Day 5: Rainforest and Animal Refuge
Bolivia has very diverse biomes. While staying in La Paz, it was very dry without much vegetation, but a few hours in a bus took us to Coroico, a lush, green rainforest. On the way there, we also passed the entrance to Death Road, a narrow road with no guardrail above a terrifying drop, for years the most dangerous road in Bolivia until its use was limited to bikes only. We visited the Senda Verde animal refuge and got to see monkeys, tropical birds, and an armadillo. Many of the animals had been rescued from traffickers attempting to sell them as exotic pets.
The group at the entrance to Death Road! Thankfully we did not have to take this road to our destination.
Monkeys playing in an enclosure at Senda Verde. The goal is for the monkeys to get used to living with other monkeys again so that they can hopefully join the free monkey troupe that roams the jungle outside of the Senda Verde enclosure.