After the awful day we had had the day before, Jo and I were grateful to continue on the last leg of our journey in a van. Compared to the camioneta, this thing was the swankiest, most luxorious ride we could have asked for.
We continued on the Rurre. There was no mud. There were no mosquitoes. We didn't get stuck once. It was glorious.
After arriving in Rurre, we set off to find a comfortable hostel. We looked around for a bit, but settled on the Tucan Hotel. What sealed the deal for us was that this place had hammocks. It was a nice place that had nice rooms with private bathrooms and fans on the ceiling. But it had hammocks. Ohhhhh yeahahhhh.
We needed to take care of some business, so after showering we tackled the overwhelming task of finding an agency to take us into El Parque Nacional Madidi. You see, jungle tours are the bread and butter of Rurrenabaque's economy, and there is a staggering number of operators offering to take willing tourists out to explore Madidi. Really, really staggering. We decided to rely on the LP's recommendations and headed for a place that had gotten good reviews. It ended up being closed, but the place right next door was open, and the guy beckoned us over so he could convince us that his agency was better. He actually did convince us that his company was legit, but we wanted to compare so we told him we'd think on it and come back. We were both starving and needed some fuel before we could make any rational decisions.
We ended up at a Lebonese restaurant (?) close by. The food was meh, but there was one redeeming quality of this place that made me love it.
A GIGANTIC PLATE OF AVOCADO!! Oh, yes. Chelsea was in heaven.
After stuffing ourselves, we walked around Rurre and talked to a few more tour agencies, but decided to go with the first company we talked to, Machequipe. So, we went back and booked a guide for the following day.
After that, we pretty much just did some light errands and explored Rurre. Rurre was definitley more geared towards backpackers than any town we had seen so far. It's a nice enough place, but what makes it so special is its magnificent backdrop. We went shopping to buy some long pants and a long shirt for Jo, so he wouldn't be eaten alive (again) by bugs, used the computer for a bit, then headed back to our home for the night.
And promptly headed for the hammocks.
Ohhhhhh, yeahhhhhhhh.
No comments:
Post a Comment