A half-hour flight from La Paz lands us on the tiny airstrip in the frontier town of Rurrenabaque, gateway to the Amazon jungle. In we go.
The Bolivian Amazonia’s most notable community-based ecotourism project is Chalalan Ecolodge where we will stay for three days and three nights. The Lodge fronts a wildlife rich lake five hours by boat up the Rio Tuichi from Rurre. Since 1995 it has provided employment for the Tacana villagers of San Jose de Uchupiamonas and is often cited as a model for sustainable tourism, with the profits going directly back into the community.
We made it! Sandi is creepy-crawler ready, covered from head to toe despite the sweltering heat and humidity. It’s still a 20-minute hike through the jungle to the Lodge.
Our dark, rustic, Tacana-style, thatched roof cabin is home for the next three nights. Sandi is a little dismayed when she finds out there is no electricity to run her hair dryer and no hot water to shower and a lot dismayed when Tim finds a three inch spider on the floor.
After a local dinner of catfish and vegetables we are shown one of the villages customs to honour Pachamama (mother earth) which involves breaking up and sprinkling coca leaves outside while downing a good shot of jus de alcohol.
Into the jungle with our trusted guide Norman, in search of anything that moves. Chalalan Ecolodge is located in Madidi National Park which hosts approximately 900 species of birds, 156 species of mammals, 71 species of reptiles and thousands of rare plants. There’s a jaguar population and the park is also home to the spectacled bear, numerous monkey species and harpy eagles. It is one of the most diverse ecosystems on earth.
Smelly wild pigs have poor eyesight and hearing and cross our path unawares.
A Red Brockett Deer doesn’t seem to mind us either.
The jungle canopy is thick as we make our way through narrow paths.
A beautiful flower shows off the colours of the Bolivian flag.
Dr. Seuss would have liked the Hoatzin with it’s big eyes and plumed head feathers.
Many Yellow Squirrel Monkeys swing and dart from branch to branch.
Cappucine Monkeys too.
The dock of the Lodge as we return by boat across the lake.
A poisonous spider feasts on a scorpion.
Night crawler spottings include tarantulas and other poisonous spiders, frogs and caiman alligators. Needless to say we are relieved when this walk is over but relief turns to horror for Sandi the next morning when she discovers ticks found their way up to her “honey pot”.
Tarzan Tim stands next to a walking palm, a strange tree with it’s roots above ground.
Midway back on the boat ride to Rurrenabaque we stop and hike into the jungle again, this time to see dozens of colourful parrots nesting in holes in a cliff.
