Entering the Pampas

After arriving at the river we were greeted by Yasmani, our guide who did not speak a word of English. When we scheduled our trip in La Paz we were promised to have an English speaking guide. We were also told that our group would consist of 6 people, the 3 of us and 3 Australians. Lies, Lies, Lies!

Our group consisted of the 3 of us, Vladd from Australia (who had just broken his arm and elbow biking down the world´s most dangerous road in La Paz), 3 Chilean boys and a couple from Switzerland. Although we were not happy campers to find out Yas did not speak any English, it actually worked out just fine because of the Chilean boys were able to translate everything for us.

We had a great group, which made the next 3 days an amazing experience. Our pampas tour began with a relaxing 3 hour trip up the Beni river. As we meandered up the narrow river we spotted tons of wildlife. 100´s of types of colorful birds, playful pink river dolphins, noisy howler monkeys, the angry eyes of caiman and the friendly capiberra´s who look like giant guinea pigs were just a few of the animals we saw on the journey up the river. The reason I choose to do the pampas tour instead of the jungle tour was because of the animals you get to see. It´s easier to see wildlife in the wetland savannas northeast of town rather than going deep inland into the jungle. The sacrifice you make is having to deal with the harsh sun and 1,000´s of biting mosquito's who breed on the river, especially this time of year during rainy season.

After a hot 3 hours on the river we arrived at our camp and were greeted by Pepe, the pet alligator. Pepe was one of the largest gators I saw the entire trip and he lived right next to our dock! He even came by name and would often come to shore for a snack and some photo opps. Our camp consisted of several 3 bed cabins each equipped with a very hard mattress and mosquito nets. There were also several out houses with running water (very cold water!), a dining hall and a hut filled with hammocks.

The food was surprisingly good and consisted of pasta, chicken, rice and potatoes. The first night there we went by boat to the ¨sunset bar¨ this was simply another camp just like ours but it severed cold beer for 20 bolivianos. After a beautiful sunset we headed back to camp for dinner and bed.