Our stay at Pousada Santa Clara, the Pantanal

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Choosing whether to visit the Amazon or the Pantanal is often a dilemma for people - you read that the Amazon is better for jungle whereas the Pantanal is better for wildlife spotting. Tomas and I are fortunate, we didn't have to make that tough decision. We'd already travelled the Amazon and were now visiting the Pantanal.

We decided not to pre book a tour to the Pantanal before arriving to Camp Grande, we'd learnt from experience that it can be more economical to organise tours and excursions when you arrive (with the exception of the Inca trek which needs to be booked at least 6 months in advance and other highly popular tours).

We arrived into Campo Grande at 8pm from Curumba (7hrs B$90 each) with no accommodation booked, which was becoming a common theme with us recently. We took a taxi to a LP recommended pousada but that was full. We walked down Dom Aquino (the name of the street) until we reached the old bus terminal where we'd heard there are plenty of budget hotels. We checked into the Hotel Iguaçu (B$126 for double room including breakfast and private bathroom) which turned out to be an excellent choice. The room was small but comfortable (the bed was too hard for my liking). It had a fridge, TV and air con. The bathroom wasn't spotless, but it was passable and since we hadn't showered since the previous morning we weren't feeling fussy. The WiFi was also excellent with strong connection in our room.

By the time we had settled into our room and showered it was getting late. We hadn't eaten anything for hours and were starving. We had read that walking the streets near the old bus terminal at night wasn't safe so instead of going out and risking our safety, we asked the kind man at reception to help us order a pizza and he was only more than happy to oblige. We ordered a family size pizza called the Portuguese for R$22.

We had planned to spend the following day visiting tour agencies discussing the different Pantanal options but this proved to be quite a difficult job. We had envisaged all the tour agencies being clustered together in one area (like Cusco or San Pedro de Atacama) but this wasn't the case. Some agencies are at the new bus terminal, while others are at the old bus terminal (new and old terminals located nowhere near one another) and others are scattered around the city. The city is huge with population reaching 800,000 and transportation isn't cheap in Brazil so travelling between the offices could become expensive. Secondly, to make our search even more challenging, the weather was truly miserable. It was pouring tropical intense rain and we didn't fancy wandering around in that! Instead we decided to check in to another hotel, the Ibis budget (R$89 plus R$12 each for breakfast - another really great hotel) and spent the day researching. We narrowed our choice down to three agencies based on TripAdvisor reviews. These were Farzana San Francisco, Pantanal Discovery and Pousada Santa Clara. We got in contact with all 3 and then based our decision purely on price as all of them offered the same standard services. We booked Pousada Santa Clara and paid BR$720 each for 3 nights full board - this price included a 10% discount. The transfer was an extra R$120 each.

We were picked up from the Ibis at 8.30am the following morning and were taken to the offices of the agency where we went through the tour details. The tour included all meals, water, activities (boat, horse riding, jeep safari, night safari, mini trek and piranha fishing). Since we had already done piranha fishing in the Amazon we asked the agency whether we could swap this for another boat ride, which they agreed too. After this meeting we walked to their hostel, which is two streets away, and picked up our transfer from there. The hostel looks pretty decent and you can stay there for around BR$50pp.

The transfer to the Pantanal was 5 hours! We stopped for lunch after 200kms, which was at our own expense. After another 1.5hrs we reached Buraco das Piranhas, a meeting spot for the Pantanal pousadas, on the highway BR262. The BR262 continues onto Curumba but we were changing vehicles at this point and continuing by dirt road for another 40 minutes to reach santa Clara. The dirt road is a very busy road (car and trucks use it) and full of Pousadas and Fazendas. Anyone who hires a car can easily drive this road and find accommodation - it doesn't have to be booked in town through an agency.

We changed vehicles and continued down the bumpy dirt road onto the Pousada.

When we arrived at the pousada we were told that our activities didn't start until the following morning, a bit strange considering it was only 4pm, but it meant we had the afternoon to "enjoy" the facilities at the pousada which include a pool, ping pong table and lots of animals to photograph. The pousada puts food out for the birds so there is a constant attendance of macaws and other parrots.

Over the course of the following days we did;

- A "jeep safari" which wasn't a jeep safari at all - we drove up and down the same dirt road in which we'd arrived and which is used by huge commercial trucks. The huge trucks scare away all the animals other than a couple of birds. We did disembark the truck and walk through some trees for an hour. This was nice and we saw several monkeys.

- Horse riding - the pousadas horses look extremely underfeed and worn out. They have zero life in them. You are on the horse for approx. 1.5hrs trudging through a field parallel to the noisey dirt road. Some of the group saw a toucan but I didn't. Tomas and I came away from our stay at Santa Clara with ticks! We put it down to their horses.

- A "night safari" exactly the same as the jeep safari without the walk. We saw a deer and caiman.

- A boat tour in a noisey boat which lasted 1.5hrs. We saw two monkeys and lots of king fishers.

- While the rest of the group did the piranha fishing, Tomas and I took a canoe out for 3.5hrs. We didn't see any jaguars but we saw parrots, macaws, a giant river otter and monkeys. Although we could still hear the traffic noise this was the best part of the entire 3 days. It was extremely peaceful. No noisey group, no noisey engines just us and our paddles.

- Walking tour which was supposed to include medicinal plants explanation but was carried out in total silence. We walked for an hour in a figure of 8 around the pousada grounds, again never leaving the noise of the traffic. The guide was simply walking the same path with zero life in him - a bit like those poor horses. We did see an armadillo.

Before, during and after each activity we were not given any information by our guide. No information about the region, the people who live there, animals that can be found there, what we might see during the activities - nothing. Our guide has been doing the same thing for far too long and has no enthusiasm for it, which shows. Yes he was a nice guy but we didn't pay to spend time with a nice guy, we paid for a guide to guide us and to show us the region. He acted more like a chaperone.

Now, I know as well as anybody that pousada owners and guides can't control wildlife and bring it to the guests but they can execute activities properly to deliver guests to the wildlife. The activities we did were extremely poor and what made it worse was 99% of the time we could hear traffic noise wherever we were. It probably sounds like we did see alot of wildlife and some people may be happy with what we saw but if the Pantanal agencies improved their equipment and activities imagine what else one could see - it would be endless! Tomas and I were fortunate enough to stay in one of the best lodges in the Amazon and the activities, information and service provided by them was astonishing. We saw more wildlife there than in the Pantanal.

Some things that this and all Pantanal pousadas could do to improve the service and increase the guests animal spotting chances;

- the first day, when no activities are planned, the guide should give a presentation of the pousada, region and wildlife.

- begin the morning activities earlier. 8am is not a good time to go hunting for wildlife.

- guides should provide information before, during and after the activities. Guides should also be enthusiastic.

- hire guides with qualifications. We have been to the Amazon, Galapagos, Angel Falls, Gran Sabana, Machu Picchu, Parque Nacional Torotoro etc. - each time with a highly knowledgeable guide. You come away with a wealth of information if you've had a good, qualified guide so why is the Pantanal 'the major ecological attraction and offers a density of exotic wildlife found nowhere else in South America' so poor compared to the rest of South America?

- go further into the Pantanal instead of stay just within the confines of their grounds.

- update their vehicle fleets (road and water vehicles) so the engines aren't so loud that they scare off any animal within 500 meters.

- do a proper "jeep safari" not just driving up and down a major road in hope of seeing something.

- spend more time on the river, but in canoes, where the jaguars and other animals are likely to be seen drinking.

- look after the horses better - feed them, given them a better shaded area

Aside from the activities, Santa Clara is a pretty average place. The owner, who was present most days, does not interact with guests at all. He walks are drinking beers with an arrogant stride about him. He had a very loud and obnoxious group of friends staying while we were there. They prepared bbq's, drank huge quantities of beer and generally disturbed the paying guests. Most of the other employees seemed to spend most of their time doing nothing but listening to their music very loud (we are in a jungle guys and the guests have paid to watch and listen to the wildlife - turn it off!) and never interacted with guests. It was like we were intruding on their constant house party. From my perspective the only hard workers were the highly talented ladies that worked in the kitchen. They produced AMAZING food every meal time and worked their butts off nonstop. They were one of the highlights of Santa Clara.

Sadly, the Pantanal is a huge tourist trap. What I would recommend to anybody planning a visit is get in touch with a private guide. Don't get sucked into one of the conveyor-belt agencies. Especially if you are choosing the Pantanal over the Amazon.

In brief, we came away with a sour taste in our mouth. During each activity it was extremely frustrating to know in your mind the chances of seeing allot of wildlife was slim. For so many, visiting this privileged area, is a once in a lifetime experience and I can't help but feel that the tourism agencies are ripping everybody off.

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