Dirty, greasy and happy!Feb 19, 2007
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| Yeah!!!! Our first true expedition is complete! Now sitting in a small, hot and dirty internet cafe in Puerto Quijarro (our first Bolivian stop) waiting to get the hell out of here on the night train to Santa Cruz! The last few days have been fantastic! After stopping in Bonito and spending the day at a "natural pool" in Bonito we were pumped for the wetland area of the Pantanal! The Pantanal is the worlds largest wetland and houses tons and tons of animals! We took a four hour transfer to the a bus stop in the middle of no-where and were picked up by some kind of an ancient vehicle (?cross between a truck and a jeep) that is probably twice the age of me, which became our means of transportation for the nextfew days! We had heard horror stories of the pantanal from the other tour group that we met in Ilha Grande.......they were all true! Picture this: a few dumpy looking buildings, old vehicles, dirty bathrooms and showers, hammocks to sleep in, flocks of mosquitos, 0600 wakeup calls, no t.v., no phone no radio- it was FANTASTIC! On the first day we got there in the late afternoon- we got hit by the biggest storm I may have ever seen (with no raingear at hand) while riding into camp in the back of the truck, holding onto the rails of it for dear life! Pedro and Bola (our guide and driver) drove us through literally hundreds of head of skinny, white cattle to get to the site of our first hike! I have never seen this amount of cattle in my life- the cowboys sleep with the herd and move them from field to field- it was straight out of a John Wayne Movie! We were able to see alligators, tucans, parrots several species), capibodas (mini-hippo looking animals) and tons and tons more! The generator at the camp went off at nine- early to sleep. Let me tell ya- its a long night in a hammock! Sunday morning we were up at the crack of dawn and get this- we went pirahna fishing! Unreal- I know! I was the winner, catching a total of nine pirahnas (earning me free beer for the evening! Girls fishing is one thing- girls baiting their hooks with steak and pulling piranhas out of the water is whole nother story! I have to admitt- there was a lot of screaming and squealing each and every time a fish was caught! I¨dont think those men had any idea what they were in for- on my first cast I managed to wind my hook right around the barb wire fence (the fising rods are basically a stick of baboo with a line and a hook) and Bola (who doesn''t speak a word of english) gave me a look I may never forget! For lunch we went to a second camp where the men fried up our catch for lunch! Tis a bizzare feeling to not only eat pirahnas but to eat the meat you''ve actually caught with your own two hands! After lunch we waded through a bunch of water and went horseback riding for the remainder of the afternoon....the scenery was breathtaking and unforgettable! We atttempted to return back to camp for supper- first the truck wouldn''t start, then we blew a tire (the second of the day)....all in all...latinos are totally on their own time line and not a thing warrants an eyebrow of concern! Back at camp- a celebration of sorts began- big fire , the bar was opened (yes..believe it or not the peice of shit camp has its own bar and it has a picture of Jesus in it..is this moral I ask them?) and we attempted to learn samba well into the night! This morning was a difficult start with only four hours of sleep...but it was well worth it when we took the boat up the river....it felt like we were in a national geographic movie! After the river tour we loaded up our gear..spent the day travelling into Boliva and are now going to board the train- all this fresh air has worn me out and I am ready for a snooze! The first third of the trip is complete - two thirds to go! Love and miss you all- wish you could be here! |
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