JUNGLE TRIP OUT OF RURRENABAQUE

After our fun in the Pampas it was time for the ´real´Amazonian jungle, Bolivian style.  We met with rest of group at the tour company office in Rurre.  Much confusion with large numbers of tourists all going in different directions so after about two hours of waiting in the pouring rain our group set off in another long narrow boat on the Rio Beni in a southerly direction.  After one hour we dropped off the 2-day people (they get a nice cozy two day jungle expeience in a lodge!).  After another half an hour we dropped off the one-dayers (pah!).  This left M, I and Lena (our German friend from Pampas, her sister Julie had already left for home) and our two ´guides{ and boat driver.  Two more hours of pouring rain in boatheading upstream into the true wilderness. We started to wonder what we had let ourselves in for.  We had opted for a 4 day, three night jungle trip, no oneelse had.  We were told that we would be in lodge for two days then off into jungle to camp on days 3 and 4.

In fact, they really had different plans for us.  We were eventually droped off 3.5 hours away from civilisation in the middle of nowhere (exciting in itself).  Oh, I forget to mention the state of the io Beni on the day. Due to several days of torrential downpour in the previous days, the river was almost in full flood.  The greatest hazard was the huge numbers of trees (up to 15 - 20 metres long) which were racing DOWN the river as our little boat struggled UP the river.  Boat captain had to very gingerly pick his way through this torrent of life-threatening head-on traffic - a bit like driving in the fast lane THE WRONG WAY DOWN A MOTORWAY.

So, after surviving raging Amazonian torrents, we wre dropped off on riverbank.  We helped our guide, Mario, and cook, Jesus, offload our supplies and bade farewell to boat.  We later heard that the poor boat captain had a terrifying journey back on his own down the river trying to aviod rapids and huge trees in the river.  As the boat had no cargo of people or supplies on his way back he had to stop and fill it up with rocks to give it ballast to steady it! On the riverbank we set up camp and prepared lunch/dinner (at around 4:30p.m, we had not eaten since breakfast).  Mario showed us how to find dry firewood (we had no gas) in a drenched jungle.  He simply pushed over a huge dead/rotten tree and jumped up and dow on the top of itwhich was remarkably dry as it was so far away from the jungle floor.  So, fire was soon built up and Jesus prepared a great jungle meal.  (we also put up tents and then put up large tarpaulins over the tents as they were clearly not waterproof antmore!). During dinner it became apparent that this whole trip had been organised at the last minute in a panic by the agency as they had a rush of tourists which they were keen to get out into the jungle quick.  Jesus had thought that he was staying in a lodge cooking for two days but had only learned on the boat that he was in for a four day jungle trek staying in tents - as we had also learned.  Jesus, therefore had come prepared with flip-flops, shorts and T-shirt and no rucksack.  Mario also had no rucksack. M had only a small day pack, which left Lena & I as the folks with decent trekking rusksacks.  So, how to carry supplies through jungle for the next 3 days??  Interesting!! That night during dinner, the rain abated a little but the Rio Beni continued to rise menacingly.  Unfortunately, Mario let slip the fact that unless the river dropped in the next few days we could be stranded as the boat would not be able to pick us up.  M & I took this well but it prompted tears in Lena who had a filght out to Germany in the next week and could afford no delays.  Oh dear.   Next day after a hot breakfast we had to decide which supplies we took and which remained behind because we had insufficient means to carry it all (well, you just have to make the best of these badly organised tours in South America you see). We shared the kit out amongst the team and packed.  Our clever guide and cook had clearly come across such circumstances before and build rucksacks out of large nylon sacks, Jesus using an old bed sheet as shoulder straps and Mario using tree bark which he cut off a nearby tree - incredible. How painful they must have been to carry! So we set off for a 6 hour hike through the hot and sticky jungle on day 2.  Soon Mario found a long vine and converted it into a tarzan swing, which was fun. On we went, no lunch and cracked on until mid afternoon.  Walk was great but as expected, views in jungle are not great, you just learn to appreciate the flora and endlessness of the jungle itself. Walk was not very flat so it took its toll on us. Major excitement on the hike was the arrival of a huge heard of wild pigs, or boars I suppose.  We first noticed them due to a quite dreadful stench of body-odour enveloping us.  Then we heard what sounded like snaps of electicity all around us, just like electical arcing.  Then the grunting / squealing followed.  The combination of the sound and smell was almost more impressive than actually seeing them. When we id see them through the undergrowth it was clear that there were huge numbers, Mario estimated 200-300! Quite a site and we were all glad to have Mario & his machete between us and them.  What a site & sound!  Campsite that night was a clearling in the jungle so we put up tents and got fire started.  Another good meal from Jesus and chats around fire before relatively early night.  During dinner, a few bees turned up, no doubt attracted by smell of food & tourists.  As evening wore on, their friends turned up until there was a veritable swarm, necessitating us to rush for tents.  Despite a very detailed ´insect audit´ of the inside of the tent, one clearly got in during the night and stung my neck. M was stung on leg the next day also.  Bad lucjk we seem to have. After a reasonable night of sleep (M had very little unfortunately as ground was v hard and we had failed to pack the right kit for the trip we wre not actually suposed to be taking!!), we rose for breakfast.  The bee swarm had turned into an epidemic if that is the correct term to use. It was so bad that after putting food on plates we all rushed off into different corners of the jungle to eat in peace away from the little blighters.  It was quite incredible how many bees turned up.  Taking down campsite and moving on was really difficult in such circumstances and the bees get everywhere and do not want to let you leave. We left most of our kit at campsite and just took day packs for our ´nature walk´that morning. The 5 of us set off into jungle to look for as much flora and fauna as we could find.  Much flora there was but sadly little fauna, the reason being that jungle is so thick that all the exciting animals have plenty of places to hide when they hear you coming.  Mario, did however, find a beehive in a tree and proceeded to belt said tree with machete. Bees took offence to this and came out (in numbers) to see who was to blame. At this point I was grateful that I do not have long ladylike hair (well almost not) unlike M & Lena.   Bees went straight for M & Land within seconds they each had about 30 bees mixed up in their locks!!  Luckily, the bees were of the ´mini´ bee kind who do not sting. However, it was still v alarming for the ladies and we had to spent a fair while getting them out.  Silly Mario methinks!! After more excitement and increasing hunger we made it back to camp, which none of us looked forward to due to our bee colony (the stinging kind).  Brief lunch thanks to Jesus then quick decamp and we got out extra quick for the next bit of trekking after lunch.  After only 1.5 hours we made it to third night´s campsite, another small clearing. After quick vote we opted to move on to another campsite next to the Rio Beni instead as bees had already started to arrive here.   Another 1.5 hours of clambing through, under, over and around undergrowth and endless supplies of vines to trip you up, we arrived at a cliff overlooking Rio Beni - hurrah the three tourists thought - we know where we are.  Incredibly, Mario had managed to get us deep into the jungle with no map, compass, tracks, routes or anything but seemed to know exactly where he was al the time.  Clever guy. We scrambled down cliff and across two rivers over to beach on the river to dump stuff at campsite before setting off for ´jungle shower´  i.e. a v high waterfall about a kilometre away. Much wading through mud and climbing up another cliff and we got to waterfall.  What a joy, the first proper wash for 3 days.  Much delight amongst tourists and guide and cook alike. Back at campsite, we put up tents, without tarpaulins this time (!!) and started cooking. Bees soon smelt us and we were swarmed again.  This really started to peeve us all as they became steadily greater in numbers and hostility towards us.  That night at about 2: 00a.m. the heavens opened again - on our non-waterproof tent.  Out jumped Mario & Jesus & saved us yet again.  However, rain means rising rivers, muddy runway strips art Rurre and almost certain delays getting out of jungle - hence more tears from poor Lena who was becoming convinced that we would never leave jungle! In morning, skies cleared and moods improved.  Jesus prepared excellent final breakfast and we took down campsite and trampoed to nearby beach to await boat home.  It was scheduled for 1:00-2:00p.m.  We wre still there at 4:30.  Moods darkend again as it slowly dawned on us that maybe something had gone wrong. We were out of mineral water and almost out of food.  All clothes were either wet or smelled like wild pigs. Tents were soaked through. Sandflies were starting to bite and out campsite was uninhabitable due to bee infestation.  Recipe for a very miserable extra night indeed in jungle. Much debates amongst the team about what had gone wrong?  Boat went to wrong place?  Boat had sunk?  River too high for boats? etc etc.  V unhappy young German friend!!  Eventually a boat came into view.  Celebrations all round.  But, it went to opposite bank and appeared to be full of people.  Framtic waving of brightly coloured ponchos from us evenually got their attention and they came across to us. Indeed, it was not our boat but was a boat full of locals going upstream, we needed to go downstream.  Brief discussion with captain cleared up the mess.  Our boat was waiting downstream at another campsite for us and would only wait until 5: 00p.m. before turning back!  Oh dear.  It was now 4:40 and it did not look good.  Mario, bless him, said "I´ll swim down to it".  True to his word, he stripped to shorts & T-shirt, leapt into river with an enormous log and proceeded to paddle downstream!! As he disappeared our hearts were in our mouths.  What willhappen? Will we be saved? More importantly, will our friend survive? After 30 nervous minutes we heard the distant chug of a motor! MUch celebrations again as we waited to see what would come roundthe bend.  Eventualy it did.  Small boat plus captain plus assistand plus MARIO!!  What a star.  Quick pack up of boat and off we set downstream.  We stopped in at our first night´s campsite to load up rest of gear we left behind then set off again.  We eventually got becjk to Rurre at 7: 30p.m. in pitch black with no navigation lights etc.  A nervouis journey indeed.  Farewells made to our heroic guide and cook then beer & pizza for dinner with our American friends who were starting to worry about where we had go to. In the morning, we packed and went to airline office to check on status of our plane that morning.  We had become used to bad news but this was just a little too much to bear.  Due to rain in the week a backlog of customers meant we were to be bumped back about 2 days pnto a different plane! DISASTER.  I COULD COPE NO LONGER AT THIS NEWS.  Luckily, another airline company said there was a slim chance that they could get us out that day.  In the end they did by the skin of our teeth.  Rod & family also managed to get out contrary to expectations - just as the downpours began in the jungle again. So, no we are back in La Paz enjoying in the south of the country so it willbe farewell to La Paz soon.That´s all for now. We ill try to get new photoalbuums on the website soon, promise.Take care all.J & M