Back from Madidi

My first story after arriving in Bolivia was about the discovery of a new species of monkey in Madidi National Park. Dana and I finally got our chance to look for the new monkey last weekend.

Getting to Madidi involves your choice of a 20+ hour bus ride or a bumpy one-hour flight between a couple Andean peaks to Rurrenabaque, in the heart of the Bolivian Amazon. In that time you descend 12,000 feet and gain about 30 degrees Celcius.

From Rurre we boarded a longboat for the five-hour trip up the Beni and Tuichi Rivers. We didn't end up seeing the new monkeys, but we did see three of the continent's most dangerous snakes within about 20 feet of each other on a night hike, huge groups of howler monkeys, caimans ("alligators" for the Americans out there) and plenty of macaws. I've posted a link to some photos on the right. You shouldn't need a password to view them.