July 2, 2017 - Chuchini

Chuchini

Efren picked me up at the hotel right on time, but immediately questioned me on the way I was dressed, in shorts and a light shirt.  Later I would understand.  

We drove out of the city on ever decreasingly paved roads, eventually coming to muddy pits that made me wonder if I’d have to get out and push.  But we quickly turned a corner and a little slice of paradise was in front of me.  

I paid for a day tour.  It began with a traditional breakfast of something similar to sonso, I think they called it masaca.  I was dining with a girl from the Netherlands name Lieka and her boyfriend, a young Syrian man named Mejd.  They had been at Chuchini for two weeks or more, doing some volunteer work and enjoying the scenery.  

Quickly we were on the boat, heading out in the lagoon and later on the Ibare River.  The trees were full of birds of every sort, parakeets, vultures, cranes, wood peckers, king fishers, egrets, and dozens of others whose names I can’t remember.  We also saw alligators, capybara, capuchin monkeys, and howlers.  

It wasn’t long before we spotted a pink dolphin.  Yes, there are pink dolphins.  They are fresh water dolphins that inhabit the Amazon River.  They are not as pretty as the bottlenose dolphins, but they are curious and they are pink!  They also don't stay above the surface enough for me to get a picture!  I ran my phone's battery down trying to get just one.

After several hours on the boat, we stopped for lunch at a sand bar on the Mamore River, which is huge even in the dry season.  Well actually a mud bar.  Mejd was light enough that he could almost run across it, but the moment I touched it, I was knee deep in the mud.  I thought I would never get out of it.  I understood why Efren suggested I dress differently. 

Apparently, the tour included a mud bath.  Efren, his wife Miriam, their two kids, Mejd, and Lieka all covered themselves in the black mud.  Miriam’s mom, visiting from Switzerland, and I sat in the boat and chatted.  How they got that mud off still amazes me, but they all swore it was good for the skin.  But next time I will be prepared for a mud bath.

We planned to go fishing, but never caught anything, that is except one tough looking fish.  As we were all about to doze going down the river, a fish jumped over the side of the boat.  Mejd saved the day by capturing the fish, whose teeth convinced me that I will never go swimming in those waters.

Once we were back at the resort, Lieka and Mejd went swimming.  I guess if I was young it would be exciting to swim in alligator infested waters.  I, on the other hand, went on a tour with Efren.  I was first shown the artifacts recovered on their hill of the Moxos culture.  After that he introduced me to a few rare native fruit trees and some animals that had been rescued, howler monkeys and coatis. 

I discovered they have cabins if someone wants to stay longer.  Efren also does walking tours into the jungle that take three or four hours.  At night, he will take you on his boat to hunt for alligators.  The resort forbids you to go swimming after dark, because that is when the gators come out to play.

I decided, since there was so little to do in Trinidad, that when I return one day, I will just go to this resort for three or four days.

Never once did Efren and Miriam treat me like a customer.  In the spirit of Bolivia, I was treated like family.  It is what I love most about Bolivia.  Will I go back to Chuchini?  I hope so.