Anaconda Hunting in the Amazon Basin

November 17-22, 2007

Before you start reading this blog please get your ipod out, turn it to Guns & Roses - Welcome to the Jungle and press play. Sorry about overloading you with pickies but we just couldn´t choose which ones not to include!

We left La Paz in a small eighteen seater plane bound for Rurrenabaque, a small community on the Beni River, in the Amazon Basin of northern Bolivia. Flights can only operate in certain weather since the runway is made of grass and clay. Given that it´s creeping into the wet season, we were lucky to have some dry weather, even if there were hovering black clouds in the sky. We all made jokes to ease the tension as we boarded the small plane, thinking there was no way we´d make it to Rurre alive. But we did!

We were given the impression that it would get quite cold in the jungle so we came prepared. It was hot and humid the whole time we were there. Our first night we sweltered in our room with mosquito netting for windows and the fan going (when the electricity was actually working). The first night also happened to be the annual community celebration which mean families and kids playing in the streets, people marching with lanterns and street bands playing into the night.

We set off for the pampas the next morning. There are two popular tours from Rurre. A jungle tour and a pampas tour. The main difference is the pampas has less trees, more grass land and is less dense. Because of this it´s more likely you will see the animals and that is what we were here for.

The first leg of the journey was in the back of a ´Toyosa´ 4WD, three hours down a dusty, bumpy, rocky road. Every time we passed another vehicle the driver would rest his hand on the severely cracked windscreen as if to protect it against further onslaught!

We were lucky to have a very diverse and good tour grop and a friendly, knowledgable, local leader called Jazmani. He grew up in a tribe in the Bolivian jungle and has been a tour guide for nine years. His documents say he´s 26 but he doesn´t know for sure and he doesn´t have a birthday. He had two years of schooling as we know it, and now speaks five languages including English and Hebrew. In our group we had two Swedes, two Japonese, two Israelis, one Norwegian, one Icelander and of course two bloody Aussies.

Once we were out of the 4WD we jumped into a long wooden boat with an outboard on the back. We had a three hour journey up stream, stopping regularly and going nice and slow so our cameras could snap away at all the fascinating wildlife we saw along the river. We saw alligators and black caiman, poised for attack on the bank or lurking in the water with their eyes and nose showing. Turtles piled up on top of each other on logs. Squirrel monkeys that came up to the boat and ate bananas from our hands. Big, fat, hairy capibaras which kind of look like wombats but are massive rodents. And loads of birds including stalks, cranes, cormorants, king fishers, parrots, tucans, fishing eagles. This was just the beginning.

Our camp was one of a few ecolodges that line the banks of the river a good distance from each other. It was a small wooden village built off the ground with simple beds with lots of mozzie netting and plenty of hammocks. After dinner and before sleep we went out to watch the sunset and play some football and volleyball with the locals. The football was Bolivia v The World and despite having more players we still lost 4-1. We tried using the common excuse of the altitude used by visiting nations in Bolivia, but it didn´t really hold strong since we were only at about 100m above sea level!

Once the sun was down we were back on the river to witness teh nocturnal side of the pampas. Lots of beedy, red eyes peeping just over the level of the water. It was pretty hard to capture on camera though! You´ll just have to trust us that the red spots are alligator eyes. Our guide was a very experienced croc hunter and managed to wrestle and capture one on the bank. We couldn´t help feeling a bit sorry for it though with cameras in it´s face and flashes going off left, right and centre.

Day two, after a healthy and hearty jungle breakfast we donned our gummies and went anaconda hunting!!! (Much to Fi´s delight given that she is the most ´snakephobic´ person in Bolivia at the moment). Anaconda hunting involves walking around in murky swamp land for about 4-5 hours amongst tall grass with mud and water sometimes waste high. The hunter often feels the anaconda before they see it. Apparently only small anacondas (3-4m long) live close to the river. The big ones (9-10m long who are capable of eating alligators and humans) were further into the pampas so we wouldn´t be getting too dangerous! We got lucky. About 20 minutes in we found an anaconda. Again we had to feel sorry for the poor thing given the onslaught of cameras. We would have been suspicious of it being a pet snake since we found one so soon, if Davo hadn´t have been right behind the guide when he caught it. So the swamp land only got knee deep at most and the walking was less than an hour. Lucky us.

This gave us time to go swimming with the pink dolphins before lunch. I know what you´re thinking... There are alligators and anacondas around, why were we swimming in the river? Well, we haven´t told you about the pirahnas yet! But it´s ok. Anacondas only live beyond the river. When dolphins are around the alligators are not... apparenlty. And the dolphins eat pirahnas so there is no threat of being eaten alive. But simple logic tells us that if dolphins eat pirahnas then they must be in the same place at some point in time? Anyway, we came away in one piece. The dolphins did get a little bit frisky, splashing us a few times because we were in their territory. They were also hard to photograph so you´ll just have to trust that we don´t do drugs and they really do have a pink tinge!

After lunch we went pirahna fishing using small lines, blunt hooks and alligator meat. Fi was the champion, perfecting the whoopering technique flinging the pirahnas into the boat. She definitely came away with bragging rights as Davo only caught one! They were fiesty little things too, bites were frequent as they were attracted to the raw meat but snagging them was another thing. In the pampas there are four species of pirahna - black, white, red and yellow. They don´t get much bigger than the size of your hand but they work in large groups. They are attracted to blood and are capable of cleaning up an injured person in a matter of minutes. But with these little guys you´d have to be very incapable or very stupid to find yourself in that situation. Most people would be able to get out of the water before any serious damage was done.

We had the last laugh and ate the pirahnas for dinner rather than the other way around. The were small and bony but tasty.

Day three, we were up and about at sunrise to wake up with the pampas before our guide shared another of his skills that he´d learned as a young fella in the jungle - jewelery making He made us beautiful necklaces using seeds from the pampas and alligator teeth. We also went for a walk through some of the pampas which was a bit more like what you´d expect in the jungle so we could appreciate some of the flora. We saw some special orchids, plants and trees including the curare which is used for making poisonous darts and anaesthetics. Three drops of the sap would be enough to induce a slow and painful death to a fully grown human. We also got a good dose of mozzies.

We didn´t see any jaguars in the flesh, but our guide heard them close to the camp during one night. The howler monkeys produced an equally frightening sound but they are less threatening in the flesh.

From here we made the boat and 4WD journey back to Rurre. Fi nearly jumped out of her skin when the Toyosa almost ran over a rattle snake poised to strike. She was sure the snake experiences were over! We had one more animal experience left which would be finding the small ticks attached to our bodies when we got home to Rurre.

We had been blessed with beautiful weather for the three days in the pampas but were met by some seriously fearsome rain clouds before reaching Rurre as our lucky streak wore out. This also delayed our mini flight back to La Paz by a bit over a day. But we weren´t too worried. We spent a full day lying around in the hammocks, relaxing, which is what we´re doing now as we scribe this entry about to jump on a tiny plane and risk our lives again.

Welcome to Bolivia

November 16-17, 2007

Welcome to Bolivia. Here´s a five course meal, salad, soup, main course, dessert and tea or coffee for 16Bs (1 pound)! We love Bolivia already!

It´s not only because it´s cheap that we love it. It´s the atmosphere, the friendliness of the locals, the dirty streets, the colours, it´s the vibe!

We arrived in La Paz by plane via the highest airport in the world at about 4000m. The moment you step off the plane you can feel your breathing rate increase. Walking up five steps is a struggle. The drive from the airport into town is pretty special. You drive over a plateau 4000m high which overlooks the entire city, situated in a crater below at about 3600m. The view with the mountains dominating in the background is awesome.

We didn´t stay in La Paz long though, first time around. The next day we were on a small flight to the jungle!

Santiago For a Day

November 15-16, 2007

Firstly, the bus trip from Bariloche across the Andes to Osorno, Chile was great. We wove up and down the mountains, through heaps of snow and past a few massive volcanos. (Inactive at the time - yes mum´s... we were nowhere near the recent eruption in northern Chile).

Davo´s trusty hiking shoes, that were well and truly past their glory days, somehow managed to stay in Osorno as we changed buses and began the overnight journey to Santiago, the capital of Chile.

Nearly everyone we´ve spoken to about Santiago has advised us to spend no longer than a few days there at most. It´s smoggy, dirty, unsafe and just another big city. But being the kind people we are we thought we´d give it a chance (for one day!) Our main reason of coming here was to catch a flight to La Paz in Bolivia.

We jumped off the bus at about 7.30am, dumped our packs in storage and hit the metro for peak hour. The trains came at least every minute and each one was jam packed. They even have security guards to help push people in so the doors can close. We waited for the fourth train and found a little bit of space. One friendly local, an attorney named Cristian, realised we were English speakers and began a conversation. Next thing we were getting a guided tour of the supreme court of Chile.

Cristian left us to our own devises after giving us a few tips of things to do and see, since he actually had some work to do for the day. We climbed a few hills which gave spectacular views of the city. Apart from the thick smog, it was a beautifully clear day. Even though we were looking out over masses of steel, concrete and glass, it still managed to appear beautiful in a way. (Maybe the bottle of wine we had with our picnic lunch helped!)

The Mapocho River has to be one of the fastest flowing suburban rivers in the world. We had flower races and Fi´s won. (Davo´s drowned in two seconds.) This episode was before lunch so we can´t blame the wine.

The Mercado Central was a bit of a letdown. It was fish day and the place reaked and was full of midges and stray dogs. But still worth a look around. The fresh strawberries and cherries we scored were sensational.

The only time we came close to being mugged was when a bunch of young school kids walked past us as we were resting in a park and wanted to stop and speak to us in English. They nagged their teacher to let them stay and chat, but ´hello´ and ´goodbye´ was about all they were allowed to get away with.

After a few fruit smooties and empanadas in the ´Bohemian´ area called Barrio Brasil, we were back on the busy metro and out to the airport to spend the night and catch our early morning flight to La Paz. It´s hard to sum up a place after barely a day, but we reckon Santiago is alright.

Ruta 40 and Bariloche

November 9-14, 2007

We caught the first bus of the season up Ruta 40 from El Chalten to Bariloche. The road closes during winter due to snow, mud and undrivable conditions on the gravel road. It´s a two day bus trip stopping overnight in Perito Moreno, an isolated town twelve hours north of El Chalten and twelve hours south of Bariloche. The journey gets talked up a fair bit by locals and tourists. We think it was just a bit bumpier, slower and more boring than our other bus trips through Patagonia. There´s no doubt however that the scenery is magnificent.

On the second day of the trip the scenery which we were getting quite used to in Patagonia began to change. The endless bleak desert terrain, mostly uninhabited (except for sheep and guanacos) slowly became the green and lush Lake District. Many farms, poplar trees, paved roads and civilization. The one aspect of the scenery that remained constant were the Andes. The massive snow capped mountains out our left hand side window.

Bariloche is a very popular holiday destination for Argentinians and foreigners. Popular activities include skiiing in the winter, fishing, horse riding, white water rafting, bike riding, canyoning, trekking and camping. We chose not to do any of these things and just chill for a few days.

Bariloche is also famous for it´s chocolate. This is one activity we didn´t avoid! There is a strong Swiss influence in the area, including a small townn called Colonia Suiza and perhaps this has something to do with the chocolate fad. One day we planned to have a chocolate fondue. That is until we realised we could buy a kilo of chocolate for the same price. The chocolate shops work by having all sorts of assorted chocolates on display and you can pick and choose any that you like and pay by the kilo. Some of our favourites were the alcohol filled chocolates (baileys, cointreau, johhnie walker black label), the orange twists (strips of real orange covered in dark chocolate), rama (like flakes but better) and the dulce de leche balls. Dulce de leche is everywhere in Argentina. It´s basically caramel and you either love it or you don´t. Davo loves it. Fi doesn´t.

We did manage to get ourselves into gear for one day and did a bit of walking in the bush. We also climbed a popular chairlift which gives some of the best panaramic views of the Lake District.

For any backpackers who plan to go to Bariloche, Marcopolo Inn is a good place to chill and we were stoked to get good free dinners which helped get our budget back on track.

El Chalten, Argentina

November 4-9, 2007

From Puerto Natales in Chile we went north via El Calafate and on to El Chalten, a tiny pueblo in the middle of the Andes. We arrived just after sunset and as the bus drove over the crest and we could see the lights of El Chalten, there were a few giggles from the passangers. Simply because it was tiny and cute and set amongst the massive mountains of the Fitz Roy range.

Someone forgot to tell us there was no bank in town so we rocked up with about $60 pesos (10 quid!) Luckily the hostel accepted credit card and we found some friends who were able to exchange some foreign currency for us.

As a tourist, all there is to do around El Chalten is get amongst the mountains and glaciers.

Day 1, Davo went trekking with Tyler, a new American friend from Seattle. The visibility was average and we got snowed on. But that didn´t stop our optimism as we pulled out a deck of cards and chewed on some empanadas as we waited for it to clear. Didn´t happen! We also learnt that Tyler is a good friend of the only person we know from Seattle. Small world.

Fi, meanwhile, was back in the cosy warmth of the hostel having a day of rest. She ran into our staulker frineds Anna and Mike whom we first met in Rio.

They generously offered us their camping gear so we could endure another night freezing our tits off camping under falling snow in the Andes. We were blessed with pretty good weather for most of the time between snow storms. This offered some beautiful views of the massive granite towers, deep blue fresh water lakes, blue grey glacier rivers and lakes and one frozen snow covered lake.

The new addition to crazy wildlife spotted on our trip was the woodpecker. We were introduced to our first one by a camera happy tourist. But from then on our ears were pricked and we became expert woodpecker finders! The damage they do to the trees was amazing.

Inspired by a fellow trekker who spotted puma tracks in the snow, we went on a bit of a puma hunt but it was fruitless. May be a good thing since we didn´t have Fi´s mum or her trusty 410 with us.

We mentioned earlier that the world is small. We were again reminded this as Davo was walking down the main street of El Chalten and he saw a funny looking bloke gauking at him from the other side of a cafe window. Moments later he was giving Ben a big bear hug. Ben is the brother of Tom, our good friend from Felsted, England. Both of whom Davo went to the Glastonbury festival with earlier in the year.

We had a celebratory dinner that night which doubled as a farewell to the staulkers Anna and Mike since our paths were not going to cross again in our South American adventures.

We did a day trek on our fourth and final day which pretty much exhausted our energy reserves to the point that our legs just wouldn´t go any further unless we fed them cold beers with pizza topped with Patagonian lamb followed by quince and cheese on bread and finally home-made lemon meringue pie. We couldn´t disobey our hard working legs!

Chilly Chile

November 1-4, 2007

After arriving in El Calafaté, Argentina we learnt a bit more about getting between places in Patagonia. The first bus of the season to head north up the western border of Argentina and the fabled Ruta 40 through the Andes wasn´t until November 9. So we had a bit of time up our sleaves and decided to head south to Chile for a few days.

So it turns out that our new most southern point reached on our travels was to be Puerto Natales, a small, quiet, fishing port town and the base for most Torres del Paine adventurers. We experienced a slow bus trip along the gravel roads with sheep grids as well as another border crossing. We´ve finally found another country (Chile) who seems to take customs and quarantine seriously.


Torres del Paine is a national park famous for trekking, climbing, camping and wind that can snap femurs and blow over public telephone boxes. The weather is extremely unpredictable and we weren´t entirely prepared for the conditions we were about to experience. We rented a tent, sleeping bags and mats and a stove, packed our thermals and two minute noodles and caught the early bus into the national park for a day of trekking and a night of camping in the Andes.

We were treated to some beautiful scenery on the drive in, guanacos running around the breathtaking mountains with rainbows stretching across the sky. Our plan was to do a day trek, about 8 hours, up to Las Torres (the three towers) which are 3 massive granite pillars that reach up about 2500m.

Since the days are long (sun gets up around 6.00 and sets around 10.00) we had plenty of daylight to achieve this feet even though we only set off after setting up camp and eating lunch at around midday.


Unfortunately the spectacle which we climbed four hours and a lot of metres to see was covered in a screen of grey cloud and snow. The snow storm was pretty constant over the hour or so it took us to scramble up the rocks to the major view point. Fi was regretting her decision to send home her warm wet weather jacket which got her through the English winter. She was left with eight layers, the outer most being a spray jacket only just adequate for these conditions. Davo was in his Oringi calving jacket so we both looked a bit out of place compared to most other trekkers decked out in all ´the gear´ from The North Face or Kathmandu and the likes.

Despite not seeing the towers up close, it was still a great hike and we had plenty of fun scrambling down the rockes eating chocolate with our hands in our pockets trying to bring back the warmth. We were even offering other trekkers up to $100,000 pesos 100 pound for a pair of gloves. Some how we don´t think the experience of trekking in the Andes in southern Patagonia would be the same if we didn´t get cold and snowed on.

We appreciated the hot soup and two minute noodles before settling in our tent for the night.


The following day was almost perfectly clear. This was partially heart-breaking but also great because we got to at least see the three towers from a distance and we had arranged to do a mini bus tour around other parts of the park since we were strapped for time. We were treated to some brilliant snow covered mountains, waterfalls, glaciers and lakes with floating icebergs. We saw more condors circling the valleys, Magellan or Upland geese who seem to always be paired up, male (the beautiful white and black colour) and female (ugly plain browns and greys).


It was a nice short taste of Chile. Speaking of tastes, their beer was nice, called Austral. The following day we were back on the bus up the same rocky road back to Argentina.