The day after doing the fabulous Death Road I flew spontaneously with Marit to Rurrenabaque. Well for Marit it was planned, but she asked me if I would like to come along and I decided that could be a cool thing to do. This was a massive blow on my budget however, but I figured that once you´re here, you should not leave things that you want to do just because of the money. I´d rather travel a bit shorter but do it well in stead of travelling longer but not see all the best things. So yes, I am overspending in the cheapest country of South America and it´s all good! 

So we had the plane to Rurrenabaque in the afternoon. Unfortunately I had to turn in my fantastic swiss army knife because I had forgotten to take it out of my jacket and put it in my backpack. That being said, we had a delayed flight (I think this is extremely common anyway, so no surprise) and it was the smallest flight I´ve been on so far, although I heard others saying they even had smaller planes than this. The flight is only 25 minutes and leads you through the snow covered peaks of the surrounding mountains of La Paz to the opposite landscape of Rurrenabaque with lush mountain landscapes. Rurrenabaque is really tropical and when we arrived it was perhaps 30 degrees. Rurrenabaque is such a cool small village/town. Lots of character, walls painted onto with coca cola adverts and other brands. We got to our hostel and then out for dinner at the Mosquito Bar. Good food and a happy hour from 7pm till 9 or 10 pm. 

The next day we dropped our backpacks in security with the hostel and went to the agency for our 3 days Pampas Tour with just our day packs and some water. We had a group of 8 people. First there is a three our drive on the worst unpaved road in an old Jeep with broken front window. Then we had lunch at a tiny place, called Santa Rosa. After lunch it was only a five minute drive to the boats. That´s were the Pampas Tour really starts. We got on the boat around 1:30 pm and went along the river seeing all sorts of wild life. Lot´s of crocodiles, birds and even some monkeys. The squirrel monkeys are so cute! 

We got to our lodge around 4 pm. There we had some snacks, then went for a place for the sunset, then back to the lodge for food and when it got dark we went back on the boat for spotting some crocodiles in the night. You don´t really see the crocodiles though. You just spot the eyes by shining with your flash light. Also the sky is mesmerizing. You see much more of the milky way in a place like this were there is hardly any light pollution. After the nightly boat ride we got back to the lodge for a cold shower, which is very welcome in such a hot and humid climate and then to bed. The beds in the lodge were not fantastic.... my bed smelled of feet and old sweat. EEK! 

The next day, in the morning, we went for a walk in the fields close to the lodge for anaconda hunting. Unfortunately we did not find any anaconda´s. We got to next doors bar where they had a pet-serpent for us to make up for the missing anaconda. Then after lunch at the lodge, we had a siesta (very welcome) and then went out on the boat again for piranha fishing. In total we got ourselves three piranhas which were prepared for dinner later on as an extra. In the evening we had a couple of beers and some wine and played cards all night. It was a fun night! 

Next day we got up at five in the morning for the sunrise, which was not really spectacular, so I would have preferred sleeping a bit longer. Then we had breakfast. After breakfast we got on the boat for a bit to spot the famous pink dolphins and have swim with the dolphins. The pink dolphins scare away the crocodiles so it´s safe to swim in those parts of the river. Then head back for lunch and back on the boat for 2 hours, then the Jeep for almost 3 hours back to Rurrenabaque. 

Marit and I were staying in Rurrenabaque for two more nights. For the last night we changed to a different hostel, called Lobo Hostel. It´s seriously a treat to stay in that hostel. It´s not luxurious like most hostels in Bolivia, of anywhere in the world, but the location is absolutely breathtaking. Right on the riverside, overlooking the steamy Beni river and mountains surrounding it. There is a swimming pool at the river as well. Truly amazing place. The friday and saturday morning and early afternoon were for walking around the lovely town, eating and being lazy at the pool.