Being on the boat was like being transported back in time to the 1920s or something and was very romantic. What a great way to travel a river. I could not help but think of the larger boats that used to travel the great rivers of northern BC, the Nechako and the Fraser. The food was great and after some roughing it here in Bolivia, it felt pretty decadent on the boat.
We saw monkey and river dolphins - these fresh water dolphins are very curious and came near the boat to check us out. The nights on the boat are full of jungle sounds. The diversity of life is astounding. The Mamore River flows through the Beni region of Bolivia, a low-lying area. During the rainy season - which will commence this month or next - much of the jungle in close proximity to the river - is completely flooded & then only accessed by canoe rather than foot.
The people (many of whom still live very traditional lives near the river and utilize dugout canoes with small engines to transport items) are fairly nomadic and their traditional houses are built up on stilts which serves the dual purpose of keeping critters out & dealing with rising waters during the rainy season.
It was hard to leave the boat and head back into Trinidad to catch the 10 hour night bus back to Santa Cruz. Here we are back on shore with the people & parrots relocating, probably from more rural areas into the larger urban areas (a continuing trend in Bolivia).
We then headed to Buena Vista, a small town on the road between Santa Cruz and Cochabamba. Buena Vista serves as a good launching point for a tour into the tropical side of massive Parque Amboro. To get into the park requires at least 4 river crossings with a couple of them being quite major rivers. No bridges... the vehicles (and horses) simply go right through the water so needless to say, during the rainy season, this road becomes impassable for a period of time (other than by canoe).
We went into the park for 2 days with a guide and stayed in a tent at a very rustic camp spot inside the park. We were actually camping right in the jungle with all sorts of creepy-crawlies crawling all over the outside of the tent and around the outside.
Bug-adverse people may not care for the experience all that much. It seemed like we had the whole place to ourselves -- other than the bugs & other jungle creatures. Here are only a few of the many butterflies we encountered.
This park is home to quite a few swimmable river holes and gorgeous waterfalls. Here is a particularly delightful spot where we enjoyed a marvellous swim - much needed in the hot humid jungle climate.
The trees of the jungle have so much character - here is a bibosi tree with its interesting roots growing all over the place and of course we saw many walking trees, those trees that seem almost to wander around the jungle floor in search of water, with their root system functioning as a kind of set of legs.
The creatures that dwell in the jungle are magical and diverse....
we even encountered one large white flying creature (about the size of a bat) that our guide did not know - maybe a vibora cucu (unfortunately I did not get a picture!)
Then back to Buena Vista where we stayed at a community-run (rustic) ecoalberque, Candeleria. Just down the road was a swimming pool & organic fair trade coffee plantation.... here I am enjoying a Buena Vista cappucino. Yum!
Yesterday we were lucky to get through a massive road blockade between Buena Vista and Santa Cruz. Some mototaxi operators are protesting extra fees they must now pay.... they shut down the entire highway and many people were stranded on the side of the hot highway for hours and hours so we were lucky to get through. But now, for the time-being, we are sort of trapped in the city of Santa Cruz (blockades on several routes out of here) so for now....
we are just hanging out.
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