Start of the Pampa Tour

We can lock the large rucksacks in the lockers and only take the bare essentials with us Three day tour in the pampas. We are supposed to be ready at the Dolphins Tour office at 8.30 a.m., but a member of staff arrives during breakfast and tells us that the other tourists have not arrived. However, he does not say whether the tour will take place normally. In any case, we insist on not postponing the tour and starting today. After waiting almost an hour, an off-road vehicle arrives, in which we load our luggage.

In the meantime, the saleswoman has succeeded in getting two South Koreans interested in the tour. The four of us drive in a Toyota Landcruiser for almost three hours through steppe-like farmland and swamps Santa Rosa de Yacuma. A simple lunch is waiting for us here before loaded onto the longboat becomes.

So the river safari can begin. The water level is correspondingly high in the rainy season, which will make it more difficult to spot larger animal species. We encounter numerous species of water birds, for which the swamps are a paradise. The funny-looking ones are particularly noticeable Hoatzine. When we got a group of little ones Squirrel monkey discover, our South Koreans can think of nothing better than to attract the monkeys with dried fruit. The monkeys climb on their heads and laps like a raid until the guide snatches the food from them.

At other low-cost providers, however, the guides themselves feed the animals. Not a prime example of sustainable ecotourism.

After a good two hours we reach the lodge, which is a little old. Standing on stilts and at this time of the year completely surrounded by water there are some simple huts connected by wooden walkways. We move into the room and after popcorn we go to the Sunset viewpoint. Today, because it is very cloudy, there is precious little of it to be seen. The whole thing probably serves more for the livelihood of some locals, who sell snacks and drinks to the numerous tourists.

Back at the lodge, the delicious evening buffet awaits. Then goes on Night safari to us. It doesn't take long before we get the orange glittering eyes of some spectacled caimans discover in the glow of our flashlights. Unfortunately, nothing else can be discovered during a short stalking through higher country. The heavenly one is impressive starry skywhich really comes into its own when the engine and flashlights are switched off.