The Amazon, Bolivia

Country: Bolivia

The Amazon - Pampas Tour

Duration: 3 Days

One thing that was high on our priority list to visit in Bolivia was The Amazon. Doing so from Bolivia is a lot cheaper than from Brazil. (Our 3 day trip including accommodation, transport and food cost around 55euro each!) We flew to Rurrenabaque in the heart of the rainforest, the starting point for trips into the Bolivan Amazon. There are two different trips to choose from; a jungle trek or a pampas tour. The jungle trek is throughout the rainforest’s millions of plants and trees whereas the pampas tour is in the wetlands and the emphasis is more on the wildlife. As Johnny loves wildlife, we decided to go with the pampas tour. Unfortunately we did not have time to do both! Most tours are two nights and three days.

We flew from La Paz to Rurrenabaque with Tam Airlines. We had heard awful stories about the safety of these tiny 17 seat aircraft that navigate through narrow mountain passes and land on a grass runway outside the ‘airport’. Indeed it was quite a bumpy ride. The alternative is a very long bus jounrey that passes at one stage along 'Death Road'. No thanks. We landed in the field in Rurrenabaque airport and  it was the funniest set up. We walked through the tiny room and out of the airport and waited a few minutes for our bags which arrived on a large wheelbarrow around the side of the airport! There were a lot of motorbike taxis but my senses told me to get into a proper car.

We got off at our hostel, dropped our bags and went for a stroll down the village to scout out the best tour. We ended up booking with Flecha Pampas Tour. Don’t be afraid to negotiate the price as there is a lot of competition. However, make sure you go with a company that has good reviews and that has good, knowledgeable guides. That evening we looked around for a very long time for a restaurant that looked like the food would be decent enough to eat. We settled on pizza and chips and went back to pack for our tour the next day. 

The next morning we made our way down to the tour office. The three and a half hour 4x4 jeep ride was not pleasant! The road through the rainforest was very rough and bumpy. We ate lunch in the town of Santa Rose and then travelled the final short distance to the Yacuma River Port.

We got into our motorized canoe and set sail down the Yacuma River. On the way we saw so many animals such as alligators, caimans, turtles, pink dolphins, monkeys and capybaras (which are the largest rodent in the world). We also saw some beautiful birds. 

A capybara 

 How many baby alligators can you see???

 A family of capybaras 

After three hours we reached our lodge. The accommodation was fairly basic and the showers were a no go area really (cold water and mosquitoes!) and our room was on the second floor of a wooden building. The botrom half of the wall in our room was made from timber but the top half was made from hard net/mesh. I was a bit nervous about my night's sleep!


Later that evening, we were told to grab our flash light and we set off again in our canoe to another lodge to watch the sunset. Once dark, we turned on our flash lights and headed back to our lodge while searching for alligators. Their eyes lit up in the dark when we shone our lights in their direction.

 My jungle style diary!

 Night time alligator spotting

The next morning I was woken early by birds and loud rustling noises. I opened my eyes and I saw monkeys jump from tree to tree right outside our net! There were so many monkeys following the same route so we got to enjoy it for a few minutes. It was the most spectacular way I have ever been woken up, and definitely the best morning of our travels.

After the moneys had left, I listened to the sounds of the jungle until it was time to get up for our buffet breakfast. 

Amazing what the chef came up with with such minimal resources in her tiny kitchen!

More from my Jungle Style Diary!

After breakfast, we went and put on our wellies for anaconda hunting! We set out on our canoe and stopped at a different lodge and set off into the high grass. 

After 45 minutes we came to a swamp and then the real hunting started.

It took a while but eventually we did find an anaconda! I had to run across the swamp to see it and it was only then I realised that there was a hole in one of my wellies!!

Later that day we went fishing for piranhas! We used the handmade fishing rod (Wire attached to a piece of wood) and stuck some meat on the hook. It was very difficult to fish but I was delighted when I flicked a piranha into the canoe! The guide stuck a knife in it. Unfortunately for Johnny he only caught a sardine and a dogfish!! We stopped at another lodge for the sunset and played soccer for a while. That night we played cards, pool and table tennis back at our lodge and tried to ignore the mosquitoes! 

 I woke up on the last day of the tour with 82 mosquito bites (Johnny helped me count them!) Grrrrrrr. I hate mosquito bites. After breakfast, we set off in our canoe to find some pink dolphins to swim with!! After fishing for piranhas the day before, and the fact that there are alligators everywhere, I didn’t really think anyone would get into the brown water that you cannot see through! Whilst trying to park our canoe, we disturbed an alligator who submerged himself under the water! So we reversed and parked at the opposite side of the river! I could also see another alligator at the other side of the river bank. There was no way I was getting in! Our guide assured us that no one ever died, and that it’s safe when the pink dolphins are around!! I reminded him of a dead dolphin we saw on the first day, but he said there were no alligator marks on it. Slowly most people got in!! So eventually I got in but on a floatie ring as I didn’t want my feet to touch the bottom of the river bed. It was amazing to see and hear the dolphins come up for air, but I was nervous as I could still see an alligator on the bank and I was wondering if there were any under the water!

You can see the alligator on the bank at the top right of the photo! 

 After lunch we headed back on the long journey to Rurrenabaque. The three hour canoe ride back along the river was very peaceful and it was beautifully sunny and warm. 

We then suffered through the jeep ride again, stopping only when our driver saw a sloth in the trees!

That night after dinner in El Nomadico in Rurrenabaque with our group, Johnny and I watched the last ever episode of Breaking Bad! I then spent the night crying over the ending!!

What to bring:

Ø  Insect repellent!!!

Ø  Suncream

Ø  Swimmers

Ø  Flash light/torch

Ø  Waterproof poncho/clothes

Ø  Long sleeved light tops

Ø  Long pants

Ø  Camera

Ø  Spare batteries/Charger (there was a few hours or electricity provided by a generator)

Ø  Deodorant

Ø  Dry shampoo (again, no shower for 3 days unless you want to use the freezing cold water and expose your whole body to mosquitoes!)

Ø  Sunglasses

Ø  Playing cards