By: Noemi Gamel 

In our last post, I described our remote, ultra-rustic camp and all the unplugged activities we did in the jungle, or “selva”. This week, I want to focus on the wildlife we saw in the selva as well as the “pampas” or swamp section of the Bolivian Amazon.

In the selva, finding wildlife is not easy. While we heard a lot of wildlife like wild pigs, howler monkeys, and birds, we did not actually get to see many animals. As we hiked through the selva, Adalid, our guide told us that there were probably animals watching us through the trees. The canopy is so thick, that you cannot see the animals even if they are just a few feet away. Nevertheless, we were thrilled when we woke up to the sound of howler monkeys every morning, even if we did not get to see them.

Our experience in the pampas was completely different. One hour into the 2-½ boat hour ride to get to our camp, we saw hundreds of alligators, multiple capybara, pink river dolphins, countless birds, and a band of very friendly squirrel monkeys. The vegetation is a lot more open, so the animals are much easier to spot.

The camp was a little more “upscale”. We had flush toilets and running water and actual honest to goodness mattresses on the beds! I felt we were staying at the Ritz. There was a deck at the edge of the river from where we could watch the animals. At night, however, I was unnerved going to the toilet hearing the grunt of the alligators and seeing their eyes shine just a few feet away.

I actually enjoyed the selva more than pampas even though the conditions were more rustic and we did not see many animals. I loved being in such a remote area with no other people except the cook, the guide, and us.