His practised eye no doubt exaggerates the feeling of paranoia. He conjures a watchful animal wherever he points his flashlight: a poison arrow frog, incandescent, beautiful, resting on the trunk of a fallen tree; a spider poised on a golden web; and creepiest of all, a caiman, eyes aglow, lurking in the marshy mud. My guide's calm is contagious, though, and the night forest becomes a kind of theatre. Birds, lizards and nocturnal flowers present themselves in turn. The elusive titi never materializes, but then the question of who discovered what seems utterly irrelevant.
Alvarez saves his best trick for last. With a twig slathered in spit, he lures a tarantula from its burrow. It scuttles and lunges, a fat, black grabbing fist. Instinct keeps it close to the burrow, ready to retreat. As I behold the strange, violent dance, I know I'll recall everything I've seen tonight as though from a dream.
At dawn, after a few hours of rest, we paddle across the lake to see vanilla orchids that grow along the water's edge. Squirrel monkeys watch us from the low branches. Macaws beat their wings overhead, scarlet and gold and blue. Something brushes the side of the canoe. Either I'm still asleep, or a little bit of the night's magic has lingered on.
Pack your bags
When to go
May is a good time to visit, as it is the end of the rainy season, the rivers are still high and the weather has begun to cool.
How to get there
LAN flies to La Paz from major Canadian cities with connections in the U.S. or Peru. From La Paz, Amaszonas and TAM offer daily flights to Rurrenabaque. Adventurous travellers can opt for one of the many daily buses that ply the beautiful, sometimes harrowing mountain roads between the two cities (about 18 hours).
Other activities
A popular alternative to rain-forest treks and eco-lodge stays are visits to the pampas, or Amazonian plains, where river dolphins and giant otters are popular attractions.
Special to The Globe and Mail
