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THE PANATANAL, BONITO, CUIABA AND CHAPADA DOS GUIMARAES, BRAZIL - MAR 20 TO 29

Pousada Santa Clara

It was another long 13 hour bus ride to Campo Grande from Foz dos Iguacu. Campo Grande and the Pantanal is one time zone west of Iguacu so it is just after 6AM when my bus arrives. I'm surprised that a couple of tour companies have people waiting for our bus because it is so early. Both companies have offices right in the Rodoviaria (bus terminal) so I go check out what kind of tours they offer.

Caimans at the River Near Pousada

The Pantanal is a vast wetland covering 21,000 sq km of the southwest portion of Brazil and is one of the world's great wildlife preserves.  Parts of the Pantanal spill over into Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina forming a total area of more than 100,000 sq km. Partly flooded during rainy season, it is a mecca for wildlife tourism and fishing. The Pantanal plain slopes north to south and west to east into the basin of the Rio Paraguay and is rimmed  by low mountains. It has South America's highest

Peccaries

concentration of mammals including Jaguars, Ocelot, Great Otters, Maned Wolf and Anacondas. There are also over 700 different species of birds and 4 different species of  Caimans. I've read quite a bit about the different tours here and they are either focused on fishing or wildlife tours and I'm interested in both.

The first tour company offers a 3 day, 2 night tour to a pousada located 6 hours drive west of here right on the Rio Paraguay and only a couple

hours away from the Bolivian boarder. The tour includes a boat ride down the river, piranha fishing, some hiking, a jeep safari ride during the day and another at night plus all meals, private room accommodations and the price is $225US. The other tour company offers a similar package but it also includes horseback riding and the tour company owns the pousada instead of acting only as a booking agent, the other company is only a booking agent. However, the price is $265 but

River Tour

the room is a 4-person dorm. Both tours leave from Campo Grande today at 10AM in a tour company van. I also ask both companies about fishing tours, the first says no problem but it is $200US a day including 1 night's accommodations and meals. The other company tells me that they do not offer fishing trips this time year because it is rainy season and the fishing is not very good. I can't help but get the feeling that the first company is just trying to say whatever they have to in order to make a sale and whether there is

fish or not does not matter. I also get the impression that the first pousada is not that nice where as the other one looks really nice and even has a pool. So, I go with the more expensive option without any extra days of fishing.
The name of the tour company and pousada is Santa Clara and they also have a hostel just 2 blocks from the bus station. One of the tour company staff walks me there to wait for the van that leaves at 10AM. I'm able to have a shower and get changed into clean

Giant Otter

clothes and I also meet Charlotte and Joanne. They are from England and arrived on the same bus as me from Iguacu and are also going to the Pousada Santa Clara. We leave right on time and drive to another hostel to pick up Lindsay and Nick who are also from England and then we are on our way west to the pousada.
On the way, we stop at a buffet lunch restaurant which are really popular in Brazil. You can have whatever you want, you just pay by weight, usually a large plate of food costs about $10US. Around 3:30PM, we come to

a small town where a truck is waiting to take us to the pousada. We all sit on benches in the back and the truck starts down a long narrow dirt road to the pousada and we get there around 4:30PM. We see a couple of Toucans flying along the roadside along the way and there are 4 or 5 Hyacinth Macaws on the ground just a few hundred metres from the pousada. There seems to be a lot of different types of birds around the pousada.

Capybera

The Pousada Santa Clara is very nice, there's a large common area with a big patio, lots of hammocks, a pool and a volleyball court. There is also a covered dining area as well as a inside dining area and entertainment room with TV and a pingpong table. The dorm I'm in is very nice with air conditioning and private bathroom and I'm only sharing it with 1 guy from Germany.

After getting settled, the 5 of us walk to the nearby river to see the

Caimans sitting along the riverbank, they are not that big, maybe 1.5 metre from tip of tail to nose, but there's lots of them. When we get back to the pousada, there are a bunch of Peccaries around the patio area, they are similar to wild pigs but more docile. They seem used to people as we can walk right up to them and they don't seem to mind.

I go to bed early as I did not sleep that well on the night bus. Next morning,

Piranha Fishing with Max & Nick

the breakfast is server at 7AM and by 8AM we are walking to the river with our guide named Max to do a boat tour of the river. Although it is supposed to be well into rainy season and usually the rivers all would have flooded into the surrounding pastures and fields, this year the rains are late and the water level is only a metre or 2 higher than during dry season. So, the local river is quite low, in fact, it just has enough water in it to allow the boat to safely navigate it. This is good news for us because the local

animals still need to come to the river every day for water. Normally this time of year, most of the land is flooded except for a few high points which become islands and the animals become more spread out and harder to find. Dry season is the best time of the year to see animals but the river is almost at the dry season level.

The river is only 10 to 20 metres wide and only a metre or so deep. There are Caiman everywhere along the river

banks and quite a few swimming along the surface of the river.  Within a few minutes we see all kinds of birds like hawks, herons, eagles, kingfishers, cormorans, vultures and a whole bunch that I did not recognize. Then we see a Giant Otter 50 metres in front of the boat. It heads into some brush along the river bank and we notice it has a large fish in its mouth. As we pass where it disappeared, we see it sitting along the edge of the river eating a large piranha. The Giant

Otter is the second most endangered animal in Brazil next to the Jaguar, so we are really lucky to see it. A few minutes later, we see a couple of Capybaras which is the largest member of the rodent family. It kind of looks like a big brown hamster that weighs almost 20kgs. We end up seeing quite a few Capybaras and I'm surprised that they are often on the riverbank within a few metres of some of the Caimans. Max explains that Caiman only go after smaller animals and that the Capybara is too large for them to attack.

We are back from the boat tour at around 10:30AM and Lindsay, Nick and I are going to try some piranha fishing. Joanne and Charlotte are staying an extra day and will do piranha fishing on their last day.  We use a 2m long piece of bamboo with 2 metres of fishing line and a hook and we fish on the river right near the pousada with chunks of pork. We stand at the edge of the river and let the bait sink to the bottom, within 10 seconds, you either have a fish on or have lost

your bait. Within minutes, we all catch at least 1 piranha, each is about 15cm long but has an amazing set of teeth. We feed the nearby Caiman with our catch and we soon have a dozen Caimans waiting within 2 metres of us on the riverbank for the next free piranha. Within half an hour, we are all piranha fished out but we keep a couple of the larger ones to eat for dinner.

By the time we get back to the

pousada, it is lunch time and then we have a couple of hours before we are going on a hike. It's getting pretty hot and the pool looks pretty inviting so we spend the next couple hours relaxing in and around the pool. At 3PM, we get in a truck with Max and drive about 40 minutes down the road to where we are hiking. We see a couple of Marsh Deer in a field along the way. The area we hike in is some new growth forest between some grazing lands. There is very little brush between the trees and

we have 4 other women join us for the hike. These women talk during the entire hike so there is little chance of coming upon an animal as it would have heard us coming from a mile away. We do see another animal which is a rodent about half the size of a Capybara.

On the drive back, we stop at a couple of small ponds. These ponds have been cut off from the main river for 8 to 10 months and are full of Caiman. By

Joanne, Andrew and Charlotte

now, the Caiman have eaten every fish that was in these ponds and they are now starving. Most of them would not have eaten for 2 to 3 months. Until the rains come and the river floods into these ponds, the only food is other Caimans but only the sick or the ones that starve to death are eaten. We wait at one of these pools for sunset and we stand along the side of the pond among dozens of Caiman. They are very lethargic because they have not eaten for so long and they barely will move away from us. We are able to reach out and touch their tails without getting any reaction. As the sun goes down and we take pictures using the flash on our cameras, we see hundreds of glowing eyes of the Caimans.

Once it is dark, we get back in the truck and Max has a spot light out. We drive back while he looks for animals along the side of the road using the spot light and their eyes glow back at us but the only thing we see are more Caimans at each pond we pass and a couple of deer. The drive seems kind of pointless to me as Max sits on top of the cab and blocks our view down the road and the truck is quite big with a big old diesel engine that is very noisy and I can't imagine many animals

Jabiru Stork

staying near the road as we pass by. But Max assures me that they see animals all the time this way and he claims that they spotted a Jaguar this way 2 weeks before. That evening, the German guy sharing my room has left so I have the room all to myself.

The next morning we have breakfast at 7AM and walk over to the coral at 8AM for horse back riding. I can't remember the last time I have been on a horse but it has been over 20 years and I'm a little apprehensive

Hyacinth Macaws

about it. All the horses are quite small but I get the biggest of the bunch named Jorge. We ride for a couple hours on trails the wind around the pousada. Other than a few birds, we don't see any animals but I actually enjoyed the ride quite a bit.

It's about 10:30AM when we get back and we see a giant Jabiru Stork in a field not far from the coral, so we decide to walk over near it to try and get some pictures but it flies off just

as we start to get in range but I get a decent photo of it flying away. It is the 2nd largest bird in South America next to the Andes Condor. We then head back to the pousada and we have a few hours before my van leaves to take me to Bonito. Lindsay and Nick are also going to Bonito but Joanne and Charlotte are staying for another day but they wish they were coming with us as they will just be repeating something we have done already tomorrow and they will go Piranha

fishing that afternoon. We spend these few hours in and around the pool and I do some reading. As I'm reading my book, I hear some Macaws squawking as they are always play fighting. I walk a couple minutes away from the pousada and find about 5 of them in a large tree. They are Hyacinth Macaws which are mostly blue and the largest of the Macaw family and I get some nice photos of them. Just after lunch, a couple of Toco Toucans land in a tree next to the covered patio and I get some really nice close up photos of these Toucans. They are such an interesting bird to look at, they appear like a live cartoon character with their huge yellow bill.

At 1:30PM, it is time to go so Lindsay, Nick and I jump into the truck and we get driven to the nearby small town where we transfer into a small van that takes us to Bonito. I thought Bonito was only a couple hours away but we don't arrive until just after 7PM. The owner of the van has a pousada in town and I get a private room with an air conditioner for $20US and Lindsay and Nick get a room as well. We then head out to the center of town to find a restaurant and we have some fish for dinner but then decide to order a bottle of a local liquor and proceed to drink it all and you drink it straight in shots. We are all pretty lubricated by the time we get back to the Pousada around 1AM.

The next morning we were hoping to go snorkelling in the Rio Da Prata where there is supposed to be lots of fish but they only let so many people go each day and today is already all booked. So, we reserve a time for tomorrow and go to see a cave called the Lagoa Azul instead. We hire a car to drive us the 30kms to the cave and the driver waits to take us back. The moment I saw that the equipment we were getting as part of the cave tour did not include a headlamp, I knew we were not going far into the cave. The opening of the cave is large and goes downhill at about a 45 degree angle. We hike down a pathway for  couple hundred metres to a lagoon at the bottom of the cave and the water appears to be very blue in colour. It gets a bit dark at the bottom but the daylight above is still very visible and there are not any amazing stalagmites or stalactites. Overall the cave is a bit disappointing considering it costs us each about $45US between transportation and the admission price. We get back to town around 2PM and have a nice lunch and then I spend the rest of the afternoon working on my blog and reading my book.

The next morning, we drive for about and hour to the Rio da Prata. I hope this is better than the cave since it is costing us each $75US. Lunch is included with the tour and we get there at about noon so we have a buffet lunch and then start the tour at 1PM. The river is fed from an underground spring that bubbles up into a small hill. The water from the spring is crystal clear and the resulting river is small with slow moving water. Although the water is quite warm, we all have to wear wetsuits because we will be in the water for about 2 hours and the added buoyancy should help keep us from touching the river bottom which is not allowed on the tour.

We are in a group of about 12 people and a guide. We all get wetsuits on and are given a snorkel and mask. We then walk for about 1.5kms to the river and we are all hot in our wetsuits and are dying to get into the river. The river is beautiful with super clear water and there are large fish swimming around everywhere. We slowly drift downstream trying not to touch the river bottom. The depth in the river varies from about 60cm to 2m and is about 5 or 6m wide and is completely surrounded by jungle. I can't get over how big some of the fish are, the largest ones are probably 20kgs and there are so many. The amount of water in this river does not change much because it is not effected by the yearly floods and the amount of spring water remains consistent. There are 4 types of big fish that we see throughout the river, they are the Dourado, the Peraputanga, the Pacu and the Tambaqui. After an amazing 90 minutes we join onto one of the main rivers. There's still lots of fish but the river is muddy so they are hard to see clearly. About 30 minutes later we finish the snorkelling. This was one of my favourite things that I have done on this trip and would recommend it to everyone.

By the time we get back to the car, it is 4:30PM and we just have time to drive back to town so I can catch a 6PM bus back to Campo Grande. Luckily I had brought my pack in the car because we got to the bus terminal 15 minutes before my bus leaves. It takes 5 hours to get to Campo Grande and then I have a 1 hour wait before the connecting bus departs for Cuiaba in the northern Pantanal. Cuiaba is the largest city in the Pantanal with a population of about 500k. It is even hosting some games in next year's world cup. Temperature have been known to hit 45C in Cuiaba July and August so I wonder how any European teams playing here will do.

I arrive at about noon and soon find a room in the Pousada Ecoverde, or I should say, I end up sharing a room for $15US. I still want to find a tour company that offers fishing trips but there seems to be nothing available. The only tours sound just like what I did at the Pousada Santa Clara but are 3 times the cost. I talked to a French couple who get back that afternoon and I'm sure it is the same but they did not see as many animals or birds, so I'm glad I went went in Campo Grande. This town is kind of dirty and sweaty, it never seems to drop much below 35C with 80 to 90% humidity. I can't stand it and want to get out of here. I meet a British guy in the pousada who is heading to a nearby town called Chapada dos Guimaraes tomorrow. It's only an hour away but it is on top of a 800m high escarpment and is supposed to be much cooler. So, after some discussion, I'm going to go there too.

The next morning we catch a 10AM bus to Chapada. It is a much smaller town with a population just over 15k and it is much cooler here. We find some rooms in a nice pousada that was recommended to us for $40US. And then, after grabbing some lunch, we walk 40 minutes to a mirador (viewpoint) with an amazing view south of the Panatanal 800m  below us. The view is awesome and we watch some thunderstorms come rolling along the valley floor right at us and we even get the most amazing rainbow that appears to start right below us. We get back to a visitor centre just before a deluge of rain starts and we wait about 40 minutes for the storm to pass before we walk back to our pousada.
We then meet a local tour guide named Sergio. He speaks perfect English and wants to know if we want to do any tours. Both Argen and I want to go hiking so we settle on a 8 hour hike, 4 hours in to the tallest part of the escarpment and 4 hours back with some stops at some small falls where we can swim.

We are up early and on the road by 8AM. Sergio drives us into a national park and down a dirt road for about 30 minutes. We then starting walking down the remains of an old road that is now quite overgrown. It had rained hard all night but now it is starting to get sunny. About 30 minutes into the hike, we are walking along a sandy section of road where the ground is still damp from the rain, and we come across some Jaguar tracks of a mother and its cub. They can't be more than an hour or 2 old so they are probably still somewhere in the area around us. Later we come across Tapir tracks, that is one animal that I really want to see. The hike winds up and down through rocky areas, light scrub sections and jungle. Finally 3.5 hours in, we get to the small mountain  which is the tallest point in the Panatanal and is called Sao Jeronimo. It is a very steep trail to the top and we literally climb it but the view from on top is incredible. We stop and have a picnic lunch for about 40 minutes before starting back.
Once we climb down from the mountain we start back on the trail through a jungle section. We only go a couple hundred metres and we hear a combination growl/grunt noise that was very low in bass. Sergio was leading and he freaks out, turns around and yells at us to run. We get about 50m before we hear someone laughing. It is a buddy of Sergio's who had seen Sergio's truck where we left it. This guy made the sound of an aggressive jaguar trying to scare us knowing there was a mother jaguar around, it sure worked and we all have a good laugh.

We take a little different route back to the car that takes us right by a couple small waterfalls. The best thing about the falls is that there is a nice pool for swimming just below the falls and it pretty hot so we all go for a swim. Sergio then finds a very interesting fruit that looks like a big pinecone. But when he open it, there are these wedges of white fruit with a large brown seed in each wedge and it is the best jungle fruit that I have tasted so far on this trip. By the time we get back to the car and drive to town, it is almost 5PM but it was a great day and an awesome hike. We set a time to meet Sergio again tomorrow and he is going to take us on another tour which will be 3 different shorter hikes. We spend the rest of the day relaxing before going out for a nice buffet dinner and soe beers.

The next morning, we are once again off in Segio's car by 8AM. We drive east down the escarpment to the valley floor below and then head down a dirt road for 25 minutes. We then park and walk down an old dirt road for almost an hour. We come across a large rocky hill and we climb it. It is long and narrow and at one end is a really sharp rock formation called the roosters comb because it is shaped like that part of a rooster. We then climb down and continue along the valley floor to a couple of nice swimming holes along the river called Tapir Pond and Green Pond. It's a very hot day and we all enjoy a nice swim to cool down.

We then walk back to the car and drive about 40 minutes back up the escarpment to a trail head that will take us to the Dino Valle. Just as we start along the trail, we come across a troop of brown faced Capuchin monkeys. They come right down out of the tree and are obviously looking for hand outs and we cave in and give them some cookies. The Dino Valle is an area full of some interesting rock formations and is a location where some dinosaur bones were found. The highlight is a large twisted rock where the grain of the rock is in a spiral shape. It takes almost an hour and a half to walk to the far end of the Dino Valle which ends at a viewpoint overlooking the Pantanal. We then end the day by driving to the Parque Chapada dos Guimaraes where it is a short walk to a viewpoint of the largest waterfall on the escarpment.

We get back to the pousada around 4:30PM which gives me just enough time to shower and then catch a 6PM bus back to Cuiaba. I say goodbye to Argen and my bus gets me back to Cuiaba just after 7PM and I get a room back in the Pousada Ecoverde. Tomorrow morning I'm catching a morning flight to Salvador which is on the coast quite a bit north of Rio. This flight will save me over 48 hours of bus travel and the only place of significance in between is Brasilia which is just another big city.

Considering that I had not even heard of the Pantanal until I started planning this trip, it ended up being a fantastic part of my Brazil travels so far. I've seen more animals and birds here than any where else. And Chapada with the beautiful day hikes was an awesome last minute find that made my long bus ride to Cuiaba worthwhile.

I'm only planning on staying a couple days in Salvador as I am getting bored of big cities. Instead, I will push north towards Belem and the mouth of the Amazon with a couple stops at some beaches along the north coast along the way. I'm also going to book my flight home soon, probably in early June from Port of Spain Trinidad because the flight is so cheap from there.

More on my next post on the north coast of Brazil heading for the Amazon. Adios!