Day 1 - Alligator and Caimen Spotting. What I initially thought to be a challenge, required nothing more then looking over my shoulder. Caimens, the larger and more deadly of the two, and alli ga tors, the mo re common , yet still perilous cousin, lined the boggy shoreline. "Close encounters" can not even begin to describe the distance (or lack there of) between us and these man eaters. “Keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times”, could not have applied more. Unwavering, their dark, austere eyes danced with ravenous hunger and their wide grins showcased hundreds of razor-sharp teeth. Some chose to remain perfectly still, locked in a single, solitary pose, patiently waiting for the most opportune time to strike. Others, however, were not so tolerant and quickly slipped into the muddy waters below. Or, come to think of it, maybe they were just camera shy. BackpackersWanted.com Into the Amazon - Las Pampas Tour Forget, "Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My" .... How about, "Alligators, Anacondas and Caimens, Oh Sh**." Bolivian Pampas Tours are known all over South America for two reasons: Absurd amounts of wild life and the cheapest prices around. The brochures mention swimming with alligators, hunting for anacondas, and chasing pink dolphins...but if there's one thing I've learned, especially in South America, it´s that brochures lie. “Oh, we might see a few gators, a couple sparrows, and if we're lucky, a gardener snake”...but boy was I wrong! HOME I NDONESI A I NDI A PERU BOLI V I A ECUA DOR MORE... converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
What I initially thought to be a challenge, required nothing more
then looking over my shoulder. Caimens, the larger and more
deadly of the two, and alligators, the more common, yet still
perilous cousin, lined the boggy shoreline. "Close encounters" can
not even begin to describe the distance (or lack there of) between
us and these man eaters. “Keep your hands and feet inside the
vehicle at all times”, could not have applied more. Unwavering,
their dark, austere eyes danced with ravenous hunger and their
wide grins showcased hundreds of razor-sharp teeth. Some chose
to remain perfectly still, locked in a single, solitary pose, patiently
waiting for the most opportune time to strike. Others, however,
were not so tolerant and quickly slipped into the muddy waters
below. Or, come to think of it, maybe they were just camera shy.
BackpackersWanted.com
Into the Amazon - Las Pampas Tour
Forget, "Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My"....How about, "Alligators, Anacondas and Caimens, Oh Sh**." Bolivian Pampas Tours are known all over
South America for two reasons: Absurd amounts of wild life and the cheapest prices around. The brochures mention swimming with alligators, hunting for
anacondas, and chasing pink dolphins...but if there's one thing I've learned, especially in South America, it s that brochures lie. “Oh, we might see a few
gators, a couple sparrows, and if we're lucky, a gardener snake”...but boy was I wrong!
Instantly, blazing crimson eyes came to life on the nearby banks,
pupils eerily dilating against the brilliant beam. Mesmorized by
the copious amounts of firey dots suspended against the
obscurity of night, our apprehensions melted away. Inadvertently
dropping all defenses, susceptible to whatever demise these
brutes had planned. Completely spellbound, the only antidote
was a sudden dose of reality.
Giving the red eyes a face, Oscar managed to bring one on
board. Ok, so it was only a little guy, but he still comprised a
bone crunching bite and the ability to easily, leave his mark on
an unsuspecting tourist. He was the least of our worries though.
What abut his mom? OK Oscar, I don't want to become a
midnight snack, it's time to go!
Day 2 - Anaconda Hunt
Equipped with rubber knee high boots, and well, that's it, our hunt began in one
of the hundreds of swampy marshlands lining the riverbed. Now, if traipsing
through deadly snake infested waters is not bad enough, how about being told
to "Spread out, we can cover more ground and have a better chance at finding a
big one." Oh, and that comforting command is followed up with, "and if you feel
something move under your boot, don't step down, call for me". Yeah, some
sort of precaution, huh?
Night 1 - Alligator and Caimen Spotting
Before returning to the now, even more daunting and uninviting canals, we first had to make it to the boat. Witnessing dozens of alligators choose our
campsite bank for their afternoon naps, left us more then hesitant revisiting the uncertain shores, now masked in darkness. After a wee bit of coaxing
though, like only a Bolivian tour guide can do, “It’s seguridad, no muerte” - It’s safe, no death (yeah, real comforting), we collectively made a run for it. Like
bats out of hell, we flew across the sand in one solid wave, simultaneously crashing into her bow and tumbling over the sides. Phew...Safe...for now.
With sides stretching only 7 to 8 inches above the watery plane, our "low rider" boat left plenty of room for 'snack attacks', I mean, 'sneak attacks'. Eyes
peeled and hearts racing, we could barely see 10 inches in front of us through the gloomy shadows, let alone 10 feet. Somebody needed to shed some
light on this situation. So, Oscar did…with a flashlight.
Despite the inexorable fear factor, there was one soothing aspect to the ride. The stars. With the placid lagoon in front of us, and thousands of stars
shining immaculately above, an optical illusion played out before us. In the bleak darkness, it was hard to tell where the stars of the sky ended and the
reflected stars of the water began. A single, disorienting blanket of stars swallowing every angle of vision.
As we left the marsh that day, one more truth came out. Not only did anaconda's and
cobra's inhabit the shallows, so did their deadly relative, the rattlesnake. With a vertical
jump reaching over 2 feet and packing a deadly, venomous bite, I d say we were more
lucky not to have found one of those. You know how some things are better off unsaid,
well this was one of them. Ignorance is bliss Oscar.
I'm sure watching all those episodes of Animal Planet didn't help, but I really felt apart of a TV show. Nothing bad could happen to me, they do this all the
time, it's TV magic. Until suddenly, my make believe show three-sixtied into reality TV. A cobra...a giant cobra! Pouncing on her from behind, Oscar
grasped onto her slimy tail and flailed her into the air. Snapping and writhing for minutes, she desperately tried to bite her captor, but Oscar was to be
named victor. Much more poisonous, aggressive, and elusive then the anaconda's, we were "lucky" enough to find one. Yeah right, more like, "Lucky it
didn't find us". Apparently, anaconda's are much safer because of their tranquil, slow-moving nature. Now there's a phrase I never would have thought
comforting, "It's better to find an anaconda". To my surprise though, Oscar was right. Managing to find two anaconda's, each one seemed more annoyed
by our presence then frightened or enraged.
Day 3 - Piranha Fishing
Worms, small fish, and funny looking plastic thingies, all fishing baits I had used before. But raw meat? I must say, piranha's make fishing fun. Within
seconds of casting, ferocious bites were already assaulting the line. Hungry, and up for the fight, these fishy carnivores would not go down without a fight.
Even the jaws of life would have struggled to remove their steely bear trap teeth from the bait. If they were going to die, they at least wanted their last
Day 3 - Pink Dolphin Chasing and Alligator Swimming
I've heard of dolphins living in rivers before, but pink dolphins? Trapped in the Pampas
swamps from flooding hundreds of years prior, these pink beauties have adapted to
survive in the dim shallows. Jumping, spurting, and playing just as much as their ocean
dwelling relatives, finding a pod is not the difficult part, it's the activity that follows.
The chance for bravery, or what some would call, stupidity. After spending days floating above these gator infested waters, it was time to go beneath them.
Like most crazy things I do, what is voluntary for others, is mandatory for me. My mind would never let me live it down, if I didn't take the death defying dip.
So, with me, myself, and I, and the rest of my boat looking on, I took the plunge.
