las Amazonas

I've been waiting to go to the Amazon since I learned about it in 2nd grade

I flew into Rurrenabaque, Bolivia to start the tour

it was beautiful

we took a 3 hour boat ride into the jungle 

and saw plenty of alligators along the way

we stayed at an eco-lodge in the middle of the Amazon

and from there trekked into the jungle

we saw monkeys

found tarantulas hiding under rotting branches

marching ants

ginormous trees

funky mushrooms

the biggest spider webs i've ever encountered

an anaconda swamps

we also learned about the medicinal plants and trees

these leaves are a natural antivenom for snake bites

also good for indigenous face paint

and these trees provide natural drinking water

this spider, known as the queen of the amazon, will instantly paralyze you and kill you within a day

these spiders are also pretty dangerous and have already killed 10 people in town this year

but my favorite of all we saw were the scarlet macaws (my character in the 2nd grade rainforest play)

they always fly in pairs

in my head they mate for life :)

back at camp, the guides made us jewelry from plants as souvenirs 

it was perfect, even though I got a huge tick (first one of my life, i hope i never get another)

then after the tour went back to town and relaxed for a few days

before heading back to La Paz from the "airport," more like runway, in Rurrenabaque
location: Parque Nacional Madidi, Bolivia

death road

Yungas Road, known as death road for how dangerous it is, is the old road from La Paz to Coroico (61 km)

survived no problem :)
location: La Paz, Bolivia

had the best past month!

volunteering at a baby orphanage in Bolivia

onesies for days

i know half the kids are crying. but it is my only group shot
location: Cochabamba, Bolivia

train graveyard

remnants of trains carrying minerals to the pacific in the early 1900s
location: Uyuni, Bolivia

uyuni!! : day 3

we made it to the salar (salt flat) on the third day

we woke up at like 430 am to see the sunrise over the flat

which is huge...over 4k sq miles

it's like another planet

then we visited Incahuasi island in the middle of the flat

sadly there was no water so we didn't get the cool reflection effect, but we did have (too much) fun with optical illusions!

 

it was without a doubt one of the best days of my trip
location: salar de uyuni, bolivia