Madidi - Bolivia

Evening mist in the Andean mountains

My second trip to Bolivia has come to an end and my archives have been updated with a great selection of images from this fascinating country. This time I travelled together with my friend and cameraman Marius Harlem. Our goal was to document the stunning ecological diversity stretching from the Andean mountains, through the cloud forest and into the rainforest of Madidi national park.

Cloud forest along the Beni River

We travelled with car from La Paz together with conservationist, feminist and brave spokesman of the Bolivian wilderness Rosamaria Ruiz. Together with her organisation Madidi Travel she had prepared every detail of our trip going with car over the Cordilliera Real, on river boat on the Mapiri and Beni river system to Rurrenabaque, and last but not least our rewarding stay at Serere nature reserve.

Rosamaria Ruiz

Rainforest

Going with Rosamaria, our journey took an unexpected turn. We, and she, were expecting to see lush cloud forest, parrots and toucans, and tracks of Tapir and Jaguar along our trail. However, we became witness to an ongoing destruction buffering the Madidi triangle and also far into the most biological diverse national park of the world. New, illegal, roads have opened the areas to fortune seeking gold miners settling in new areas every day. Along with miners comes burning of forest for growing vegetables and Coca, illegal logging particularly for Mahogany, and illegal hunting.

Drying Coca leaves

The beauty of the place is still breathtaking, but around every corner is another threat building up. We need to be on our toes to make sure this stunning part of the world is not broken into small pieces of memories.

Butterflies along the river

After getting to Rurrenabaque we had a couple of days to recover and charge some batteries. My ankle was badly swollen after multiple insect bites and I could hardly walk. Thanks to Dr. Drew and some antihistamines I was pretty fit after a couple of days ready to head out to Serere sanctuary. Located in breathtaking floodplain rainforest, it is where Madidi Travel is operating their eco-lodge tourist destination. The money made from tourism is all put back into conservation work, benefiting both nature and people living in the area.

Pepe the Spider monkey, at the sanctuary (C)

We spent eight days in Serere and were stunned by the diversity of the place. Only ten years ago it was no more than cut forest and short vegetation. After intense protection work and re-introduction of some species of wildlife the place is now as good a jungle as any. To prove that their work has been a success, Serere now hold a population of four Jaguars and also Tapir, as well as a good number of birds and monkeys, including rare Spider monkeys. We had encounters with Tapir, Wild pigs, Coatis, Anteater, Howler monkey, Spider monkey, Capuchin monkey and Squirrel Monkey. We also saw lots of birds including the Hoatzin and Macaws, and also butterflies, snakes, Black Caimans and fascinating bugs.

Squirrelmonkey

Capuchin monkey

Poison dart frogs

Tarantula

Wildlife photography in the rainforest is no easy task. The light is always challenging, as well as dense vegetation. We had lots of great encounters, but getting the shots were really hard. When Marius twisted his ankle working efficiently became very difficult.

Marius charging batteries with a bad ankel

Still, I managed to get some nice animals even if we only stayed for eight days. Many of these images were made possible only because of excellent work by the local trackers Choco Mano and Van Damm (Juan I believe), and also Rosamaria herself.

Waiting for the pigs, sweating like a pig...

Butterflies gathering to eat salt on the beach (Yes the guide peed here...)

I will need to take this opportunity to thank Madidi Travel, and Rosamaria in particular for supporting my work in Bolivia and getting me home safely. I can really recommend everyone a stay at Serere lodge. The service (and food) provided by the staff, as well as the authentic wildlife encounters at Serere is not found anywhere else in the Madidi area.

My next trip to Bolivia is already being planned. Hopefully we will be able to work with some really elusive and rare animals, as well as document some of the most beautiful places in the world found in this underexposed country.

Anteater