Pantastic!

Alligator
see all photos »

DAY 1 We began our journey into the Pantanal Wetlands (in the region of Mato Grosso) in a minibus - in which we were taken to the immigration "office" (a small room inside an equally small shopping complex) & a supermarket - in order that we could stock up on drink for the nights ahead. At some point we were then transferred into a bench-seated, open-sided 4WD truck, which was to be our transport for the next few days whilst in the wetlands. Once aboard we met our local guide, Levy, who seemed very nice. At one point, he & Fredy were having this conversation about the wet/dry seasons which I commented upon - at which point he looked at me quite surprised & said "oh, you speak Spanish". Good job they weren't talking about anything more racy than that - ha ha ha! Mind you, might have made for more interesting earwigging :o)

Jabiru
see all photos »

That said, the first language of Brazil is actually Portuguese, so bang goes all of my learning to date! Considering that Spain & Portugal are neighbouring countries, it is amazing how different the languages sound. Whilst there are common words & phrases, pronunciation is so different that I actually found it really hard to speak or understand - despite others' best efforts to educate me!

The last part of the journey to our campsite was down a dusty track, through the heart of the wetlands. En route we got to see some really cool wildlife including many an alligator (with yellow stripey tails - which is how you can tell them apart from caiman) & a family of capybaras. Eventually we reached our campsite. Having settled ourselves into our accommodation i.e. a hut full of hammocks which were to serve as our beds for the next few days, we went for a walk. Once again, we got to see some fab wildlife - this time highlights included a lesser anteater (which just didn't want to stir, no matter how many times our guide prodded it - poor thing!), an armadillo (have ALWAYS wanted to see one of these in the wild!), an owl, some blue macaws (the largest of the parrots), some coatis & agoutis, & a couple of howler monkeys. A veritable feast of wildlife! There was also a beautiful sunset but I couldn't spend too long admiring it/taking photographs because I was being eaten alive at the same time :o(

Bird hitching a ride on a capybara
see all photos »

Back at base we had a little time to chill out before heading into the "dining hut" for en masse dinner (a kind of buffet which we were to share with the rest of Ecological Expeditions' current guests). During our free time I braved a cold shower in the dark - probably better than having lights anyway, as it meant I was unable to see any nasty critters! After dinner we had time for a few bevvies. Mon & I opted for some caipirinhas. Lish.

DAY 2 In the morning we went on a fantastic horseride. The first ride I'd been on since leaving home when the horses were actually fit & raring to go - so much so that Mon & I were given free rein ('scuse the pun!) to do as much galloping as we wished. Yippeeeeeeeee :o)  My poor horse didn't have a name so for no reason known to myself we christened him Henry. Fredy came out with us which was a bit of a surprise (he's not too keen on the jungle!) & was absolutely hilarious. Because his horse was a bit more stubborn than ours it had to be given a little tap on the bottom to get it going. Part way through the ride, Phil obiliged with a stick he was carrying & Fredy's horse shot off. Soon after he turned round to Phil & said "hit me again, hit me again"! Very funny indeedy (but quite possibly a 'you had to be there' kind of moment!).

Family of capybaras
see all photos »

Just as we were approaching the campsite a foal came running up to Henry & started to suckle. Turns out she was a Henrietta & not a Henry! It was such a lovely moment being sat atop the horse whilst her foal was feeding. Bless. We also got to see a couple of toucans in a tree - the closest ones I've ever seen. What a great few days this was turning out to be. The Pantanal rocks :o)

After lunch we had a few hours to relax, so Mon & I went down to the river to sunbathe & take a dip. Having seen a fair number of alligators since arriving in the wetlands we were a bit anxious about jumping into the water with them, but were told we'd be perfectly safe. Nonetheless we screamed like girls as we jumped in (together, on the count of 3, but of course - just in case!). Then we lasted for all of about 3 minutes until Mon felt something brush against her which made us both squeal again & clamber back out - up the slippery bank. Yuk. A couple of lads also staying at the campsite eventually came down to the river as well, & we agreed to go back in if they joined us. All the same, it still wasn't very relaxing - the water was so murky that you couldn't see a thing!

Kingfisher
see all photos »

Back on terra firma it was time to make a necklace each, using aloe vera fibre & a section of a nut as the centrepiece. Levy showed us what knots to use to make different patterns & then off we went. I have to say, I had great fun making mine & it turned out pretty cool :o)  Later on in the afternoon we went for a cruise along the river which was most relaxing! We saw tons more wildlife, including kingfishers, jabiru, toucans, a yellow parrot, a tiger heron, a couple of black vultures & a couple of sloths. Mon & I braved the water for another quick dip (so that we could have some photographic evidence of our bravery - or is that stupidity?!). Then it was time to go back for a shower, followed by dinner.

Armadillo :o)
see all photos »

After dinner we had another campfire, around which we chilled out on packing crates (as all the benches & seats had been taken), drinking rum mixed with guarana. During the course of the evening I was introduced to Levy's brother who also works in the Pantanal as a tour guide. Apparently there are something like 13 of the family - a bit different to the sole sibling that I have. I just couldn't imagine it. Many a rum & guarana later I was feeling rather sozzled! I do recall being called over to look at a snake at some point during the course of the evening, & also going on a mission to find someone capable of tuning Levy's guitar. Amazingly, I found someone within 5 minutes who was indeed able to tune it - much to the dismay of everyone else, I suspect, as we then had to have a hearty sing along :o)  Am sure there was probably some Hotel California in there somewhere!!!

Owl
see all photos »

DAY 3 We got up early on our final morning to go & watch the sunrise. It was a beautiful sunrise, but we did get rather eaten alive (although I guess this is par for the course when you're around jungle). Back at the ranch we had brekkie, before heading out piranha-fishing. On the way to our fishing location we spotted a family of otters in the water. They were in a line & appeared to be doing a synchronised swimming performance for us - jumping up & down, & swimming along in formation. Absolutely wonderful! We stopped the truck so that we could take some photos but, needless to say, by the time we were ready to shoot the otters had disappeared from view & never resurfaced!

Howler monkey
see all photos »

Piranha-fishing wasn't as good hear as it ws in the pampas in Bolivia, but I did manage to catch one piranha - albeit hooking it right through its stomach. Bleurgh! I had to give it the boys to unhook, as I felt far too squeamish & just couldn't touch it! (I'm not sure that fishing is really for me, especially as an ex-vegetarian!) Then all too soon it was time to head back to the campsite & pack up, ready to leave the Pantanal for Bonito :o(

Whilst packing all my stuff together I went to gather up my sarong, which had been hanging on a peg inside our 'room', & felt something hard inside it. Assuming it was a stick or similar I squeezed it/tried to grab it, when all of a sudden it moved. In true Jungle Jane style (not) I screamed & dropped it on the floor. Phil came over to investigate as I lifted the sarong up off the floor & there beneath it was a big slimy frog. Yuk! At least it wasn't a snake which is what I thought it might be. However, it did try to scare me one more time by hiding in my daypack & then leaping out at me when I went to finish packing that. Eek!

Sunset over wetlands
see all photos »

So we were all packed up by around 10am, clambered into the 4WD for the last time & set off in the direction of Bonito. Not long into our journey we were flagged down by what appeared to be a local cowboy, who proceeded to have quite an in-depth discussion with our driver. We asked Fredy what the conversation was about, to which he replied, "oh, something about a cow". As it happened, it was nothing to do with a cow whatsover (but a request to pass a message on to a friend of the cowboy who we might have passed further down the road). We had to laugh (& continued to do so for about 2 weeks - poor Fred!). Heaven help us in Brazil - if that's the most Portuguese we understand between us!

Levy & Nel
see all photos »

En route to Bonito, Levy (who'd decided to join us) tried once again to teach me some basic Portuguese. We also stopped off for a spot of lunch (I didn't feel like eating, so spent my money on a couple of Brasil t-shirts instead!), & to grab a coffee in a 'service station' at the side of the road. When I went up to the counter to ask for an iced coffee the man told me what beautiful blue eyes & lovely smile I had! I was so embarassed that I made a run for it back to the minibus. Poor bloke - he was only being nice!