Rurrenbaque Tours - Madidi Travel

Hi Erik07,
I am in agreement with you in regards to developed nations' consumption of fossil fuels and the need to end our addiction of fossil fuels. I campaign with Greenpeace in regards to this.

I do not "blame" Madidi NP for the possibility of prospecting, it is, as you say, clearly a matter of politics. My point was more that in having a reserve such as Serere, which is privately owned, it is perhaps not prone to the same whims of politics as National Parks here in Bolivia (and elsewhere), which are still state owned and operated and seem to be less protected than one would assume from their designation as a National Park. I do not doubt that if the government decided that they wanted to drill for oil or put a road through Serere for some lucrative reason that they would adapt the laws here to do so, but being privately owned does seem to offer it another layer of protection at this point.

"... being privately owned does seem to offer it another layer of protection at this point."

The reverse is probably true, and Serere would be no exception.

By the way, did you actually go into the Madidi NP and talk to some of the Tacana communities who live there?

No I have not been into the park or spoken personally with people living in communities there, although I have spoken to people from the park in Rurre, and a friend of mine was in Madidi for two months working at a lodge and in direct contact with people from a community. What is it that I'm to have gained in regards to knowledge relevant to this thread?

"What is it that I'm to have gained in regards to knowledge relevant to this thread?"
Well, how about some first-hand knowledge of the Madidi Park and of the opinions of the communitities living in it?
Please look back to the beginning of this thread.

You will see it starts with a post from one "Pearlycole" which passes on vague and unsubstantiated allegations of unethical practices in the Park based on what he or she was told by Madidi Travel. Pearlycole was asked (by me and others) to substantiate these allegations, but never again - nunca, jamas - appeared anywhere near the forum.
Subsequently, two or three other posters have popped up out of nowhere to say 1) what a marvellous time they have had at Serere (which nobody has challenged) and 2) to recycle the same allegations even though none of these posters appear to have been in the Park itself and none of them has provided any back-up to the allegations. Some of these posters have subsequently disappeared without trace.
So it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that visitors to Serere (including you) have been asked to post - on this rather ancient thread, which most of you will never have seen before) - to say 1) how much they enjoyed Serere and what a marvellous person Rosa Maria Ruiz is (fair enough), and 2) to pass on second-hand and unsubstantiated allegations about the Park ( NOT fair enough).
You are one of very few (if not the only one) of those who have posted on this thread from what we might call "the Serere angle" who have also .posted on other topics. As an earlier poster has said, you have given a very useful update on the flooding conditions in Rurrenabaque, so keep up the good work. But don't expect recycling unsubstantiated allegations to go unchallenged or different opinions to be expressed. And, as has also been pointed out, on another recent thread there is some fairly strong criticism of Madidi Travel.

An afterthought for those unfamiliar with the geography:
The Madidi area stretches westwards from the big, bad Beni River, which separates La Paz Department from Beni Department, to merge with the Apolobamba protected area in the La Paz highlands.

The San Miguel del Bala lodge, run by a Tacana community, is 45 minutes upstream from Rurre but on the opposite (western, La Paz) side of the river, just before the park entry point; they have an outposted camp inside the Park a couple of hours farther on up the Tuichi river, which runs into the Beni from the west. The Chalalan lodge, run by another Tacana community, is even farther up the Tuichi.
The Serere reserve, on the other hand, is downstream from Rurre on the eastern side of the river (Beni Department) and not even contiguous with the Park or the Madidi area.

So the name "Madidi Travel" is in itself misleading. Unintentionally, no doubt.

I don't think there is anything problematic with the fact that Ruiz's company is called Madidi Travel, as her reserve is located within a geographical area called the Madidi Trapeze, which encompasses the national park. She obviously chose it -like everyone else- because is the name people will know best, just as lodges in the immediate vicinities -but outside- Manu are called Manu. I saw the same in the Kruger park area in South Africa.

Regarding unethical practices, I agree that it is difficult to judge when you hear somebody speak about it. However, when you arrive in Rurrenabaque you are instantly approached by several tours operators promoting different tours, some of them jungle tours, some of them wetlands tours. They will happily show you photographs of these tours, in which foreign travelers happily grab baby caimans by their snout and pose next to anacondas. I did not go one of these but it's fairly obvious that they go completely against the spirit of ecotourism. (Apparently -but this I don't know for sure- they keep captive anacondas that they then conveniently "spot" when they bring tourists along. This doesn't make it any better, although it's slightly conforting to know they're not hounding every single anaconda they see. I still would never go on a tour of the sort).

I think at the end of the day one of the larger issues is what are the current conservation standards of the different actors involved in ecotourism in the Madidi basin. I can only speak for the one I saw -Serere- and I was very impressed by the way they preserve their patch of land.

Having spent time in the region myself, I must say that thankfully I've never posed for an unethical photo with a large snake, but I have eaten a couple.

Hi all

I'm going to post on this thread despite the fact it is over 3 years old as it seems to have plenty legs. For a variety of reasons, the lady in question and her Madidi Travel company/lodge appear to be a very emotive subject for a small number of people. My interest in the topic is that I am booked to do a Jungle tour with said company later this year and have stumbled across this thread. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Having read all the posts that have been submitted over the past 3+ years, one thing all the nay sayers seem to have in common is their use of third hand information and large dollops of conjecture! I feel this is very unfair, in any walk of life, and especially so when much of the negativity is coming from armchair critics with no first hand experience of the company/owner.

I am visiting Bolivia for the first time later this year and by all accounts, a jungle trip to Madidi N.P. (or the outskirts for those wanting to be pernickety) will undoubtedly be a highlight. I have read enough, on this website and others, to feel happy with my decision to book through Madidi Travel.

What can i say, I'm a born optimist and would rather not let the cynical nature of a few detract or discourage me, whatever their motivation. I think it is important to remember that there is a fine line between constructive criticism from ones first hand experiences and slander. This is ultimately somebody's life and livelihood.

I will of course report back on how the trip goes. A first hand account, which all critiques should be based on.

I'll get off my soap box now! ;-p

Cheers!

D.

Hello

www.madidi-travel.com

i visitet Rosa Maria Ruiz place, called Serere last juin. This was my best experience i had in the Amazonas in Southamerica. They do really a great job, carring about the nature, animals, local people, employers and the tourist. It is a very calm and peacefull place where you can get in a natural touch with the environement. Nilo is a very good guide, very calm and respectfull person, who show you wonderfull places in the reservation. You can decide day by day what you d'like to do - and you have not to run behind a big touristgroup. I had for the 10 days, i where there, my own guide. You have different activities, like observing the nature, fishing Piranias (very tasty), visiting the lovely spyder monkeys, caiman watching at night ore handicrafting jewellery with natural materials from the amazonas!!! Ore just relaxing in this peacefull environment. The bungalow are exceptional beautifull and the food is very tasty! Highly recommended!

To answer Erik07 in particular.

You mention unfounded accusations, possibly fuelled by an embittered, lone woman who "can't be a team player?"
You also attempt to defend The Madidi National Park's authorities on the basis that they are working along prestigious organisations, such as Conservation International Bolivia (CI).

Now, these guys are team-players, all right. Did you know they're actually a front for international corporations such as Monsanto, Mc Donald, Walt Disney and others ?... In a word, it's their multi-million dollar attempt at getting themselves a new environmental virginity of sorts, while they continue to destroy the planet and fill up their own pockets, to the greatest glory of Global Progress.

Oh, and I do have credentials, "virgin poster" or not. as these 2 threads will show:
http://www.grain.org/article/entries/406-conservation-international-privatizing-nature-plundering-biodiversity
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Conservation_International

Thank you for your kind input.
Nothing is what it seems, indeed, in Rurrenabaque as everywhere else on the planet.

Maybe Mrs Ruiz isn't as "one-sided" or "bitter" as you all seem to believe, after all.
She's just a woman who is mad enough to tell the truth and stand for it, while everyone else is just happy to make a buck on the Caiman's Back, so to say.

Cheers!

p.s: this is a post unashamedly in FAVOR of Serere and Madidi-Travel, and if you don't like it, tough luck.
Do your homework better next time, chums.