Wet Feet and Pomplemousse Juice

Lately we've been feasting on fresh-off-the-tree Grapefruit, taking long walks at sunset through the Jungle, and lazing in hammocks mostly... well when you put it like that it actually sounds alright. Actually we were stuck in a small town that had an abundance of Grapefruit trees, and not much else. Last week we left Trinidad on a bus that we were told would take 10 hours. We waited around at the bus "station" for about two hours before our "bus" (truck) pulled up late. They packed it full of every one's luggage, including two Motorcycles, then we all piled on wherever there was room. The truck took us to a river crossing where everyone and everything was put onto a boat, and we set off on our 4 hour (actually 5) trip.

This was all hunky dory, because travelling in Bolivia (also Ecuador and Peru for that matter), never fast, seldom comfortable, but is always interesting. You just have to go with the flow most of the time, and you get there eventually in one piece. We understood that the boat was taking us to a bus which would continue on from there, this is because the road has been washed out in the recent flooding that has taken place in Bolivia. Normally it is just a short ferry across a wide river, but for us it was 4 hours alongside the washed out road. We were basically boating in the "ditch", between the road and the cow pastures. There was water everywhere around us. They say it will take another month or so before the waters subside enough, and that this has been some of the worst flooding in 10 years.

So the boat finally dropped us off on a piece of road that truly was in the middle of no where. There was no bus waiting for us. Lots of confusion ensued, people talked very fast in Spanish. Basically, the boat driver was in the black, he was paid to take them this far, and didn't have enough gas to go any farther, or he wouldn't be able to get back. We waited on the road for a few hours, before a group of us finally decided to take off for a nearby town that was two hours walk away. We set off around 5:30, and soon discovered the reason why no bus was at the boat. The road was very washed out, numerous times. There was no way anything but a big 4x4 was getting down the road. We spent the next 4 hours walking along the muddy road, wading thigh deep and barefoot through mucky water. We were a group of six at that point, down from the 28 plus kids on the boat, and luckily Sarah and I had flashlights, as it got dark very quickly. There were times when I was strolling along, looking up at the billions stars, listening to the billions of strange insects in the forest, feeling the muck squish between my toes, thinking how stupid and crazy this is. Definitely not on the list of things I wanted, or even thought I might be doing here, but whatever, s'all cool.

We made it to Fatima around 9 or 10, and strung our hammocks up between some Grapefruit trees in the school yard, and tried to sleep despite the mosquito's jabbing us awake. The next day we called for some sort of transportation, and was told that something was coming at around 11 to 'rescue' us. We waited until around 2, before finding out that the truck couldn't make it all the way, so we all set off walking again, and after an hour or so of more wading through muck and road we made it to the truck. It only took an hour of work to get the truck unstuck, before we set off. We pulled into San Ignacio de Moxos just after 5, still at least 4 hours from San Borja, our original destination. There was still much confusion; the company that we bought our tickets from was closed for the day, the company that picked us up near Fatima wanted money, we were tired... eventually it was worked out, and after a night in San Ignacio we left, 7 of us now, packed into a station wagon bound for San Borja.

Woo!

So we weren't actually going to San Borja, just to a small Biological Reserve named El Porvenir nearby, so the taxi dropped us off on the road near it. We didn't really know what to expect, but our guide book talked about small guided trips to jungle forest and savanna. We walked the 200m down the driveway an arrived at what looked like a farm. We dropped our bags and looked around for anyone, finding Walter the caretaker. We got ourselves a room, strung up our hammocks and just chilled out from our adventure. The place was a Biological Reserve Station, that acts as headquarters for the Reserve area, a station for Biologist who was doing fieldwork in the area and a tourist facility. Unfortunately the whole place was fairly run down, and hasn't been run properly for awhile now. There was a Bolivian there at the time finishing up her PhD field work, so she filled us in on some of the details. The actual reserve has been in a transition period between administration, and unfortunately, due to money, or bureaucratics, nothing has happened.

We organized a overnight hike to a jungle camp, and Natanil was our Guide. He lived in the nearby village, and acted as a guide when there were tourists. Leaving from the camp mid morning, we walked through Savanna for a few hours before arriving at a small pond. The savanna was sectioned off by long barbed wire gates, to prevent the cows in the area from entering Reserve land. Unfortunately the gates have been left open, and the whole walk was basically through a cow pasture. There were lots and lots of different birds, we even saw an ostrich run off when we approached on the path. It started to rain part way through the day, and within seconds we were completely soaked. This was the type of rain that makes rain jackets useless. A short river crossing in a canoe, and we arrived at our campsite. Unfortunately (again) Walter has had some land cleared back in the woods for agriculture, and there is some confusion as to whether or not it is in the Reserve Boundaries. Apparently we stopped there in a makeshift hut for the day due to the rain. So our little jungle excursion turned into little more than a walk through a cow field, and camping in a banana plantation. Although it was nice to get out and away from hostals and restaurants for a bit, we were a bit disappointed.

We spent the rest of the day drying out and went for a little fishing trip to hopefully catch some dinner. With some meat on a hook and string in hand we tossed our lines in. We caught many a snag, some overhanging branches, and toyed with the small sardines and piranha's that would nibble furiously at the meat when we dangled it near the surface. After an hour, and only managing to catch a spiky catfish and another small catfish, we called it a day. Walking back the next day we could see the effect that only a few hours of heavy rain had on the area. What was bone dry a day before was now a few inches deep, and we made it back to the station with very soggy feet (again). The coolest part for me was an eagle we saw in a tree near the path. Natanil spotted it aways away, and the branch it was on overhung the trail. I assumed that as we approached it would take off, but we walked right under it, only a few meters away, and it just looked at us sidelong.

We left El Porvenir yesterday, later than anticipated, since the once a day camionetta was delayed due to rain the night before. Luckily we managed to connect with another movilidad to Rurrenabaque without waiting, and discovered to our horror a new "Worst Road Ever" for us. The last one was in northern Peru, near Chachapoyas (we talk about it here), but this one definitely surpassed it. The "3 hour" (6) trip dropped us off here last night around 1am, so we found the first open hostal and fell into a bed. For some reason a crew of all-night construction workers were building a building across the street, so we dozed off to the pleasant sounds of cement mixing, and hammers a knocking.

I may sound bitter and upset in most of this post, but actually I'm doing alright. My back is kinda sore from the hammock sleeps and bumpy roads, I'm tired from not much sleep the past week, or rather restless sleep, and it's hot and humid... but hey I could be working behind a desk or something else just as horrible (hehehehe).

Oh yeah and tomorrow we leave to be pampered at a Jungle Eco-Lodge, called Chalalan. Pictures to come later!