The Amazon

The Amazon. I think the only way I can describe the whole trip is as "an experience". By that I don't mean in the way people use it to describe something they would like to explain as awful but politely use the term experience, I mean from strat to finish it was quite unlike anything else.

Having heard varying reports on the bus journeys taking up to 50 hours due to severe flooding, we decided to posh it up and fly to the lovely Amazonian town of Rurrenabaque. A number of travellers we had met had flown and said the plans was small...nothing could prepare me for just how small. As we walked out onto the Tarmac, we were met with what can only be described as a model aeroplane. Or a tin can. It was amazing. 19 seats, propellers on the wings and a roof which prevented me from standing up...meaning I near-crawled to my seat. From where I was sat I could see the flight deck and put of the front window of the plane. As we took off the plane rattled uncontrollably and by some fascinating feat of modern(ish) engineering it stayed in one piece. We flew past mountains which were higher than the flight path, and 35 minutes later we landed in a field.

So my first real look at the Amazon came after a short boat trip on a long boat, a hot and sticky 50 minute walk to the start of the zip lines, followed by 1,500 metres of cabling between trees, 50 metres in the air, suspended underneath by a harness! It was amazing! Absolutely awesome (and slightly nervewracking!)

My second Amazon experience came the following day when we set off on our 3 day trek in the jungle. After a three hour long boat journey up the river we got to our base camp-a small collection of huts in the jungle. It was noisy with insects, and despite all my Amazon preparation (yes, that's right...4 hours of programming for work and I felt I was an expert!) I was nervous as anything. It was twice as humid as town and there were more scary animals than I could possibly imagine (that's right...cockroaches and grasshoppers!).

After some delicious lunch, we did our first trek. For 3 hours we sweated our way through the forest, filling Heriberto the guide and his trusty machete. At this point Heri collected some Amazon medicine for my very swollen arm-as I was suffering with a mosquito bite allergy promising to "cure" me later. After some unsuccessfully animal spotting (a couple of spiders and lots of ants) we returned to camp for dinner...preparing for the night trek.

The whole idea of the night trek frightened me (and if about now you are realising what a wussbag I am...believe me it only gets worse) especially as we were looking for jaguars and tapirs, and although I smiled, I can admit right now that no part of me wanted to find a 200 kilo tapir in the woods. Luckily for me, we were unsuccessful, although I have discovered I am very talented in finding huge spiders, millipedes and other nameless bugs by torchlight - which is a talent I wish I didn't have. Using my trusty headtorch and holding Sheryl's hand eveytime I fell over my own feet fully reinforced that I am definately not as outdoorsy as I would like to think. Thankfully the painful night trek was over and we returned to our mosquito netted beds, where I lay quivering in fear that some mighty cockroach would come into my bed, or worse...I would have to get up and go to the toilet in the middle of the night, meaning navigating the pitch black camp to the loo block where there were undoubtedly all sorts of terrifying monsters (I was right-we found a bat in there the next day. The bat, incidentally appeared to be watching whilst I showered.) anyway, I survived till morning, and after pulling myself together realised I really liked being in the big wide wilderness.

The following day we trekked again, and once again were unsuccessful in finding anything larger than a jungle pig- which were great! They made some fabulous noises...as when they are startled they clatter their teeth together to communicate, which always resulted in an outbreak of giggles.

Then that afternoon, we got crafty and made forest items (I can't say anymore as some of your pressies will be ruined!) it was at this time that one of the guides made some weird jokes about being alone in the forest with 4 women and having a machete ( needless to say I didn't find that very funny- Bolivian humour is weird at the best of times.) - Stephen King eat your
heart out my next horror story is ready and waiting!

After a fairly sleepless night, thanks to being accosted by a terrifying grasshopper and plagued with an overacting imagination, we did one more trek. This time we saw more jungle pigs, but we also drank water from a plant called uña de gato (cats fingernails) and then found a vine and swung like Tarzan-as well as doing some pole move in the Amazon courtesy of said vine!

Another day in Rurrenabaque, and a tempting offer to stay and volunteer teaching English in an indigenous community in the basin - which I reluctantly declined, and we prepared for the tin can plane back to La Paz.

After a lot of turbulence, and a rather green looking Sheryl and Amanda crawled off the plane, (and me recovering from the fear that the plane in fact would not make it in one piece) we were back in the altitude sickness inducing city of La Paz, at a dizzying nearly 4 kms above sea level. So a few days hear then off to Lake Titicaca. And I only have another 3 maim stops until my South America time draws to an end...now there is a strange thought!