My Jungle Memoirs 3. Jungle Walks

Walking in the jungle is very different from other kinds of trekking. It is usually not that important to get from point A to B. It is much more crucial what one sees on the way. Sometimes one can walk twice the same path and still see very different things.

Walking in Madidi Park allowed me to feel a little bit like a hunter (without being forced to put bullets through animals). We followed our guide closely and tried to be as quiet as possible. This proved to be a challenge for Marc, especially if we didn't talk for more than half an hour! We walked slowly and our guide was looking around and stopping to listen to the sounds of animals every now and then.

At some point the guide would stop, tell us to be very quiet, and motion us to come closer. Then he would whisper the name of the animal he spotted. Sometimes it was a toucan or a paradise bird or different sorts of monkeys or something still different. Sometimes the animal would escape before we could see it. But other times we were rewarded with views on all kinds of interesting creatures.

Funnily enough, my best experience was with spotting wild pigs. Now, there is nothing exotic about them but the experience still gave me a lot of thrill. Our guide heard wild pigs but honestly, I don't know how he did it. The jungle is NEVER quiet. All sorts of insects and birds and animals create a relentless concert day and night. And yet our guide was able to make sense of it. He was able to tell us how many of the pigs he had heard, how many of them and how far they were. However, Marc and I were barely able to recognize the noise and there was no question of seeing the animals. Then, finally, our guide stopped us once, told us to get down and listen. This time even I didn't have doubts, the noise was unmistakable. First we could only see some leaves moving at a distance. The guide told us to stay still and the pigs would walk in front of us. After a few minutes the noises became louder. They were coming from all around us. We were surrounded. And then, surely enough, the wild pigs started a parade directly in front of us. If we were Asterix and Obelix we couldn't have had an easier job :-)

Some animals are extremely hard to see in the jungle. But one day after heavy rain our guide showed us numerous fresh tracks of different animals, among them the leopard and the tapir. Seeing how easy it is to find them (at least for the guide...) made us realize that the Madidi National Park truly is truly rich with wildlife.