Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
the Jesuits in the seventeenth century. The Llanos are also home to semi-nomadic indigenous
groups such as the T'simane (or Chimane), for whom hunting is still an important source of
food, though shotguns have largely replaced bows and arrows as the weapon of choice.
Away from the former mission towns of
San Ignacio de Moxos
and San Borja, the Llanos
remain a sparsely populated wilderness where most ofthe wild animal species ofthe Amazon
still thrive, and because of the open vegetation they can be easier to spot than in the forest.
Even from the road, the
birdlife
you'll see here is spectacular and abundant, with water spe-
cies like storks and herons being particularly evident. Jaguars abound, and you may also spot
species not found in the forest, like the maned wolf, a long-legged, solitary hunter that moves
through the high grasses with a loping stride, or the rhea, a large flightless bird similar to
the ostrich. A few hours west of San Ignacio de Moxos, a large area of this distinctive en-
vironment is protected by the
Reserva de la Biosfera del Beni
, Bolivia's longest-established
protected area.
San Ignacio de Moxos
About 100km west of Trinidad lies the singular town of
SAN IGNACIO DE MOXOS
,
the so-called “Spiritual Capital of the Jesuit Missions”, originally founded by the Jesuits in
1689. It's a poor yet incredibly welcoming place with a unique and unforgettable atmosphere,
where horse- or ox-drawn carts are as common as motor vehicles, and where the largely in-
digenous population retain more of the traditions of the Jesuit era than any other town in the
Beni. While there's not much to do outside fiesta times, it's enough to simply marinate in
San Ignacio's lost-in-time aura; don't be surprised if complete strangers stop you in the plaza
simply to say “hello”, ask where you're from and how long you'll be staying.
WHEN SAN IGNACIO IGNITES: THE FIESTA PATRONAL
For most of the year San Ignacio is a sleepy backwater, except in late July, when the
Fiesta
Patronal
or Ichapekenepiesta rouses the town from its tropical torpor in celebration of its
titular patron saint. Considered the greatest
folkloric festival
in the Bolivian Amazon, it
reaches its zenith on the 31st in a riot of noise, colour, dancing and wonderful music, per-
formed on flute, drums, violin and metre-long palm-leaf
bajones
- a kind of giant trop-
ical equivalent to the highland quena (a type of traditional flute). The most iconic dance,
the
Machetero
, is both a salutation to the sun and a thinly veiled portrayal of the struggles
against Spanish rule, hypnotically performed by indigenous Moxeños dressed in brilliant
feather headdresses and long cotton robes. The austere-looking
achus
, by contrast, repres-
ent the spirits of the ancestors, their dark suits topped off with carved wooden masks and
raw-leather hats. Needless to say it's all accompanied by copious quantities of alcohol and
the familiar whiff of cordite; just don't expect much sleep.
