Day 2 The Pampas

Weather: http://www.phobia-fear-release.com/thunder-storm-phobia.html

Mosquito Count: Everyone was more worried about the alligators. Don´t remember any mosquitoes, but may have been eaten by a few bed bugs in the night (the amount of deet on my face meant they didn´t feel inclined to nibble my nose this time.)

The morning... Anaconda Hunting:

Armed with holey wellies five gullible tourists set off into a swamp. The swamp turned out to be a bit deeper than the wellies, so pretty soon I was up to my knees in primordial gloop. Oscar the guide instructed us to look for anacondas, and not to move if we stepped on one. Unfortunately the same applied to alligators, who liked a bit of swamp time in the mornings. The problem is I´m not completely sure what an anaconda looks like, the only reference I had was Disney´s The Jungle Book. Luckily, Beth had done the same thing the day before, and told a good scare story about a snake she had chased for ten minutes- the guide laughed when he joined her and happily told her she´d been chasing a Cobra, which if caught would have killed her in under ten minutes.

Anyway to my great relief all snakes had better things to do that morning than be trod on by one of my wellies. Unfortunately for the guide Oscar he managed to stand on the tail of an alligator. I´ve never seen a Bolivian run so fast. (He escaped unharmed.)

The afternoon... Piranha Fishing:

I have discovered my true talent in life: I am an excellent Piranha fisher. This is probably due to years of going crabbing on family holidays. In fact the equipment looked pretty similar -the only difference being you need steak to catch Piranha. I caught eleven in just under an hour. The American (who had before declared himself a member of the American killing religion) caught one. Admittedly the vast majority were not much bigger than a north Norfolk crab. But I did get to eat one for supper that evening. Their teeth were terrifying, and one gave me a rather quick manicure of one finger nail while I was clumbsily trying to remove a hook.

The evening... Armageddon Thunder Storm:

We watched it approach. An hours worth of spectacular lightening against the back drop of the forest. The storm was eerily silent, with the trees acting as sound barriers. And then it hit. Torrential rain wind and thunder and lightening for the next nine hours.

All bed bugs were sadly drowned. Had nightmares about waking up to find an alligator next to me.