Tons of Pictures, Finally!

So here are some of the better pictures that go along with the last two or three entries. I can´t post them all, it would be too much, so I tried to pick my favorites. Most are from Rurrenebaque, Bolivia, where I trekked into Las Pampas (Wetlands) for 3 days, and then trekked into The Madidi Jungle (National Park) for 3 days. Basically you have to give up any sense of cleanliness and all those little fixes you do every morning (''Is my hair the way I like it? Do I smell good? Are my hands clean?'') and take a cold shower and just suck it up when yoú're dirty again, sweating, and scratching bug bites 15 minutes later.

Enjoy and leave me some love in comment form.

P.S.: Pictures are in roughly reverse order that I took them, they start with La Paz, Coroico at the bottom, then move up through the Pampas and then up more to Jungle Pics. If you want them in order start at the bottom..

More crazy mushrooms - these aren't magic though.

Frog - there were lots of really big ones, but they were quick and too hard to get a good picture, like a lot of animals in the jungle (mainly pigs, monkeys, and high-flying parrots/birds, rabbits, possums..).

Jungle coconut. Small, but edible. The big ones you've seen are grown in farms but don't exist in the jungle (according to the guide).

A few good jungle vines to swing on, this one over a dry river.

This river crossing is higher than it looks in a tiny picture..

Even the trees'll getcha. Giant spines. There were others that when cut, tons of Currare poison spilled out, indigenous people use it for spear tips and fishing.

Saw this guy on the night hike, he was probably trying to find someone's bed to chill in. Bigger than my hand, and had super large fangs.

Jungle Tortoise.
Tough to get perspective, but this ant was about the length of my index finger and had chompers to match.

There are tons of different types, colors, and sizes of mushrooms everywhere. These ones are hallucinogenic drugs - ''Ongos Magicos.'' The guide prohibited us to touch any.

Giant sneaky leaf that´s really a huge praying mantis the size of your hand.

Madidi: This vine, when cut, has tons and tons of safe water to drink inside. Forest survival 101 (the guide is on the right, crazy-looking member of group drinking water on left).
Madidi: The trek to camp. Take off your shoes, watch for gators.

Other big non-poisonous but spiny spider waiting for your face.
Big dangerous termite, waiting for your unsuspecting toes.
Big spider. Lots of these guys waiting to get in your hair.
Madidi Jungle: There´s a thousand captions I can put for this picture. I´m going to stay away from most of them, but yes, these grow out of certain trees, some are long, some are short. The tree is unofficially referred to as ''El Arbol de los Hombres'' (The Man's Tree).MADIDI JUNGLE PICTURES ABOVE, PAMPAS PICTURES BELOW (Both are parts of the Bolivian Amazon)

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Me swimming with Alligators, Dolphins, and Pirhana in dark brown river water..

River sunset, Pampas.
Favorite picture from Sunset Bar, on the river in the Pampas after sunset.
Pirhana teeth.

Pampas guide, Bismar, and the 10 Pirhanas he caught. I caught zero, but ate 4. Generous?
This guy wanted my hand. He was on the shore while we swam next to him.

Las Pampas marshland crabs.
Me and wild Anaconda, small one. I look funny because I had been walking and sweating for 3 hours already.
Las Pampas grasslands..

Butterfly in an internet cafe.

Giant pig in the restaurant.. this guy had gnarly teeth.
Hungry monkeys eating out of our hands.
Pissed off Capybara.
Las Pampas, Rurrenebaque, Bolivia: Muddy shoes.

La Paz: Old School drums in the Museum of Musical Instruments! Rock on, 1907!

La Paz: Llama fetuses and potions in the Mercado de las Brujas (Witches' Market).
Coroico, from a quick hike I took. Rainforest, mountains, and rain.
La Paz, Bolivia: Che, something similar to ''All of our action is a rebel yell against imperialism.''

Llamas stop for nobody. Road to Coroico, Bolivia.

Hope you enjoyed all those and that they didn't take your computer 7236 hours to load. Now I'm off West from La Paz towards Peru, heading up the coast. Much love and hope the luck is turning better with the Southern California fires.

(La) Paz, (thanks Jean-Marc)

Brian