...I didn´t come here to touch wild animals... in fact it was the last thing I wanted. I thought the idea was to observe them in their natural habitat... up until this point, that´s what was happening. I was on a so called "eco" tour so I wasn´t expecting to be handed an anaconda. I wasn´t afraid of him and he appeared to be calm and not afraid of me. But I really hope that this contact with humans didn´t do the poor little blighter too much harm. I felt horrible about it at the time and for the rest of the day and wished I´d been stonger willed and simply refused... especially as I felt uncomfortable about it at the time, it wasn´t like it was an after thought! I was an idiot and gave in to the harranging from my guide. I was really pissed off with our guide for not only allowing it to happen but actually encouraging it. He didn´t seem at all interested when I expressed my concern for the creature... anyway, I´m going to complain to the lonely planet as they bang on about how tour agencies shouldn´t let you touch the animals then immediately afterwards recommend this one as being good and eco friendly... that´s my idiot tour guide in the back ground. The anaconda was lovely and I´m very sorry if I contributed to any stress he may have suffered that day... With all these pampas tours I have a feeling it must happen fairly regularly!