| May 4, 2006 - The Jungle near Rurrenabaque, Bolivia
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 | | show all 43 | | Heading out on the Rio Beni towards camp | | View from the boat | | The river again | | |
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| | Internet Movie Clips: | Playback Requirements | | | (MOV - 9.63 MB)
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 | Sneaking up on the wild pigs
| | My tarzan impression
| | In a rush to get to the howler monkeys
| | The howler monkeys in the trees, this is the real sound
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| The town of Rurrenabaque has a permanent population of about 15,000, with an equal number of visitors each year. The most common itinerary for visitors is a combined jungle and pampas tour stretched over five days, and mine was no different. I started with two-day jungle tour on May 3-4.
Because of the timing of my tour, and my arrival in Rurrenabaque via jeep on a day when nobody else was able to get there with planes or buses, I had the extreme fortune of being alone for my jungle tour. It starts out with the task of getting you from the town out the individual settlements in the jungle which each of the different tour operators own. This is down with a lazy yet stunning three-hour ride down the rivers of the Bolivian Amazon, starting with the Beni River, in a dug-out wood boat with a motor on the back. This is typically time for the tour group to meet each other and bond, but again I was by myself, which meant the driver stayed way in the back by the motor, and I was alone with my thoughts and the surroundings up front. With mountains in the distance, lush forest along the shores, and the occasional appearance of some wildlife, it was a really enjoyable ride. It was very peaceful and meditative as well, so much so I dozed for about an hour at one point in the comfy folding chairs on the boat.
Towards the end of the ride we saw some capivada along the shoreline going down for a drink. The capivada is the largest rodent in the world, looking like a cross between a groundhog and a pig. I arrived at camp around lunchtime, and met the group of 10 people who were just finishing their 2-day experience and would be returning on the same boat that brought me out. I ate lunch with them and they did not exactly raise my spirits as they told me of their disappointing walks through the jungle during which they saw no animals and were harassed by bugs and mosquitoes. But after they left, and a quiet calm fell over the camp, I met my guide Senon who offered a different approach to the tour.
He explained that were I willing I could have a fairly unique experience with him out there. Almost always groups arrive in 10 or 12, and they want to joke around and talk throughout their tour. It is for this reason that most people don't see any animals in the jungle for they are so loud and scare any animals away before they are close enough to see them. I could tell this bothered Senon. While many young guides you meet throughout all sorts of tours in South America are in the business just to make some tourist money and to hang out with the exotic gringos, there are the select few who really love their work and care about their surroundings. Senon, and older man who gew up in the area, was certainly one of the latter, and so I sturck gold twice not only with a private tour but also with Senon as my guide. He instructed me to always stay close behind him, not make any unecessary sounds, and basically just do as he says. It sounded like a fine plan to me, and after lunch we got to test our teamwork during our first walk in the area surrounding camp.
Immediately I saw the true brilliance and skill of Senon. While I was lost as soon as camp was out of sight, he of course always knew where we were and how to get back. Over the next 24 hours he had the anwers to every question I could possibly throw at him, with topics ranging from animals and plantlife to weather patterns and the cultural history of the region. We would stop so he could examen footprints in the mud that I couldn't even see, or to listen to how a certain trees branches were swaying which indicated a specifc animal's presence. And to top it all off, he would mimic the call of almost every animal he described which he swore made them less fearful of us and was the key to his success. It was thrilling, and rather than feeling like an over-catered to tourist I really felt as though I was just along for the ride watching Senon interact with the land he loved, finally free to do his thing without the constraints of a large group behind him demanding more results. We would chase the sounds of animals until we were able to see them, and in the lulls he would stop and explain the fascinating vegetation all around us and how the old tribal groups in the area used to use them.
Just minutes into this frist after-lunch walk we found a family of Tejong (the same animal called Coati at the Iguazu falls) up in a tree. They were scared of us, but rather than run down the tree trunk and away from us, they jumped, probably about 25 feet, straight to the ground and without a moment's hesitation were off running out of sight. It was pretty remarkable to see. Soon after that we crept up on a large group of wild pigs, and were able to observe them feeding from behind for a little while until they noticed us and were off. We returned to camp for dinner, and then Senon and I went on a nightime walk along the sand on the shoreline. He was able to point out the eyes of aligators in the distance, and found rabbits and large birds in the shadows of bushes. The real prize would have been a jaguar or a puma, but while we never saw one, he did find a set of fresh jaguar prints that were no more than one day old.
I went to bed that night under my mosquito net alone in a cabin with the sounds of the wild jungle around me singing me to sleep. The next morning after breakfast Senon and I went for our final walk around, and he continued to impress me with his knowledge and skill. Our major feat of the day was finding a family of howler monkeys. Their loud growl can be heard from far away but actually finding which tree they are emanating form and actually spotting one is more difficult. Watch the video and you will hear the eerie presence that these howler monkeys have. We also continued to see many exotic spiders, buterflies, and birds, and we once again found a pack of wild pigs. Senon cold tell I was the curious type so he stopped quite often to show things to me and explain their significance. He told me how a large tree trunk curved at the base (see the pic with me standing in it) could be used as shelter with a small fire at the entrance for protection. He stabbed a tree with his machete, and pointed to the drop of posionous sap that dripped out which old hunters used to use to poison their arrow tips, or drip into ponds to contaminate the water and collect all the fish. He spoke of trees that grow from initially from one small trunk, but then other branches form and grow towards the ground forming new trunks, as the original one dies off, this giving the impression over time of a "walking tree". And of vines that slowly strangle trees, merge together with them, and then become new trees themselves. Trees with thorns and trees with leaves containing a purple dye inside them used for tribal docrations and tattoos. We also saw the acai tree that produces the fruit to make my favorite Brazilian treat, and also produces hearts of palm, whose trunk used to be used to build houses, its leaves for the roof, and its roots crushed in to medicine. And lastly, large Chinta seeds that are collected and cut to make rings out of, and Montacu seeds for necklaces, which is a common practice for tourists on these tours during down time.
We got back from this final walk, and then I had lunch with the incoming group on whose boat I was then going to return to Rurrenabaque. I said goodbye to Senon and thanked him for an incredible time, and then got on the boat. About half way back we encountered another boat that had died and was stranded there, so we took their passengers as well. Back in Rurrenabaque I met back up with the crew from the jeep ride and traded stories about the jungle. They told me the typical bored account of all plants and no animals, while I surprised them with my experiences. Then at night we all went out together to the Mosquito bar, one of the only options for night activity in the little strip of a town that is Rurrenabaque. The next morning we split again for our pampas tours. |
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