Lakes, Pampas and Jungle

Bolivia is a country that keeps on giving. Having previously seen the high plains with the volcanoes, lakes and salt flats, we also saw the three most historic cities; but the rest of the country is incredible too. First of all we stayed high, and went to the highest lake in the world, Lake Titicaca.

Lake Titicaca is three hours from La Paz via motorway, broken roads, a ferry crossing where the bus goes separately on a wooden raft, and finally across some mountainous roads. On arrival at Copacabana, on the lake shore, we immediately took another ferry to the beautiful island of Isla del Sol, or “Sunshine Island”.

We were immediately met by a series of steep steps from the shore at 3,808 meters, climbing to above 4,000 metres where our hotel was located. Carrying our rucksacks on our back proved a slow affair at this altitude; and was made even harder when we reached the top and realised we could have hired a donkey for £2.50 to take our luggage up the steep hill.

The climb was still well worth it as the island is stunning. There are views down to the deep blue lake, and across to the mainland via other islands, and through to lovely snow-capped mountains. We wanted to trek the three hours across the whole island, but the track was closed due to a long-running dispute amongst the locals over tourism, but we still had a great time there exploring.

We loved our stop on the island with no vehicles and a lovely rural way of life. Copacabana was much busier place as it was the crossing point for backpackers going to Peru, but was fun for the night. After our stay there we flew straight onto Rurranabaque, another backpackers haven with lots of bars, restaurants and hostels.

The journey, via a small turboprop aeroplane, was interesting to say the least as we climbed up over high mountains, with a bit of a wobble, and then descended to almost sea level on a small landing strip in the middle of the jungle. We were met by two small minibuses at the end of the runway and taken to a small hut where we were reunited with our luggage, by hand.

Rurranabaque has a rustic, jungle charm, but the real reason to be here was for the surrounding countryside. In one direction, along three hours of dusty roads, is the pampas; whilst in the other, via four hours on a slow boat, is the jungle. We chose to have three days in each, starting with the pampas.

We arrived at the start of the National Reserve and transferred into small boats with outboard engines which headed off down the river. Our group had four university students from Perth, Scotland, and a Dutch girl, called Liz, as well as the local guide, Roneildo. We would spend the next three days together, including sleeping in the same room just separated by our individual beds and mosquito nets. The food was good, but the accommodation and bathrooms were on the very basic side.

Our first three hours on the boat were amazing. We saw alligator after alligator on the banks and in the water, and then some enormous black caiman too. These would mysteriously head towards the boat and then dip underwater at the last minute, making you wonder where they were. We also saw capybara and so many birds from herons to jungle chickens.

The rest of the time consisted of various activities on or near the water. One included going onto the pampas itself and looking for anacondas or cobras. Paul spotted one in the grass, which Roneildo captured, and which turned out to be two metres long. We also went piranha fishing, when everyone was successful at hauling these things into the boat with a small hook and some beef. We all enjoyed eating them in the evening, fried and with chips.

It was such a great time and we saw some amazing wildlife. But after the pampas, it was time for the jungle. This time we stayed in a quite lovely lodge, a short walk from the river’s edge. It was also rather strange as we actually had the whole lodge, and our guide, Orlando, to ourselves for three days. Our room was on its own out in the jungle, with just mosquito blinds for windows, so we just had the bizarre sounds of the jungle all night to accompany us.

The stay consisted of a series of walks through the dense jungle. Some were during the day, and some, more excitingly, were at night. It was quite eerie and scary walking around following jaguar footprints, and knowing there were plenty of other large animals in the area – especially when you can hear twigs snapping or leaves being trampled on nearby but can’t see anything.

We walked to see a cliff full of holes where scarlet macaws lived, After one trek we built a raft and floated down the river, and were lucky enough to see a very rare otter. We saw the only nocturnal monkeys in the world, as well as howler monkeys. We also saw a possum with his eyes glinting at us from a tree. It was a very special place to be for three days.

We are nearing the end of our time in Bolivia and we have truly been blown away by the country. The people are wonderful, it is relatively inexpensive, but the main thing is the incredible diversity of the place which is about the three times the size of Germany. It has to be on anybody’s list to go to….