That thing called Wanderlust

So the last few days have been intense, full moon, eclipse, blood moon and the deep desire to flee or hide or even jump off a bridge. Somehow the "normality" of it all strikes you when you stop for a minute and observe the routine I have so quickly slipped into once again.
The mind is constantly rearranging , making sense , finding ways to safely categorize everything but not this time. This time the filing system seems to be a little messy, not sure where things need to go, which need to be safely filed away , addressed or completely be deleted.
Dongzhimen bridge is too low - I will seriously damage a car and then have to fork out a vast amount of RMB on top of a hospital bill.
For those of you that don't know me , I do occasionally suffer from deep futility - from what is the point ? What am I doing , and why am Im doing it here.
If I could keep traveling I would, but I need respite , rest , a cupboard , a bed and a cat - what for others is their day to day  lives is for me a sweet moment in time where I can dream once more of leaving.

So two days confined to my laptop , an empty apartment ( one flat mate is in Italy , the other well who knows where Little Fish is lurking) and I'm barely breathing under the severity of the travel bug .
Sharp and starving there is nothing to feed him , no endless exploration online can even for a moment appease the hunger . Starving the bug to death is impossible - this will kill us both .
And in the moments of searching Japan, Mongolia for  few scraps to feed the bug I stumble across and ex - work mate here from China and read his blog - I know I am not alone.
Somehow even though so many I know live with this same way of looking at the world I still know we feel alone in our quest for meaning . Don't get me wrong - it is a curse as well as a blessing.
Happiness is long found - it's the stare out the train window in Vietnam , eating Pho Ba for the first time in the streets of Saigon , the sunrise at Angkor wat , the deep orange of monk robes against the grey stone , the morning solstice mist at Macchu Picchu , the hot volcanic sand of Santorini, the devotional air of Varanasi , the cobbles stoned streets of Prague , the sweet smell of heather and  rain in the Scottish highlands  - this is my happiness.
China , Beijing right now you need to feed this bug - keep it happy , keep it alive - till we both head off for new adventures.
But will I have to slow down , stop -  feed the bug one cuisine - plans to relocate to Peru feel right , to build a home -stop - but will it be enough ?

Amazon basin - I love the smell of DEET in the morning !

Rurrenabaque is the portal here into the Bolvian Amazon - many tours operate from here and the town is whizzing with motorbikes , locals eating, eating and eating and foreigners waiting for their trips to begin !
Its hot, humid and rainy ! Don't forget a cheap B$ 5 rain coat - just in case ! I opted for the pampas instead of the jungle eco lodge tour as I was told Id be guaranteed more animals and less mosquitoes !
Well ------- ! Its also not rainy season yet - so lucky for me - more wildlife attracted to the river and less mosquitoes - but so so many other flying -into-your-hair bugs !
The ride from Rurrenabaque is bumpy - 3 hours of bumpy ! , our jeep was worse for wear - twice we had to stop as there was strange noises coming from the carriage of the car - which was ignored after a brief kick we were on the road again.
We had a basic lunch in Santa Rosa before we headed out on our boat - another 3 hours - far more interesting and comfortable than the jeep ride. Slather on the sunblock and then the DEET mosquito repellent - the beginning of a 3 day ritual !

This is definately the highlight - being on the river - getting up close and personal with the wildlife . Hundreds of crocodiles , entire families of  capybara ( giant semi-aquatic rodents - yes ---- The worlds largest rat ! with webbed feet ) , sunbathing chilling- out turtles on logs - little yellow squirrel monkeys chattering away , we saw one Toucan at our camp and a multitude of birds - herons, kingfishers,egrets,hawks, eagles,hoatzin(paradise birds) - all just going about their daily business at the riverside. Anacondas in the lake and piranha fishing in the river -quite an itinerary !
The dolphins came on day two - so elusive to capture on camera - greyish, pinkish dolphins , swimming and playing in the river. Beauty ! Swimming with the dolphins is recommended - really ? I see a black caiman croc over there and didn't we just fish here yesterday for piranhas ! And besides having studied Microbiology who knows what parasites abound here in these waters - I'm brave but not that brave !

The camp site - lodge was very basic but ok - riverside with good views to watch the animals . We all share in wooden huts with mosquito nets - a cook on hand to feed us - hammocks for relaxing , a generator for awhile at night to provide some electricity to charge all those damn phones and cameras! Giant I mean giant frogs - be careful where you walk . I had the privilege of   a small jumping frog in the shower- nearly made me  jump out of my skin ! The second night the bugs came - in full force - Stephen King like movie proportions - I itch now just thinking of it ! Luckily after a long days walk - I pass out no time to think of what is crawling about in the darkness outside. But just for a moment before I fall asleep I listen and hear a million sounds - beauty !

In the early evening we would take the boat up to the view point to watch the sunset - drink a beer - some travellers playing volleyball and soccer and most of us just lounging - taking the day in.
Tired , sunburnt but happy - a great experience -much seen and learnt - dark star filled skies and the coolness of the night air. Making memories !

 The Camp

 Finally at the river!

Anacondas and Psychedelic Mushrooms - all in a mornings walk

 NO ANACONDAS WERE HARMED - Six km's in wet, smelly pampas - knee deep in mud, toppling over , through shoulder high reeds - hiding at least 23 species of snake - we go off to " hunt " the Anaconda. The locals  talk about a 9 meter long snake - I shudder - But knowing that ours will be a touristy event - so no fear needed !
The walk is gruelling once the sun is high and the wellies are hot and sticky against your leg.
To no avail , we search one lake after the other , find a shady spot to rest and then continue.
One dead anaconda and we nearly give up - but still a 1km to walk back to camp.
We encounter crabs, huge snails, a small black snake , birds of all sorts and mushrooms - toxic - hallucinogenic mushrooms the guide explains. No one is up for it ! Damn !

Anyway soon , we hear another guide shout and there it is - Baby anaconda - damn you Hollywood ! ruining it for us ! One and a half meters of Anaconda - hmmmmm - back to the lake with you !

A shower and siesta in the camp before we hit the river for our night trip !

BOLIVIA - FOOD AND MORE FOOD !

 Llama chorizo sandwich with a salty cheese (almost like feta) ,mustard and salad - La Paz

 Tucuman - Thin , flaky pastry stuffed full with potato, chicken, beef,vegetables and egg -La Paz - so filling - not my favourite as the filling can be a little stodgy !

 Quinoa Beer - Delcious - Bolivia being the largest quinoa producer in the world

Saltena - The story of the saltena is that a woman from Salta , Argentina introduced the empanada to Bolivia - The saltena is a crispy pastry , Fried - unlike empanadas which are baked - filled with either meat ( carne) Chicken (pollo) or Vegetables- the sauce you smother them in has a nice bite alongside some fresh onion and tomato- Delciious ! Off the streets many little shops and street vendors are selling these - mostly around breakfast time !