We always knew we wanted to go to the Amazon but hadn’t yet figured out which country to access it from. We thought it best to do it in this 3 month stint as our 3 month Central America trip was looking pretty full. We had heard that there was a town you could fly to in Peru that was nice but when we looked into it we quickly realised that it was also very expensive. At one of the hostels we were staying at we heard mention of going via Rurrenbaque in Bolivia. So we looked it up and found a recommended ecolodge that is owned by the local Community and all money gets used within the community. We quickly made the decision that this place was for us.
The trip started off rather well as we got a free lift to the airport with Magali who was from Luxembourg who worked for an NGO in Bolivia. Talking with interesting people like her always makes us both think about future jobs and what we want to do.
We checked in and everything was great until we were asked to open our carry on bag and we had forgotten to take out the Leatherman! The Airport man sternly told us that you could not take knives onto the plane. We apologized profusely and tried to explain that we just forgot about it and headed back down to put all our electronics in a plastic bag and then check in the day pack.
So our flight was called and off we walked through the gate towards about a 50 seater plane. As we were walking Tim asked if I had ever been on a plane so small. I said no had you? His answer was yes but quickly changed to maybe not as we walked straight past that plane to one half the size! 
The flight was horrible. I am sure there was hardly any turbulence but in a plane that size I thought we were going to die! We were twisting and turning and lurching up and down all the way, at one point I thought I was going to be sick. I was also worried that Tim’s Kindle was affecting the controls. Luckily it was only a half hour trip! We arrived safe and sound to ridiculous heat and humidity and a very tropical vibe!
Rurrenbaque reminded us a lot of Port Douglas. Not only for the weather but just the feel of the place. We got to our lodgings and quickly jumped in the pool with all the other travelers. We then went to dinner with some of said travelers to a restaurant run by a really nice Aussie, whose Bolivian wife makes a mean Pacu curry wrapped in leaves. All in all a pretty relaxing start (other than the plane ride) to our Amazon adventure! S

 
They are smiles of fear and pure terror.

Small plane, big mountains.  As you can see we flew through a gap in the mountain range rather than going over the top.
  

Safe and sound in the Amazon.  If there had been a man selling beers at this point I think everyone would have had two!  As you can see from the height of the cabin we had to bend over more or less double to walk down the aisle to our seats.
 

Rurrenabaque from the river.  Just a small outpost in the middle of the Amazon.
  

The hustle and bustle of the main streets in the town. Definitely more motorbikes than anything else and a very laid back attitude.