Unfortunately jungle internet connection is preventing us from getting any photos for our team in Bolivia. This latest update from Laura Pike however is a pretty good illustration in itself!

Quest trip to The Pampas and travel to Ambue!

Aims:

1.       Two days of relaxing after 5 full on days on construction
2.       To spot as many animals as possible
3.       To travel to Ambue Ari

Introduction:

After a few hard days work on construction we were all looking forward to a couple of days off. The Pampas is an area of lowlands in South America consisting of rivers and jungle habitats.

Method:

Take 10 ‘Questies’ put them on a boat and add 10 cameras and copious amounts of suntan lotion. Add two tours guides (who actually know how to spot animals!!!). Then place these 10 ´Questies´ into a minibus for a 20 hour public night bus, for good luck add a few dozen noisy Bolivians! Que arrival at Ambue Ari for the said ´Questies´to begin work on a new tapir enclosure.

Results:

• 100 dodgy photos of trees/monkeys
• Many caiman spotted
• Fun water times with pink river dolphins
• A Troop of squirrel monkeys invading boats
• A fabulous night monkey spot high up in the trees
• Many howler monkeys in trees
• A few turtles chilling in the sun
• Capybaras on the bank of the river

Discussion:

On our two day boat ride we saw many different types of animals (see results above). Swimming with pink river dolphins is an incredible experience and a lovely way to cool off from the afternoon sun! We had a few great spots by the brilliant tour guides including a baby sloth with its mother before we had even arrived at the ecolodge! We also discovered that caimans can remain very still until the boat is less than a meter away, then they can move rather quick creating a large splash. This resulted in 4 very soggy ´Questies´(and Matty laughing at us!).

Conclusion:

10 very happy Questies´ on the pampas tour, and 10 not so rested ´Questies´after a 20 hour bus ride! We have found during our time on the tours that we need to have back up batteries!! Amnother find from this study is that Bolivian police only care if the taxi driver has his seatbelt on and not the paying customers! However we are all rearing to go for our 8 days of constructing the new tapir enclosure!