Floating through treetops. Without flying.
The rainy season is over, but there is still quite some rain falling. And it’s taking it’s time to get away, slowly flowing from the highlands of Bolivia, through the jungle of Peru, then Brazil, ending up at the other side of the continent where it finally flows into the Atlantic as part of the Amazon.
A lot of water. Meaning that river levels have risen slightly. Say about 5 meters. So that there really isn’t that much a distinction between “river” and “not river”.Floating along in our little motor boat, along the tree tops, me and the other 7 people who signed up for the tour.
Underneath the camp we’re staying (all on stilts, it seems the water can get even higher than this) is Pepe, the friendly 4 meter long neighborhood crocodile (he gets fed daily so you can go swim in the river night next to the camp).
Furthermore, there are turtles, storks, sereres (leaf-eating birds that are so fat they can only fly for about 5 seconds). We saw macaques (tiny monkeys) at not a meter distance, howler monkeys (big monkeys) slightly further away.The most impressive animal though has to be the pink dolphin. Man-sized, playful, they’re happy to play tag in the water, bumping into you, only to dive under the moment you turn around. Exhilarating!
The part I enjoyed most however was the night tour. Flashlights ready to shine into the eyes of crocodiles. Which we didn’t see that much. Instead nature gave us an even more impressive show: In the distance there was a full-blown lightning storm going on. It’s difficult to describe, but being on the water, in the dark, when suddenly the entire world lights up, trees stand out even darker against the light of the sky, thunder rumbles overhead… Amazing!
Of course, where there is thunder and lightning, there is rain… By the time it was time to get back, the rain reached us. Hot drops, the size of ping-pong balls. Flashlights turned up, seeing them falling down was equally hard to describe, but no less beautiful. And well worth the wet clothes.
But, after a week of Bolivian lowlands, jungle and boats, it’s time again to head back to the heights of La Paz. Back to cold and lack of oxygen and hustle and bustle. I like big cities. But I’m going to miss it here as well!