Early in the morning, right after the breakfast we leave Rurrenabaque in a motorized canoe. We navigate south against the current of the might river Beni. The banks of the river are dotted with small Indian settlements, mostly new colonizers from the Altiplano region. Not far from Rurrenabaque we navigate through imposing Bala Gorge (Estrecho de Bala). River Beni curved here its way through a mountain chain, the river narrows and the strength of the current increases, there is even some white water here. We continue another 25 km (15.5 mi)or so along River Beni and then we enter one of its tributaries; River Tuichi.
We continue northwest. Tuichi is not a great river; it is quite shallow and full of pebbles. During the dry season it is quite clean and some places are quite shallow that even the canoe has hard time to get through, however during the rainy season its current is quite strong and the crystalline water turns into muddy brown color. After a while we stop at the entrance to the Madidi National Park, and then continue another 50 km (31 mi) or so along the river. Here, Tuichi makes its way through the jungle with innumerate meanders and now and then sandy or pebble beaches, half hidden by the dense green vegetation, come into a view. One can observe flocks of parrots disturbed by the engine noise, and with bit of luck one can spot the lonely pairs of macaws, one can hear their screeching even over the noise of the engines as they fly away over the jungle canopy.
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