From Rurrenabaque with love

Em here again.

Since our last post, we've made a trip to Copacabana and the Isla del Sol to do some trekking and see some cool Inca stuff. We trekked round to the headland nearest IdS, then hired our own little boat to take us across... it was great talking to the locals finding out about all the crops we walked past. The Inca sites in IdS were labyrinthine ruins but not overly impressive because you couldn't get a feel for the people who lived there. Back in Copacabana, we hired a motorbike and took it to the headland, repeating the trek we'd done earlier. There were incredible views and heartstopping drops, and I had my first motorbike lesson (the important manoveure of 'straight into a ditch'). We also indulged in some coca-leaf chewing (makes your tongue go numb and green).

From Copacabana we went back to La Paz for some very nice R'n'R. We took a day trip to Tiwanaku to see an archeological site that pre-dates the Incas. It was a bit disappointing (the site will be restored in 17 years according to our guide), but the museum was good. It contained quite a few skulls that had been deliberately deformed. In Tiwanakan society, having a skull that peaked in a cone at the back set you in a high social class. Thus, children had boards strapped to their heads to encourage their skulls to grow in that direction. Then they had epilepsy and headaches which need some nasty operations to relieve. I have mixed feelings about the display of human remains in museums, but these were undeniably fascinating.

We left La Paz for Rurrenabaque (where we are now) to pursue some jungle adventures. Up until then we'd only been to the highlands, but we wanted to see the lowlands with their rich vegetation and diversity of animals.

The 18-hour trip to Rurrenabaque was one of our most eventful. The road was only just wide enough for the bus, with a sheer drop on the side we were sitting. I watched the twisty turns in dreadful curiosity until a few close shaves convinced me that the curtain would be better shut. Add to this, the fellow in front of us glugging neat rum then cuba libre for the first few hours, before lurching around, distracting the driver and vomiting everywhere. On a more conservative note, I couldn't believe how much rubbish got thrown out of the bus windows. My days of singing the 'Find a bin' song at primary school had not prepared me for this. The girl in front threw out every plastic bag she could find, a glass bottle and eventually bags of sick produced by the drunk guy - a blessed relief in that case.

In Rurrenabaque, happy to be alive, we got on the bumpiest three-hour jeep ride to the middle of the pampas for our first tour. Aside from the mosquito invasion and a very loud tour party of gap year kids, we had a lovely time. We saw many wonderful birds (including the Hoatzin, which has its own order and family, snail kites and kingfishers), monkeys (howler, capuchin and squirrel), capybaras (like massive water-dwelling guinea pigs), caymans and pink dolphins. We swam with pink dolphins on the second day, knowing its one of those things people rave about doing. Ok, I got out after about two minutes of freaking out every time something touched me under the murky brown water, but Frank stayed in for about 20 minutes, squealing when his feet were nibbled and throwing a ball for them.

Tomorrow we'll set off on another tour, in the jungle this time, that will focus more on plants and insects. For this evening, we're back in civilisation and are off in search of good food and cocktails. Love to all.