walkabout Bolivian style

This could be the greatest adventure of all time.  Enjoy it with me through the pictures, since I know I would have been petrified if I'd have been there.

Juan Pablo's mom took him and the kids to Rurrenabaque, a small tropical town on the Beni River.  If you want to follow the rivers, the Madre de Dios River flows out of Peru into the Beni River of Bolivia, which turns northward into Brazil where it joins the Mamore River to become the Madeira River, a tributary of the Amazon River.  (Thank you, wikipedia).  So you may as well say they went to the Amazon River, right?

They traveled about an hour by plane and landed on what the kids called a farm.  It was a grassy/dirt runway, and they flew in a tiny propeller plane.  Joaquin made a joke that the plane was so small, it looked like it could be flown by remote control.  I asked if he wore goggles and had a scarf tied around his neck that flapped in the wind.  I guess he's never seen Snoopy.

These must be the cows from the farm.

They stayed two to a cabin.  Abuela always looks elegant, even on a trip to the jungle.

Would you believe these two shared a cabin, alone in the jungle, and it wasn't even next to their dad's?

They slept in beds with mosquito nets, and the windows were simply screens.  Apparently, the kids were spying lots of monkeys in the trees at night and laughing hysterically.  They got shushed with a bang on the wall from the people in the cabin next to them.

Their guide took them on a tour of the river where they saw all kinds of wildlife.  And by wild, I mean caimans...as in relative of a crocodile.

Shall we get a closer look?

Isabela and her Dad were actually in the water at one point...I guess because it was hot??  She said it was hard to get back in the boat.  My stomach is tense just typing this.

Look at the roots on this tree.  Incredible.

A selfie of JP and Joaquin.

So if caimans aren't thrilling enough, how about piranha?

Or a catfish and a piranha?  Isabela actually ate the piranha!

Joaquin just pretended to.

Check out those teeth!  They saved them to bring home, but accidentally left them behind.  That would have been the first thing I packed!

Each of them got a chance to steer the boat, which was thrilling for them.  I love how relaxed everyone looks.  Am I the only one freaking out here?

See that white blurb coming up in the water?  Joaquin is pointing to it.  What do you think that is?  It's a pink dolphin!  Remember the pink dolphin project Isabela did in third grade?  Their guide told Isabela that the river was pretty low, but if it were two feet higher, the water would be much clearer and you could see the dolphins even below the surface.

OK, this is not the best picture.  But there's a story here.  They played soccer in the jungle! And see that odd tattoo on JP's chest, the soccer ball got a little muddy and...it left its mark.

They saw many amazing birds on this trip.  Yes, we have those just up the street here...

...and we probably have owls somewhere, too....

but how about this one?

Or a flock of macaws?  Even the tour guide was shocked to see this.  He said that they are endangered and he hadn't seen a flock of macaws in years!

And who built this awesome nest?

These little animals are capybara, with the distinction of being the largest rodent in the world.

It turns out they are the preferred prey of the anaconda.

And speaking of anaconda....why do they have those big white boots on?

Let's take a little hike....

...to search for anaconda!  My first thought was why would ANYONE do this?  I noticed Abuela didn't have the boots on.  I think I'm staying with her.

Looks like someone didn't make it.

And what is that?!

How about this huge crab?

Joaquin somehow fell in the muddy muck and got his clothes all wet.  He started crying because it was his favorite outfit.  When I heard the story, I logically asked him, "Why would you wear your favorite clothes to go hunt for anacondas?"  That question doesn't even make sense.

Caps for sale!  What is that up in the tree?  A monkey!  So this next story doesn't have any pictures to go along with it, but it's definitely believable after seeing all of this.  Apparently, as they sat on the shore,  a group of wild monkeys came down out of the trees and the little ones came and sat on the kids' laps and wrapped their little monkey hands around their thumbs.  Isn't that simply amazing?

And it sounds like Abuela was the monkey whisperer...I think they said she had maybe five monkeys on her at once??  How could they not have a picture of that?

Time for a break.  Just chillin' in the jungle.

After a trip like this, the tour guide becomes a great friend.  This is one adventure they will never forget.  And I'm so glad they have a dad and grandma that would take them on it!