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TRAVEL BLOG ENTRY
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Sunday was the first day of our tour and we were supposed to be waking up early for a hike and a full day of activities. Instead, because of the flight delays yesterday, we took the five hour minivan ride (with a stop in Miranda for a buffet lunch) to Buraco das Pirahnas and then another 1.5 hours in a pickup truck on a dirt road to the Fazenda (ranch) we would be staying at. It took all day so we didn't get to do any activities, but we did see some animals along the road including a viper, giant anteater, a rhea (like an ostrich) jaribu storks, vultures, and egrets.
Finally at the fazenda, we saw the endangered hyacinth macaw (all blue), and probably about 100 monk parakeets who inhabited two of the trees near the houses. The facilities were very basic with no electricity and no running water. The water was pumped from a well and kept in plastic tanks, so when it ran out, we had to go without until more could be pumped. The sleeping "house" was simply a frame with some dried branches and a plastic tarp for a roof and mosquito nets for walls. And, of course, a family of bats living in the ceiling and feeding on the mosquitos that came in through the holes in the walls.
The next morning we got up early and started our routine for the next four days: early breakfast, morning activity, lunch, siesta time during the hottest part of the day, and then a late afternoon activity.
Our early morning hike took us through the forest and marshes alike. The deepest water was just above my knees. We saw some huge snails in the water. Many many cayman, two types of vultures, jaribu storks, and egrets were also seen. Other notables were the Amazon kingfisher, great kiskadee, black collared hawk, wattled jacana, and the beautiful Toucan Grande (toco toucan). We also saw some howler monkeys in the trees above. After lunch I sat by the water while the others slept and saw some of the above birds and also an eagle, which I couldn't identify because it wasn't in the guide's birdbook (which was for another area of south america but shared many of the same birds as the Pantanal).
Tuesday morning we woke to the sounds of the howler monkeys. We did every morning, but this day they sounded so close and it was as if they were surrounding us and getting ready to attack. It was something else.
From Tuesday to Thursday, we took more hikes including one to a swamp where we then got in canoes and paddled around, went horseback riding, piranha fishing, and a pre-dawn hike. Tuesday was a good day for birds of prey. We saw Snail Kites, more Black Collared Hawks, Sharp Shinned Hawks and a couple of others I never identified. Some new birds we saw were the Southern Screamer, White Lined Tanager, Barred Antshik (sp?), Gilled Cardinal, and the Olivaceous Cormorant. Also, the pale-crested woodpecker, cream backed woodpecker, wattled jacana, crestnut-eared aracari, rufous tailed jacamar, rufescent tiger heron, striated heron, muscovy duck (among others), great egret (among others), and both the buff necked and plumbeous ibis. The most interesting bird we saw was the American Anhinga, which we saw while it was swimming as we were piranha fishing. This bird swims with its whole body submerged up to its neck. There is no back to see like when you see a duck or a gull, so it looked as if a snake was going along the pond with its body straight up.
We also saw lots of caymen and other animals including some families of Coati (like racoons) and a family of Capybara I saw when I was out walking after lunch. There was an agouti, which looked like a big rat with the head of a bunny. We also got up close and personal with some howler monkeys. We were getting stuff thrown at us at one point. Finally, while we were horseback riding, we did manage to see a group of giant river otters in one of the ponds and another kind of anteater in a tree.
After lunch on thursday, we headed out of that part of the Pantanal and down to Bonito (which means 'beautiful' in Portuguese), on the edge of the marshland.
previous travel blog entry
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