We actually didn't start this trip right away because Mr. Korpalski got the worst hangover of his life, partly due to the incredible altitude of La Paz, partly due to some free Bolivian rum...
But after a day of rest we were already on our way to Rurenabake, the gateway town to the Mididi Forest Reserve---The Bolivian Rainforest!!! The road to Rure is 18 hours, winding down the backside of La Paz, where on one side you find a barren cold desert, and on the other, a lush tropical rainforest...amazing.
As the bus rumbled down the canyon the air began to get hot and dense. People began to open windows and we passed lazy jungle towns nestled in the canyon. Finally! After weeks of mountain cold, we were going to get some real warm weather!
As the bus rumbled down the canyon the air began to get hot and dense. People began to open windows and we passed lazy jungle towns nestled in the canyon. Finally! After weeks of mountain cold, we were going to get some real warm weather!
We arrived in Rure at 6 in the morning and found a great hostal with a lovely courtyard and hammocks to relax on. We stripped to our summer clothes, took a cat nap and then struck out to find some lunch.
It didn't escape my attention that the heat in town was sweltering by 11:30am--the kind of heat that sinks to your bones and makes you sweat from every pore. 5 minutes and all you want is something cold to drink...But there was no time to relax...the next morning we began our 6 day camping trip into the heart of the Mididi Reserve...home to thousands of plant and animal species, 3 rivers, small groups of indigenous farmers, and hot hot heat!
In hte Mididi, everyone must have a guide with them, and most companies have simple 'albuerges' set up by the river, for tourists to stay in. They usually consist of a scattering of reed huts, outdoor bathrooms (with no water in the dry season) and a kitchen. We took a wood motor boat on the shallow Rio Bene up to the Rio Tuitchi where our albuerge was. There we unloaded supplies and found our nice little dirt floor hut, equipped with beds and mosquito nets, hammocks in the trees, and a few other travellers lounging in the afternoon heat. We began hiking after lunch, and Renaldo, our guide, took us out on the little path behind hte albuergue and showed us some common trees and a few birds...and that's when my dreams for tropical tranquility ended......
Something about the heat, water and soil incubated one of the most amazing masses of useful plants I have ever seen in my entire life; rubber trees, seeds that make soap, a viagra tree, tree bark for your stomach, leaves that open up into chinese fans, chocolate, dyes, ropes, hair conditioner...no lie..everything is right there in front of you....
That being said...the same conditions that are perfect for growing the most amazing plants, are also perfect for breeding the most amazing amount of insects you've ever seen. They outnumber everything and the second you begin to sweat---which is every second--the flies are there to lick it up. Renaldo was born and raised in the jungle, only a mile away from where we were. He knows the forest like the back of his hand-how to
bushwack through the vines to find random trails, where the fresh water is, what trees and plants were used for what... He could recognize an animal by the sound of it's movements. He not only didn't seem to mind the insects, but they didn't really seem to take notice of him either! They were gourmet bugs..they like the imported stuff....
Now, I'm not a great adventurer but I enjoy camping and hiking..but doing so in La Selva---that is another story! Screw the altitude..the jungle beats the highest mountain with the shear volume of heat and bugs raining down on you all the time!
By early morning we would already be breaking a sweat, and I could time my breakdowns to the hour...12pm....{BRAAAD!!! THEY ARE IN MY EARS! AHHHHHHH!! I'm walking back to the albuergue..NO MORE!!!} And he would give me a sticky hug and remind me that it was just a couple days and we'd be glad we did stuck it out...Mornings we'd wake up under our little mosquito nets, eat, and hike for several hours..be sweating within 10 minutes..then stop for lunch..tired...sticky..and then...the bugs would come! In the forest it was the mosquitos and bees (with no stinger)that swarm everything. The second you stop moving it begins--a buzzing in the ear, a fly in your eye, then pretty soon your backpacks are covered! On the beach it was the flies and biting sand flies that liked you for a snack. I learned fast that the only safe place to be was in the river where the water was cool, and the bugs couldn't get you!
In hte Mididi, everyone must have a guide with them, and most companies have simple 'albuerges' set up by the river, for tourists to stay in. They usually consist of a scattering of reed huts, outdoor bathrooms (with no water in the dry season) and a kitchen. We took a wood motor boat on the shallow Rio Bene up to the Rio Tuitchi where our albuerge was. There we unloaded supplies and found our nice little dirt floor hut, equipped with beds and mosquito nets, hammocks in the trees, and a few other travellers lounging in the afternoon heat. We began hiking after lunch, and Renaldo, our guide, took us out on the little path behind hte albuergue and showed us some common trees and a few birds...and that's when my dreams for tropical tranquility ended......Something about the heat, water and soil incubated one of the most amazing masses of useful plants I have ever seen in my entire life; rubber trees, seeds that make soap, a viagra tree, tree bark for your stomach, leaves that open up into chinese fans, chocolate, dyes, ropes, hair conditioner...no lie..everything is right there in front of you....
That being said...the same conditions that are perfect for growing the most amazing plants, are also perfect for breeding the most amazing amount of insects you've ever seen. They outnumber everything and the second you begin to sweat---which is every second--the flies are there to lick it up. Renaldo was born and raised in the jungle, only a mile away from where we were. He knows the forest like the back of his hand-how to
bushwack through the vines to find random trails, where the fresh water is, what trees and plants were used for what... He could recognize an animal by the sound of it's movements. He not only didn't seem to mind the insects, but they didn't really seem to take notice of him either! They were gourmet bugs..they like the imported stuff....Now, I'm not a great adventurer but I enjoy camping and hiking..but doing so in La Selva---that is another story! Screw the altitude..the jungle beats the highest mountain with the shear volume of heat and bugs raining down on you all the time!
By early morning we would already be breaking a sweat, and I could time my breakdowns to the hour...12pm....{BRAAAD!!! THEY ARE IN MY EARS! AHHHHHHH!! I'm walking back to the albuergue..NO MORE!!!} And he would give me a sticky hug and remind me that it was just a couple days and we'd be glad we did stuck it out...Mornings we'd wake up under our little mosquito nets, eat, and hike for several hours..be sweating within 10 minutes..then stop for lunch..tired...sticky..and then...the bugs would come! In the forest it was the mosquitos and bees (with no stinger)that swarm everything. The second you stop moving it begins--a buzzing in the ear, a fly in your eye, then pretty soon your backpacks are covered! On the beach it was the flies and biting sand flies that liked you for a snack. I learned fast that the only safe place to be was in the river where the water was cool, and the bugs couldn't get you!
On our 3rd night, we made camp in the middle of the forest near a running stream. In the hottest part of hte day the crickets begin to hum in the trees, and they sing so lludly you sometems have to cover your ears. We had just come back after watching the parrots fly home at sunset. It is beautiful to watch them flying, always in twos, the most brightly colored animals in the forest. After dinner I went down to the stream to try to wash off a little, when I saw two gleaming eyes on the ground in front of me...I knew before i shined the light on it what it was...a tarantuala hte size of my fist!!...sitting there motionless on some dried palm fronds in the path. I walked a wide circle around it, came to the shore and there on the rock next to my foot was another giant spider! I gave him a wide birth too...washed up as fast as possible and ran back as fast as i could in my flips flops. ahhh La Selva!
It was fro
m the safety of the cool river water that i found myself really appreciating the jungle...the multi-colored parrots living in the clay walls of hte canyon, the wild pigs, the howler monkeys, the poisonous snakes, the aligators, the amazing trees...there is no place like this on earth. I really felt priviledged to have a guide so knowledgable about our surroundings. On our last day he took us to catch piranhas...we didn't catch anything, but the other guide caught 2! We put a peice of the thick raw bait meat up to its mouth and he bit it off clean through the middle in one bite! glad i didn't meet one of them in the river......When our trip ended we were exhausted and bitten up, and decided to take a plane back to la paz since it is about $60 and only 1 hour! This may have been my favorite part of this trip. We got the last tickets and had to take motortaxis to the airport with our huge bags--i loove riding behin a motorcycle! It was a blast! Then we literally hopped on hte plane..and left...in a matter of 10 minutes. Now if only flights in the US could be so easy!!!
Next stop...The great Salt planes of the Bolivian highlands!!! (after some mango icecream in la paz)
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