Amazon Rainforest

We just finished an incredible 5-day pampas and jungle tour. The first few days in the pampas were mainly filled with boat trips along the Yacuma River and some hiking in search of anacondas.
We spotted hundreds of caimans (mainly small ones but also a few black caimans, up to 4 meters long), plenty of capybaras, an ostrich, pink river dolphins, many colorful birds of all sizes, anacondas, frogs and squirrel monkeys. On the first day we were woken up by a howler monkey whose roar sounded like a clogged drainpipe!
In a lagoon with river dolphins, we decided to go for a swim. Though there were large caimans on the opposite bank, our guide assured us it was safe. But after one of us was bitten by a fish, we decided to head back to the boat. Not even 30 seconds after getting out of the water, a huge caiman, around 3 meters long, popped its head up at pretty much the same spot we had just been swimming. Just in time I guess.

On the third day we made our way to the Madidi Nationalpark, part of the Amazon rainforest and one of the most biodiverse places in the world. We hiked through the jungle, visited a local tribe, learned about indigenous beliefs and traditions, cooked traditional meals and crafted rings from nuts.
As for the wildlife, we saw spiders in all sizes and varieties (including little tarantulas and lightning spiders), glowworms, snakes, lizards, hand-sized butterflies and an oposum.
Listening to those jungle sounds was incredibly relaxing.

Having had 39 degrees down there, we're now back at La Paz with cool temperatures up to 8 degrees. We'll head to our last stop in Bolivia tomorrow - Copacabana/Isla de Sol before making our way to PeruRead more