The Amazon rainforest covers about 40% of South America, so a trip to the continent is not complete without visiting the Amazon. The majority of the rainforest (60%) lies within Brazil, yet we opted for a two-day visit of the Amazon while in Bolivia because we found it to be more economical and more remote.
From La Paz a 30-minute flight brought us to Rurrenabaque, from where a three-hour boat ride took us to our lodge in Madidi National Park, which is part of the Amazon. Beware the often delayed early morning flight uses a tiny propellor aircraft, which makes for a very uncomfortable ride. Nevertheless, it beats taking an 18-hour bus ride through the jungle.
Day 1
Exhausted and hungry, we arrived around noon at our lodge. We were plesantly surprised by our lunch and fresh juices provided, however a bit underwhelmed by our (even for Amazon standards) basic small room. Luckily, due to some issues with the room we were upgraded by the friendly owner to a nice spacious room about five minutes away from the main logde. This created a sense of privacy and total immersion as we could see small wildlife from our bed. The fact that it had a private ensuite bathroom was also appreciated as we weren’t too thrilled about going out in the middle of the night after seeing a snake.
Another benefit of choosing this particular lodge is that it provided us with a private guide, who tailored the hikes based on our preferences. Immediatly after lunch we went on our first hike to a viewpoint. It took us about three hours to complete, but the view was well worth it. Soon it was time for dinner, which was equally delicious as lunch. After dinner we decided put on some rainboots and join the other two couples for a night hike, where we observed more nocturnal animals such as bats, a lot of spiders, some species of frogs, and insects.
Day 2
Well rested, the second day we decided to go on a two and half hour medicine trail, were our knowledgable guide pointed out a variety of trees that had medicinal purposes. It was impressive learning the various ways the indigenous people utilized their environment, as it seemed almost all trees had practical use. We came across a lot of tries which helped agains colds, fevers, and digestive problems. However, our guide also pointed out a garlic tree, whose bark was turned into ash and used as detergent, trees combating fertility problems, as well a funky tree containing what looked like cotton swabs and actually are used for ear-related issues.
The second part of the day we chose to go piranha fishing. We took a boat across the lake and hiked a more remote trail, which brought us to a lake in the middle of the forest known to harbor these vicious cratures. At first not much was happening, but when we moved a bit further away they started to bite. Due to the simple fishing equipment, most of them were able to eat the bait without getting caught. On our second attempt we almost caught one, however it was quite powerful and flipped itself back into safety before we were able get it on land. Although we decided a career in fishing was not in our future, we found it entertaining. After yet another delicious lunch, it was time for the boat ride back to Rurrenabaque where this time a much nicer and bigger plane awaited to take us back to La Paz.
