Enjoying Bolivia 227speak with more enthusiasm for the towns of Guayaramerín
and Rurrenabaque.
Guayaramerín’s great advantage is that it lies across the
Mamoré river from Brazil. Railroad enthusiasts are best
situated here to appreciate the remains of the Madeira–
Mamoré Railroad.
Guayaramerín’s Brazilian counterpart is Guajará–Mirim.
A road from there to Porto Velho, the terminal for the ill-
fated train line, uses the original railroad bridges that were
supposed to connect with Guajará–Mirim.
Rurrenabaque: the Fine Line
Between Tourism and Penance
“Unlike other lowland places in Bolivia,” says expat astrologer,
Melissa Johnston, “Rurre is not fl at. If you come in the dry
season, between May and October, there won’t be much of
a mosquito problem and the weather can actually become
quite cool!”
Let’s go to Rurre, stay in a comfortable hotel with a
private bath, walk the streets of the prettiest town in the
Bolivian lowlands, watch the luxuriant Beni River from