Wildlife Exploration in the Bolivian Pampas by Sarah Bronson:
Millie and I first met when we were au pairs in Igualada, a small town outside of Barcelona, Spain. We became instant friends and would often spend the weekends dancing until the sun came up and then laying on the beach together. We made a pact when we were in Spain that we would travel to South America one day. Millie visited me in Canada for Christmas in 2018 and in 2019 we road tripped through Scotland and the North of England, where Millie is from. Millie set off on her South American adventure later that August, starting in Columbia and working her way down to Peru where I joined her in October. From there our 4-month adventure together began.
Our route began in Peru and continued into Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, and Brazil. Peru was an entire month of challenges. Hiking all of the mountains and trying not to die from altitude sickness (this was more me as Millie is a champ). When we got to Bolivia, we crossed the border at Copacabana and went to Isla del Sol, then to the floating islands, and onward to La Paz where we biked Death Road. Next we had the choice to go to either the hot and buggy Amazon or the Amazon basin, where we were guaranteed to see wildlife. Our decision was easy: we wanted to see the animals.
So we hit up one of the many travel agencies in La Paz and found the best deal. Four days in the South American plains, otherwise known as Las Pampas. There were two ways for us to get to Rurrenabaque, the gateway town to Las Pampas: 1) Take a short flight or 2) Take a long 17-hour bus ride. We chose the cheapest option and boarded the bus. After a very bumpy, uncomfortable ride, we got to Rurrenabaque, where we were picked up and brought to a hostel for an ant-infested breakfast and hammock nap. Another two-hour cab ride down an unfinished under-construction road and we were at the river on which we would embark on our jungle-like adventure.
Within 5 minutes we spotted wildlife. We saw crocodiles and caiman so calmly floating close to our tiny leaky boat. After two hours in the sun in the hot north of Bolivia, we arrived at our cabin. The boat driver Angelo would be our tour guide for the trek. He did not speak very much English but luckily Millie is fluent in Spanish and could communicate and translate for both of us. We had the whole place to ourselves as no one else had booked this particular tour on the same days. It felt like a private getaway, although it eventually started to feel more like a honeymoon as every boat we passed was filled with four or more people.
The first day we had a lovely cooked lunch by our chef Mercedes and we took a boat ride to the local “bar”, where we had a few beers and watched the sunset. The second day we went out to find anacondas. We got off the boat and trekked into the hot field going deep into the dry lands. Luckily we found one under the roots of a tree and Angelo picked it up with a stick. He claims it was a baby about 5-7 years old. Millie was brave and picked it up first, rubbing mud all over her hands. As she did she shrieked and let it go and watched it slither off. We saw some cobra shedding on our journey and a gator hiding in the muck. In the afternoon we went piranha fishing. We fished with raw meat by putting it on a hook and throwing a string into the water. Quickly pulling at the feel of a bite we managed to catch a few small ones while Angelo caught many. They were our supper for the evening.
Our room had four beds in it but it was just Millie and me. When we got up to pee in the middle of the night we were greeted by many frogs and bugs. I think we even had a guest bat in our room, which was slightly disturbing. The next day we were up at 4 am to catch the sunrise with the sound of howler monkeys in the distance. After breakfast and a mid-morning nap we went off to swim with pink dolphins. Yes, they were in the same river as the piranhas and crocodiles but we plunged right in. I was lucky enough to feel one tap my feet but as for seeing them, the water was dirt brown, which made it impossible to catch a glimpse.
By the 4th day we were missing socializing with other humans and were looking forward to heading back to La Paz. Overall it was a fantastic experience with lots of wildlife-watching, including the ones I’ve already mentioned, plus capybara, thousands of birds like herons and king fishers and the local birds of the pampas. We took the same route back down the river and the bumpy ride back to town to catch our bus. It started to rain as we left Rurrenabaque and we tried to get some shut-eye on the 17-hour bus ride back to La Paz. We stopped for dinner somewhere though everyone got off the bus except Millie and I, as we had come prepared with snacks. At one point, the bus started to pull away and I could have sworn it was being hijacked as you could see all of the other passengers run after it. Lucky for them and us, the driver was merely refilling the gas tank, though, man, was that a scare. In the middle of the night, we stopped suddenly and all of the lights went out. Everyone just went to sleep and we didn’t really think anything about it. It was pouring rain and the bus started to leak. We had to put on our ponchos just to remain dry. The sun came up and we still had not moved so we got off the bus to see what the hold-up was. It turns out there was a massive mudslide in the middle of the night which caused the traffic on both sides of the road to halt. It took hours for someone to dig the road out and almost 24 hours to get back to La Paz. Let me tell you, we have never been so appreciative for a hot shower and warm bed. 10/10 would recommend Las Pampas but maybe take a flight instead.
THE FACTS
I met Sarah (and Millie) in La Paz, where we shared a fun night out dancing in homemade Halloween costumes together. Sarah and Millie were also some of the first friendly faces I saw after I was robbed on my way to the bus station in the same city. Needless to say, we bonded over many an adventure!
Sounds like an awesome but we’ll planned adventure filled with unknown and beauty that lead to an experience of a lifetime.