By this point, we were slowly crashing after a month and half travelling at a fairly swift pace. It was a rather spectacular place to recover, with the incredible views of the giant lake, flagged by the Cordilleras mountains, some of which are even snow capped. We took a boat (though unfortunately not one of the small traditional reed boats!) from Copacabana over to the Isla del Sol, the mythical birthplace of the sun in Incan mythology. There we witnessed one of the most spectacular sun-set and subsequent -rise I have ever seen, the latter right over the lake from the window of our bedroom. In the morning, we hiked the length of the island from the south, where we had stayed the night, to the north, taking in the scenery and the ruins which are scattered across the island. Observing the life of the locals, who are mainly involved in agriculture, was also interesting. We sampled local (farmed) lake trout at a charming restaurant while the little girl of the place sucked us into a game of cards for her amusement!
Back on the mainland the next day, we made the trek over to Playa Blanca, or White Beach, where several "Floating Islands", traditional large jetties made of the reeds which grow in the shores of the lake, are linked together with small rock islands just off the coast. This aspect was pleasing and pretty, exactly what you picture when reading up on Lake Titicaca. The beach itself is in need of a community clean-up project however, and I can't help but wonder how tourism and growth will change this place: perhaps for the better eventually but in the present pollution seems to pose a major threat.
From Copacabana, we hopped on a bus to La Paz, which was to be our base for several trips in the area surrounding the city. Amazingly, we meet a chap on the little ferry boat we had to take across the lake on who had been in the year above us in school! We hadn't known him well, but considering the small size of our school, it was really quite a coincidence!
When we arrived in La Paz we finally gave in to exhaustion and illness. We allowed ourselves two days to recover, but no more as by the second day we were busily scoping out agencies for various adventures from La Paz. And so by day three, we were busy packing for a boat trip in the Bolivian "pampas".
Out trip started with an early start to La Paz airport (which, interestingly, is very small due to the fact that international departures are so difficult thanks to the altitude playing havoc with the fuel reserves). From there we boarded the smallest commercial plane I have ever seen. There was just a single seat either side of the aisle, and the ceiling was so low that even I, at 5'1, couldn't stand up straight! The views, however, made up for the size of the plane. The mountains surrounding La Paz were beautiful in the morning light, and the scenery slowly changed, though mountain lakes until finally jungle was spread out in front of us.
We arrived in Rurrenabaque, the small jungle town which serves as the base for jungle and pampas tours in the area, and jumped straight into a van which drove us the three hours to Santa Rosa, a village on the edge of the national park where our tour was to take place. The road was awful, especially after the recently, unseasonal, rain however the scenery was incredible: cattle and horses lined the way, both on the side of the road and within the many ranches which I was surprised to find in a jungle setting. After lunch in Santa Rosa, we met out guide at the point where our motorised canoe was moored on the river Beni.
The next three hours were filled with our first taste of the amazing diversity of wildlife we were going to see over the next three days. Within minutes, we had spied turtles, alligators and a veritable menagerie of birds. The bird life included cormorants, kingfishers, egrets, stalks, eagles, vultures (a strange, small species of the family), and many more. Perhaps the strangest were the Huapsin, a prehistoric bird with red eyes and a blue head lined with spike in what can only be described as resembling a Mohican.
Out of the reptiles, the black caiman was certainly the most impressive. They grow up to 6-8 m long, and are capably of inflicting real damage in defence. We had one lying right on the edge of our lodge, where we stayed two nights and managed to take some fantastic pictures right up close to it! However, the sheer number of alligators which we saw is also very impressive, and it was very interesting watching their temperature regulation methods (sunbathing; opening their mouths; and submersion in the water).
When we first arrived in the camp, we had a lovely surprise as a group of monkeys were lining the trees, as if to meet us! They really are incredible creatures, the way they are able to jump so gracefully between the branches. They seemed less special the following morning when a Howler Monkey woke us up at 5am! Another incredible land based mammal we saw was the capybara which is like an oversized guinea pig!
We watched the sunset from a specific post each night we spent in the pampas and they were really beautiful. One morning we also awoke early to catch the sun rise, which all agreed, strangely, to be reminiscent of the opening scene of the Lion King! On the way back from our sunset location, we were able to spot the eyes of the reptiles lying in wait using torches which make them shine brightly.
We spent most of the trip cruising up and down the river letting the scenery sink in and watching the wildlife. One morning however was spent hiking through the pampas itself in wellies searching for anacondas. We were extremely lucky (as I heard that other groups were not) and our guide was able to find and catch one of the snakes. The was only little however we were able to appreciate how soft the skin was (after "washing" our hands in the filty pampas water in order to remove the harmful sun cream and DEET insect repellent stuck to them).
Perhaps the most exciting part of our trip however involved climbing into the thick, brown water of the river and swimming around with a group of pink river dolphins. They too were surprisingly soft, and very playful! It was my first time swimming with any type of dolphin, an one I will certainly not forget. I was concerned about touching them, and harming them however thy came straight up to us. I did not condone the actions of some of the other tourists, who went as far as catching and holding their tails for pictures!
All too soon, it was time to head back to Rurrenabaque. The van ride back was even worse than the one out, as we had rain en route. The 180 degree skids were particularly fun! We made it back safe and sound however and were able to enjoy a shower after the oppressive stickiness of the pampas.
We spent one night in Rurrenabaque before jumping on the plane back to La Paz, and the cold! Unfortunately, we then had another illness scare (specifically a suspected, but eventually ruled out DVT in me), which delayed our next adventure by another day. However, we missed awful weather and eventually survived cycling down the so called "Death Road". The ride was fantastic, lots of down hill with fun corners and the road is very bumby the whole way. The full suspension on the bikes was very much appreciated! We saw the place where the Top Gear team got two cars to pass alongside each other and I have to say, I don't know how they did it! It really was an incredible thing to have accomplished, and I am so glad we did it!
We are now planning our trip down through Bolivia, with Sucre firmly in our sights. I hope to keep you posted soon of our next movements.
Lots of love, Emma xxx
Another wonderful account of your travels! How frightening about the DVT scare. It must have been very scary.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for keeping us posted and up to date with your attest adventures. It's a wonderful tale.