Amazon Jungle

Welcome to the Madidi Jungle Ecolodge, our home away from home in the Amazon Jungle.

Being that we are in our mid-twenties, Ben and I have a little more disposable income, if you will, than the average 18-year-old backpacker. We are past the “I will eat dirt and Saltines to save money” phase, and have learned that while traveling there are times to save and times to splurge.

Trust me, we had our share of Ramen Noodle nights while in South America. But we also had our splurges.

One of those was our four-day adventure in the Amazon Jungle, a childhood dream of mine.

Spending a little extra money on a tour company that respects the environment and treats its workers fairly is something that’s important to us. So rather than choose the cheapest company around, as we did during our travels in our younger years, we started researching different Jungle excursions before even stepping foot in South America.

You are certainly able to book a tour when you arrive in the jungle town of Rurrenabaque. But as some of our friends discovered, most of those companies have questionable lodging, serve minimal food, and the proceeds go to one lodge owner. 

The lodge we chose to stay at, on the other hand, is run by the indigenous community and the proceeds benefit the entire tribe. And when the difference between a cheap lodge and a nice one is just $50, it was an easy choice. 

We could not have been more pleased with our decision to stay at the Madidi Jungle Ecolodge.

Our journey into the jungle began with a flight. Not just any flight. The Amazonas plane we boarded in La Paz fit just nineteen people, barely. I am five feet four inches, and I had to duck down as I squeezed through the tiny isle to find my seat.

Poor six-foot-tall Ben.

Another interesting feature about this plane was that there was no door partitioning off the cockpit from the rest of the cabin. We were able to hear every buzz and beep that came from the apparatuses the pilots were controlling.

And there were a lot of unsettling beeps coming from the cockpit.

After our plane landed successfully on a little runway (thank goodness), we were brought to the airport by shuttle. I use the word “airport” very loosely. It was more of a large, open house with a few chairs and a small booth at which you could claim your luggage.

The next morning we hopped aboard a riverboat for a three and a half hour journey deeper into the jungle. The only other people on board, aside from the driver, was a lovely British couple. We spent nearly the whole ride chatting with them and taking in the incredible scenery. It was a good thing we got along with the other couple because, as we soon found out, we would be spending the majority of our time in the jungle together.

We arrived at the lodge around lunchtime, and were served a delicious, three-course meal. After stuffing ourselves with homemade jungle fare, we had time to relax in hammocks before the first of many jungle hikes.

We were introduced to our guide, Simon, a spunky little man who stood just over 5 feet tall and had an infectious, toothless grin. He grew up in the jungle and knew its every crack and crevice.

Simon also had a special talent for making animal calls indistinguishable from the real thing. I don’t know how he did it, but when he sensed capuchin monkeys were close, he would make their specific call and out of the treetops they would emerge.

I swear Simon was able to spot the un-spot-able. Once as we were walking along the jungle path, he stopped abruptly and pointed to a brown leaf on the ground. Seeing we were confused, he used a stick to lift the edge of the leaf back, revealing a tiny brown, camouflaged frog. He must have seen just its foot as he was walking along the trail.

Seriously, that man had eyes like a hawk.

This green leaf looks ordinary, but when crushed with water, it makes a purple dye...

...perfect for warrior paint!!! (or dying clothes)

Another one of my favorite “Simon Moments” was when he informed us that a herd of wild pigs was near. When I asked how he knew they were close, he said that he could smell them. Then he added, “I don’t like those pigs. Except when they are on my dinner plate.” A spurt of laughter ensued, and then he grew quiet and raised his hands, cupping them around his mouth. Simon then made a sound that I can’t even begin to describe – a sort of whooping and loud barking. A second passed, and then off in the distance we heard a cacophony of stomping hoofs and snorting as the herd scuttled away.

We turned to Simon, who was laughing uncontrollably. “I don’t like them, and they don’t like the jaguar,” he said, explaining the strange sound he made just moments before.

During our third day in the jungle, we took a boat ride even deeper into the jungle to a remote little lake where we would be fishing… for nothing other than the infamous Amazonian piranha.

On our way to the remote lake, we saw several families of capybaras - the largest rodent in the world! Looks kind of like a giant guinea pig, doesn't it?

And we saw this guy... kind of like an Amazonian turkey.

After two hours on the boat, we made it to Santa Rosa Lake, deep in the Amazon.

With just a roll of fishing lone – no pole needed – and some hunks of fresh meat, we were ready to catch some piranhas! It wasn't a scene from the movies where the sharp-toothed fish started snapping hungrily at the surface.

Piranha bait. And a tiny butterfly.

We had to wait. For a while.

Most of the time when we though we had a bite it was a false alarm, and we would pull in our line only to find our chunk of meat was missing. But finally I got a bite! I pulled a tiny piranha into our boat that was too small to keep.

My tiny piranha!

This continued for quite some time - our meat continued to disappear mysteriously, and we did lots of waiting. Eventually we did catch two piranhas that were large enough.

Simon told us that most days they can’t pull their lines in quick enough – the fish are constantly biting. I guess we were a little unlucky.

I think Simon felt bad we hadn't caught much, so once we got back on the river, he prepared a huge rope and put a large fish on the end.

“Now we catch a catfish,” he explained.

Again, it took some patience, but before long he had something hooked. A big something. He fought with it a bit, and at one point just about lost his index finger. Finally, the catfish was close enough to see.

It was enormous by any standards… well, except for Simon. He said it was “average”, and that a big one was at least 70 kilograms. That’s more than I weigh!

For our last dinner at the lodge, we were served a beautiful, traditional Amazonian meal of catfish wrapped in a banana leaf.

It was incredible.

We also had a side of piranha – our catch from the day – which tasted surprisingly similar to sunfish.

Before boarding the boat back to Rurrenbaque the next morning, we embarked on one last excursion. Instead of exploring the river by boat, we used a different mode of transportation…

Rubber inner tubes!

Yes, this was the same river in which we had spotted caimans and other intimidating creatures lurking. I tried not to think about what might be swimming in the murky water alongside me and enjoyed floating down the lazy river. We all sang “Just Around the River Bend” and held on for dear life as we flew through churning rapids.

It was a perfect end to our Amazonian adventure.

On the boat ride back to town, Simon serenaded us on a wooden flute.

During our time at the Madidi Ecolodge, we saw more animals, insects and fauna than we could count, and we learned about the jungle as well as the community that calls it their home.

It was an unforgettable experience that was well worth a few extra bucks.

More photos in the Amazon:

Some of the trees were MASSIVE!

Allow me to introduce you to Toni, the friendly jungle tapir.

The charming jungle town of Rurrenabaque

La Paz

The city of La Paz is dizzying. Literally. At just over 12,000 feet (3,660 meters), La Paz is known as the highest capital city in the world. Just walking uphill in La Paz is enough to make even the fittest athlete breath heavily.

If the altitude doesn't take your breath away, the sprawling city teeming with people surely will.

Buildings cling to the canyon walls and spill into the valley below. On a clear day, you can glimpse snowy Mount Illimani (21,000 feet) looming in the distance. From the Chulita women – wearing the traditional bowler hats, long braids, and flowing skirts, to business professionals dressed in business suits – you will find people from all walks of life crowding the streets.

You could say La Paz was our “base camp” while in Bolivia. We returned to this metropolis between a trip to the jungle and an excursion to the salt flats. In total, we spent nearly a week and a half in La Paz and got to know the city well.

Walking Tour

During our travels in South America, we have gone on several free walking tours. It has been an amazing way to see cities and learn about the history, culture and people. We heard rave reviews about the walking tour in La Paz, and were not disappointed.

A couple highlights of the tour:

San Pedro Prison: The meeting point of the tour is in a plaza right outside of the prison. After hearing other travelers talk about Marching Powder, an account of one man’s time spent in this bizarre prison, I started reading it for myself. Although I knew most of what the tour guides were saying already from my reading, it was pretty incredible seeing the prison firsthand.

Apparently you aren't supposed to take photos of San Pedro Prison because it will be assumed you are helping the prisoners find an escape route. This isn't the best picture, but I didn't want to risk being thrown in jail myself!

Some facts (just because this place is so INTERESTING!):

1. The prison was built with a capacity of 250 prisoners, but currently there are more than 2,000 inmates and family members residing there.

2. Yes, you read that last bullet point correctly. Prisoners are allowed to have family members live with them – provided they pay.

3. And yes, weirdly enough, prisoners pay for their jail cells. This means that if you are a rich person (ie. big time drug dealer or corrupt politician) you can live luxuriously while serving a sentence. Some “cells” come equipped with private bathrooms, full kitchens and even Jacuzzis. Then there are the poor inmates who aren't able to pay. They sleep on concrete floors and are crammed into a cell with several other convicts.

4. Since everything in the jail revolves around money, the inmates all have jobs ranging from restaurant owner (yes, there are restaurants inside the prison), to artist (their wives sell their handicrafts outside the prison gates), to tour guide… which leads me to my next point…

5. Up until a few years ago, people used to be able to pay for a tour of the prison. If they paid extra, they were even allowed to stay overnight. Because who wouldn't want to spend the night inside a third world prison? For several years, the prison was actually listed as the top tourist attraction in La Paz. 

6. And the last, but possibly most bizarre fact: the tours were strictly forbidden after foreigners were found to be taking cocaine with the inmates. How do they get drugs inside the prison? The purest cocaine in Bolivia is actually produced within the walls of San Pedro Prison. Our tour guides even pointed out a hole in the roof, out of which bags of cocaine are thrown to dealers on the outside. The police turn their heads, of course, because they get a cut of the money.

This just skims the surface of this bizarre place known as San Pedro Prison. Want to know more? Read Marching Powder – seriously, fascinating stuff.

Anyway, this was just the first stop on our tour, and we soon found out there is so much more to La Paz than the infamous penitentiary.

Other tour highlights:

The markets in La Paz were the most fascinating I have seen in all my travels.  For a city with a population of more than 2 million people, there are only 20 supermarkets.

I think there are close to 20 supermarkets in a 5 mile radius of where I grew up.

The people of La Paz get the majority of their food from the open markets – one of which stretches an incredible 46 blocks!

Juice in a bag from the market.

Another remarkable site was the famed Witch Market. Here you can buy dried llama fetuses and love potions. Spooky!

My favorite of the potions was called "follow me, follow me powder". Blow some onto the back of of the person you are eyeing, and they will fall in love with you. Immediately. Though, I wouldn't be quick to travel home from Bolivia with a pouch of unidentified white powder in my backpack.

El Alto

After our tour, we met up with some friends we met earlier on our travels. Together we took a cable car to the top of the valley overlooking La Paz. The cable car system is brand new to the city and was being offered free of charge – so as you can image, the line was quite long.

The Dutch boys made a friend!

Once we reached the top of the canyon, we were met with incredible views of the city below, but that wasn't the best part. Above La Paz lies El Alto – a metropolis home to South America’s largest market, and almost no tourism.

This orange juice was the BEST!

We walked through the market stalls, drank orange juice squeezed before our eyes for 30 cents, and ate lunch alongside the locals. And the whole time, we didn't see one other white face. Something of a rarity in most Latin American cities.

They are too tall for everything!

La Paz Cemetery

After exploring El Alto, we took a collectivo (a taxi van for multiple passengers) back into the city for our last adventure of the day. We stopped at the famous La Paz Cemetery, known for its endless rows of crypts – some four stories tall!

Valley de la Luna

Another interesting site lies just outside of downtown La Paz. With two other friends, we hailed a taxi and rode 40 minutes to the outskirts of the city.

Valle de la Luna, or Valley of the Moon, is said to be named after Neil Armstrong visited and said it reminded him of walking on the moon.

Now, I've never walked on the moon, so I can’t speak to the accuracy of its name… But I will tell you, this place was definitely out of this world.

More photos around La Paz:

It doesn't look like much, but this spicy, cheese-filled pastry was delicious. We went back to that shop at least four times...

A random clown parade

A Dutch meal with our Dutch friends!