October 31, 2014 1:53pm by David Farrar

Amazon Day 1

After two days in La Paz, we got up at 4.15 am to make a 6.30 am flight to Rurrenabaque.

This is the airport we landed at. Not so much an airport as a strip.

So why did we fly to Rurrenabaque? Because it is the gateway to the Madidi National Park in the Amazon Rainforest.

We then headed by boat up the Beni River.

Had to check in at the National Park Service, and then continued up the Beni River, followed by the Tuichi River.

The boat trip was 100 kms in distance and took around five and a half hours.

This boat (not ours) got stuck, and you can see the guide trying to haul it out. There were many areas where it was very shallow and the engine had to come out of the water.

A flock of Cormorants.

Heading further upstream.

Three Capabanas. They’re the world’s largest rodent! Surprisingly cute.

Some tourists rafting down the river in a canoe.

We then arrived at the entry to Chalalan Eco-Lodge.

It’s a half hour walk into the lodge.

The lodge is next to Lake Chalalan, which is both beautiful, but also attracts a lot of wildlife.

This is a pair of Hoatzins. Stunning birds. They are the most genetically debated bird, with huge controversy over their taxonomy.

Another photo as I like the so much.

As we were hiking to the camp, our guide stopped us and told us there were some wild pigs nearby he could hear. We got nervous as they got closer and closer as the noise they were making had us thinking of something from Footrot Flats. Was relieved when we saw they were relatively small. However they are quite wild and can be nasty.