Pampas del Yacuma Excursion
We had an incredible experience exploring the pampas grasslands in Santa Rosa, Beni during our time in Rurrenabaque. We were able to whisk away our niece Sierra who is here in Bolivia working at the Feliz Familia as a student missionary. On our ride out to the pampas, we were thrilled that our guide Antonio spotted a sloth high up in a tree on the way. It was a great start to our adventure!
The Yacuma River is a river in Bolivia, which feeds into the Madeira river and ultimately into the Amazon. Upon arriving at the Yacuma river, located within the Municipal Protected Area, we eagerly embarked on a narrow long boat for our journey up to the Kanoo Tour Lodge which we would be calling home for two nights. As darkness enveloped us, there was an extra element of excitement and adventure. Using our flashlights, we were able to spot pairs of yellow eyes staring back at us from the riverbank.
They were caiman, a deadly predator that inhabits the pampas. Fortunately, they had already eaten and were content to simply watch us pass by.
As we continued up the river, we shone our lights up into the trees and were greeted by the raucous squawks and scolding of sleeping birds that we had inadvertently woken up. It was an amazing experience to be surrounded by the sounds of nature in the dark of the night. After our 2 hours of night riding, we arrived at our lodge. It was nice to get settled and have a delicious vegetarian meal prepared for us.
Capybaras were also interesting if you like large ra…er, I mean guinea pig-like animals. We spotted capybaras, the largest rodents in the world, grazing on the grasslands by the river. We found out later that the capybaras
also liked our lodging area and would roam around the complex. They are skittish creatures we found out as we witnessed one of the birds threatening one of them which caused a herd of them to rush to the river and jump in. What a big splash that made as they scampered to the other side of the bank.
During the day boat rides, we found families of pink river dolphins in two different areas! We swam in the river where the dolphins were, and Antonio assured us that if we stayed near the dolphins and away from the banks we would not be eaten by the caimans, or the piranha, or the anaconda. I did notice he was the only one who did NOT enter the water…hmmm?
We also encountered all four local species of monkeys, including black and red howler monkeys with their distinctive roar, yellow squirrel monkeys jumping between the trees, and cappuccino monkeys.
Lots of kinds of birds make their homes beside the river, as there is lots of food for them to eat. Some are vegetarian, some eat fish, and others eat the many bugs that live on and near the river. Yay for those mosquito eaters! One of these unique birds we learned about is the Hoatzin bird, found in Bolivia and other parts of South America. It is a fascinating creature with a distinctive appearance. It boasts a crest on its head, a bright blue face, red eyes, and claws on its wings for climbing. But its uniqueness doesn’t stop there – the Hoatzin has a digestive system similar to that of cows, which allows it to digest tough vegetation. Additionally, the bird is known for its pungent odor, which has earned it the nickname “stinky bird”.
Of course, they need to be wary of the caiman who wouldn’t pass up a tasty bird snack. We saw eagles, yellow-headed hawks, herons, and egrets, plus other exotic hunting birds that we aren’t familiar with.
We were given rubber boots to wear to go hunting for anacondas and other snakes. We stalked them for an hour out on the pampas, which I realized was marshy grassland. Antonio had a machete that helped us when we got to the tall grass.
This was a slippery and wet walk where it seemed that the vines had one aim which is to grab at your ankles and make you fall. We saw many different bird species and heard many sounds but did not see the anacondas. I’m not sure if this was a good thing or not. I know I wasn’t particularly disappointed about it.
We spotted some of our other lodge visitors walking around in the distance with our binoculars and later found out that they were successful in finding and catching an anaconda.
The flowers and other plants were very pretty, and we were happy that the mosquitos were not out in the bright sun, so we were very happy just tramping around the pampas.
Overall, our time in the pampas was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that we will never forget. The beauty and wonder of the natural world that we encountered during our time there will stay with us forever.
