What an adventure! If there's one thing this trip can confirm you is to never really have trust in what bolivianos tell you. After a long night ride from Cochabamba (on which we had the loudest snorer ever!) we made it to Buena Vista in the early morning. Very cute little village (where you can repair your computer and more, take Arabic dancing lessons, Zumba and enjoy beauty therapies in 3 different salon), where you can see that community work hard to keep it clean and worthy of passing by.
Amboro being not as cheap as we had hoped we wandered around for too many hours in order to try to get the best deal but mostly decide which destination in the park is the best to visit. After having discussed with a fair number of locals telling us different things (including tour agencies and the tourism information office linked to the mayor) we finally decided to head our own way to save some money. 30 min bumby truffi ride later, we find ourselves in the middle of nowhere where of course no taxis are awaiting us - as opposed to what we were told...! Thankfully we found a cute young local willing to drop us off with his friend. I am really not a motto person but when there's no choice...! And man was it worth it - the view was beautiful: tropical, green, typical housing – and a motto ride always bring in a freedom feeling, which I have to say is pretty amazing! Finally a great moment of the day!
Praying the accommodation wouldn't be full - we were surprised to see that we were the ONLY one in the resort - were there's nothing to do and where we discovered that all the beautiful things to see here would actually not really happen in Chonta... Not only because of off season but because it's not the right place... Thanks Bolivian Tourism Office!
So off we go anyways for this experience. 7 hours trekking later we saw only 2 monkeys (very far away), with difficulty some very small yet lousy birds and a dead snake!! I was very disappointed to not have seen more animals. The jungle walk was nice (very green and with some interesting medicinal trees) but I don’t think it’s the best jungle you can see around here.
It was a nice gateway from Cochabamba (expect for the very violent mosquito bites and the tics we brought home…!) and actually a great place to have good sleep thanks to the darkness and quietness (or at least natural noise of the jungle) of the place!
Amboro being not as cheap as we had hoped we wandered around for too many hours in order to try to get the best deal but mostly decide which destination in the park is the best to visit. After having discussed with a fair number of locals telling us different things (including tour agencies and the tourism information office linked to the mayor) we finally decided to head our own way to save some money. 30 min bumby truffi ride later, we find ourselves in the middle of nowhere where of course no taxis are awaiting us - as opposed to what we were told...! Thankfully we found a cute young local willing to drop us off with his friend. I am really not a motto person but when there's no choice...! And man was it worth it - the view was beautiful: tropical, green, typical housing – and a motto ride always bring in a freedom feeling, which I have to say is pretty amazing! Finally a great moment of the day!
Praying the accommodation wouldn't be full - we were surprised to see that we were the ONLY one in the resort - were there's nothing to do and where we discovered that all the beautiful things to see here would actually not really happen in Chonta... Not only because of off season but because it's not the right place... Thanks Bolivian Tourism Office!
So off we go anyways for this experience. 7 hours trekking later we saw only 2 monkeys (very far away), with difficulty some very small yet lousy birds and a dead snake!! I was very disappointed to not have seen more animals. The jungle walk was nice (very green and with some interesting medicinal trees) but I don’t think it’s the best jungle you can see around here.
It was a nice gateway from Cochabamba (expect for the very violent mosquito bites and the tics we brought home…!) and actually a great place to have good sleep thanks to the darkness and quietness (or at least natural noise of the jungle) of the place!
Transportation: 50 from CBBA + 2 bus station tax
92 - within Amboro (truffi and motto taxi)
Accommodation: El Chonta - 35Bs per night
F&B: 105 at the hostel (15 for breakie, 30 per lunch and dinner)
50 for a lunch in Buena vista
Activities: 75 for a day guide tour per person
92 - within Amboro (truffi and motto taxi)
Accommodation: El Chonta - 35Bs per night
F&B: 105 at the hostel (15 for breakie, 30 per lunch and dinner)
50 for a lunch in Buena vista
Activities: 75 for a day guide tour per person