriental, cheap rooms, nice garden with hammocks and lovely brekkie. The best thing about arriving in Rure was the HEAT..Oh yeah, it was nice and warm, back to heat, at last!

Monday 7th July, we spent the day wandering around lots of tour operators to find a "Pampas" tour operator, there are loads to choose from it was a matter of making a decision that's the hard part. After rummaging around most of the day we went with "Fluvial Tours" and were leaving for the Amazon the following morning at 9am.

Tuesday 8th July we were up and away by 9am, we met the rest of the group and headed for our boat which was meant to be a 3 hour drive away, but as usual something funny happened!! It had been raining pretty heavy the night before and the roads are all MUD/CLAY so they we all slushy and guess what???? We got the jeep that never had 4WD so after about 5 minutes of driving we were stuck, we all had to get out while the driver thrashed the jeep to bits. It was hilarious, although we all got pretty muddy! This happened for the first hour then we were back on the road but not before too long we had stopped again.... this time the driver got out and started digging at the wheel with a stick, hilarious. The road gradually got better and we finally got to our destination a few hours late. From there we said bye bye to our rubbish driver and jeep and hello to our little boat and guide.
We boarded the boat with all our supply of food and water and headed downstream to our camp which was 3 hour away. The whole point of this trip was wildlife spotting, Alligators, Caiman, Monkeys, Birds, Snakes, Turtles, Pink River Dolphins, Capybaras, Toucans, Anacondas etc etc.......
I thought we would have to look hard to see the animals but the river was teaming with croc´s and Caiman the trees crowded with monkeys and there were birds flying everywhere it was amazing. There is an exceptional diversity of flora and fauna in the tropical rainforest and its home to over 1000 birds, 300 species of mammals, 200 reptile species and over 6000 types of plants. Its was fantastic to be right in amongst the swampy jungle with so many animals surrounding us. Oh and we seen 2 TOUCANS, very unusual as they are so shy, all exciting.
After about 3 hours in the boat we arrived at camp and chilled in the hammocks for a while before going to the sunset bar, (crazy a bar in the jungle) to see the sunset, which was stunning.
It was back to camp for dinner, then after dinner we went out on the boat looking for red Caiman eyes which was a bit scary!!! It was an early ish night in order to get up early in the morning. Camp was really good and there was not too many holes in the mosquito nets which was also a bonus.

Wednesday 9th July, We were up early and away on a trek in the swampy forest area looking for "ANACONDAS" but because the sun wasn't shining they were gonna be hard to find. After a good 3 hours searching we were on the way back to the boat when a guide from another group found one, probably not as big as i expected but still a good 7ft of so. After the trek it was back to camp to chill and get some lunch.
After a few hours rest at camp we headed back down the river for a spot of piranha fishing.
It was quality, there were hundreds of them biting the bate, you just had to be really really quick to catch them! the team caught 14 in total, I caught none but Jamie was quick off the mark and caught 3...WOW, oh and she also caught loads of little sardines.
We stopped in at the sunset bar on the way to camp for a few beers, then it was back to camp for dinner, Jamie sampled the Piranah´s that we caught and thought they tasted good but not very meaty..after dinner we set up a camp fire and a few drinks before hitting the sack.

Thursday 10th July, we were meant to be getting up to watch the sunrise but fortunately it was too cloudy so we got a long lie. After breakfast we went downstream for a few hours wildlife spotting and taking some pics, then we all went in the river for a swim with the Pink River Dolphins. These shy creatures are very strange to see, they are not blessed with looks like the bottle nosed Dolphins and they are a very light shade of pink. Hard to capture on camera as they were so shy and didnt come all that close to the boat. It was pretty scary knowing you were in the water with crocs, Freshys, ánd Dolphins....Don´t worry Downie they don't bite!! Or so we were told.
After a wee swim it was back to camp to collect our stuff for the journey back to the jeep. We arrived back at the jeep around 2pm then hit the road (s*** dirt track that is very very bumpy) back to Rure.
That night we arranged to meet the group for a few drinks, but left them and joined some of our American friends for a session instead, it was a fun night had by all in the Jungle themed pub....Thomas you rock on the Sax!

Friday 11th July, After stocking up on the most delicious Banana bread in the world, we met the Americanos and headed up to the Mirador. Its about a 30min walk just out side Rure, lovely walk out of town, ever although Marc wanted to get a Taxi! (Lazy Bones) Once you reach the top of the hill the views of rure are wonderful. Further up is a a swimming pool with a bar at the top of a hill overlooking Rure...we wern´t quite sure what to expect but it was beautiful, and we were not dissappointed. It was a roasting hot day about 30 degrees, so chilling in the pool with a few beers overlooking Rure was the perfect way to spend our last day in the Jungle.
That night we all went out for a nice meal and a few drinks and said bye to Hayley, Emily, and Ethan....Although hope to catch up with Ethan again in La Paz. It was great spending time with our American buddys and we hope to see you all again soon...Mexico 2009 here we come!!

Saturday 12th July, we were up and away to the Amazonas office by 10am as we had to catch our flight back to La Paz at 11.30. When we got to the airport we were greeted by an even smaller plane than the one we arrived on....it was "crazy" small, you could see straight through into the cockpit and the plane was lucky if it seated 10 people. Jimmy you would have HATED it! The flight was relatively smooth and we Landed back in La Paz safe and well.

Until next time Amigo`s.....

Marc and Jamie xxxx