Mariposas de Bolivia

December 2011 to February 2012.

Link to Naturephotos.dk about the travel to Bolivia dec 2011 to february 2012

Adam Faber, Peter Møllmann, Marianne Truelsen and Lars Andersen.

October 2011; In the fall of 2011 I agreed with Troells Melgaard together we had to travel to Bolivia. In november we bought tickets and started planning the trip there.

D. 19 December 2011; took Adam Faber, Peter Møllmann and Marianne Truelsen the flight over London, Miami to Bolivia.

January 2012; In early January 2012 Adam Faber went back to Denmark.

D. 2 January 2012; The other day at the locality of San Juan, there was an unusual number of newly hatched Morpho Deidamia electra, quote Peter Møllmann.

D. 9 January 2012; Peter Møllmann have seen the rare Prepona praeneste buckleyana (Hewitson, 1876), this is probably the first time ever it has been filmed and photographed in the wild! The locality was up in the 1400 meters in some mountainous forests near Caranavi, Yungas, Bolivia. This species are protectet by Cites (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

D. 10 January 2012; The day before we were to travel, Troells Melgaard had to cancel! It was not so good, that I had (Lars Andersen) just breathe a second time.

D. 11 January 2012; On the morning of January 11, 2012 Lars Andersen traveled from Copenhagen to London, Miami on to La Paz in Bolivia. Where I arrived early the next morning on January 12 local time.

D. 12 January 2012; Took a taxi to Vila Fatima in northeast La Paz, where I went on with Yunguanas micro buses on to Coroico. From 12th to 20th of January I was in Coroico area where I lived at the hotel Esmeralda above the city.

D. 13 January 2012; arrived Peter Møllmann and Marianne Truelsen to Coroico.

D. 14 January 2012; Grass slope on the north side of the mountain Uchumachi (2698m.), one can easily walk to the hotel Esmeralda (1820 m) of the Inca trails that go to the Cascades de San Juan (1910m.), the trip takes 2 hours of time when you pass through several small ravines. On the grass slope (Puna), few species butterflies that can handle the midday heat. Once you reach the small ravines are immediately more species butterflies. Here I rediscovered the unknown Riodinidae as I last saw in the same ravines back in February 2009. Se Butterflies from Coroico valley, Yungas, elev. 1700 m.

D. 19 January 2012; Peter Møllmann and Marianne Truelsen they go back to La Paz, to fly home the next day.

D. 20 January 2012; Then on January 20 that same morning I traveled to Caranavi further down along the Rio Coroico with my chauffeur Felix Flores. The next day we drive out together to San Juan to stand by a river to find butterflies. But the sun shine from a cloudless sky and there flew almost no butterflies. And there were warm with plenty of sun for the next days' time, it was all burned away, almost no butterflies? First on 26 the rain came in earnest, and then there was a little more life in the woods.

D. 30 January 2012; I drive to Guarnay, and on the road I saw some butterflies, and was delayed by a major traffic accident that total blocked the road. Two trucks across. So I came late to Guarnay, I was going to stay there some days, but then began the hard days of sunshine again, and the very next day I drive back to Caranavi.

D. 31 January 2012; I looked at my finances and discovered that they were depressed, had spent a little too much on transport due to the different road accidents on the road between Caranavi and Guarnay. The costs meant three fewer days in Guarnay. And in Caranavi I still could not raise my Visa.

D. 1 February 2012; I went to La Paz to raise money, and the plan was then to visit the high mountains.

D. 3 February 2012; I was up in the Cumbre for over three hours, it was hard because of the 4600 meters altitude which I mean walked in. I got altitude sickness, and even though I got 1000 meters down back in La Paz, I was not in particular improved. It was understood that I would otherwise go to Sorata and visit the mountains around there, but altitude sickness got me to switch plans.

D. 5 February 2012; in the morning I packed my luggage in 10 minutes and go back to Coroico for this time to just relax and get over the altitude sickness. And who was I to 15th February, and went some tours of the terrain and relaxed also a wonderful vacation.

D. 15 February 2012; I drive back across the Cumbre Pass to La Paz where I checked into the hotel Milton on Calle Illampu.

D. 16 February 2012; I fly back to Denmark from El Alto int. Airport over Brazil to Colombia at the small inland sea; Tardecer a la Cienaga Grande de Santa Marta, Mar Caribe, Colombia. And the city is behind the Cienaga. Mount Pico Bolívar in Venezuela in the background the distant horizon. Later we landed in Miami where I had to switch to the plane to London.

D. 17 February 2012;Next day I landed in Copenhagen with the airplane from London.

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