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Published: September 8th 2006
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Pantenal 1
Sleeping arrangements on the farm Campo Grande & Pantanal - Took an (expensive!) flight from Montevideo to Campo Grande, which is quite a large town and supposedly the gateway to the pantanal.
The Greentrack rep for pantenal tours met me at the airport and took me to his office located in the seedy bus terminal in Campo Grande. In his own words, "I'm sure there is a little trap door in this terminal which leads straight to hell".
After giving me a pretty scetchy description of the tour intinerary and so-on, he recommended a hotel across the road and also took me to dinner and also to a nice bar with live music. A few hours later I was looking forward to relaxing in the hotel room to watch some cable TV when the skies absolutely opened and in a couple of minutes there was lightening and the roads were a stream of gushing water. The electricity in the hotel was cut (no backup generator either it seemed), so no email and no TV for me. I even had to trust some strange man to help me locate my room and unlock the door, as all was in pitch dark and of course I
Pantenal 2
The tree just near the farm was home to dozens of green parrots which kept up a constant squarking did not have my torch on me..
Next day I took off for the pantenal. What I hadn't realised before coming to Campo Grande was that it is a 4.5 hour bus ride to the pantanal, then a further 1 hour trip to the Greentrack farm which is who I booked the pantanal. The Greentrack guy put me on the correct bus, but was not able to tell me the name of the stop that I was to get off, only that its was the second stop...hmmm, ok. After getting off the bus, I was meant to be met by a truck or van which was to take me the extra hour to the farm. One hour, two hours passed, I was getting a little anxious....then it started to get dark. I didn't know the name of where I was or where I was meant to be going and knew zero Spanish! After several one-way conversations and hand waving exercises with a guy there who seemed to be in charge, I was told "tranquillo, tranquillo", and apparently he would sort it out.
To cut an even longer story short, eventually he called a local taxi to pick me
Pantenal 3
The search for animals continued on horseback.. up. This turned out to be a little Chinaman who would have looked at home in a Star Trek or Jacki Chan movie rather. We took off down the wet and bumpty dirt road, dodging jumping toadies and holes all the way - it was slow going. At one point we stopped, and I was transferred to another car and another strange man driving me. I hoped we were going to the farm, rather than me being kidnapped...
The pantenal was fantastic. I saw heaps more animals and birds than on previous jungle and pampas trips. The weather though was far from tropical, in fact it was overcast most of the time, with the sun only coming out now and then. This was good in the fact it kept mosquito bites to a minimum, but the nights were really chilly. The activities over the three days included a guided walk through grass, swamp and jungle, horse riding, a canoe trip in the swamp, a night walk, a sunrise walk and piranha fishing.
I probably saw close to a hundred different species of bird, though I have no idea what they were. My favorites were one that was the
Pantenal 4
Stampede of wild pigs shape of a sparrow but a dark blood red, of course the toocan, bright bluey/green kingfishers, and a very dark blue/black velvety looking one. But the best was a kind of humming bird, but only the size of a giant grape - it was amazing.
Critters I saw included coaties, howler monkeys, deer, caiman, a goanna, a snake and capybaras. We were also privilaged to see an ocelot which was last sighted about a year ago. The farm's resident dog (I call him "Whitey"), was also a star as he barked his head off at a load of wild pigs drinking in the swamp, which caused them to stampede across the road in front of me (see pic).
Time to say goodby to our cool little group - two Dutch and two Germans, and take the bus back to Campo Grande (thank god it turned up!). Got a late flight and arrived in Rio at 3.30am in the morning!
Rio de Janeiro - Luckily the hostel I had been recommended has a spare bed and I arrived groggily at about 4am. I had about 4 hours dodgy sleep before I was woken by the noise in the
Pantenal 5
Whitey on the road to nowhere... hostel. Went on a morning tour of the largest favela (slum) in Rio which is perched on a hill and located in the heart of the city. We each took a moterbike taxi up the hill to the favela, which was a helmetless thrill ride in itself! Then our guide walked us through the favela, also stopping to see the kids in the daycare centre, and an art studio where graffitti artists sold their work to tourists. We were allowed to freely take photographs everywhere, except where guys were speaking on walkie talkies, which indicated they were in the middle of drug deals - one of the main forms of income in the favela.
I was initially hesitant to do this tour as it seemed tacky, like going to view a traffic accident. However it was not like this at all. The residents were genuinely happy for us to visit, as tourists meant necessary income for them. A percentage of the tour cost was donated to the favela in the form of food for the kids. The organisation also donated unwanted clothes and other items.
Straight after this, myself and another girl were taken to the top of
Pantenal 6
Our cook did a brilliant job cooking up a storm. Here with some freshly fried fish. a large mountain which we jumped off at 500m! On arriving in Rio at 4am this morning, I had no idea I would be hang gliding today! In a flash of madness I had agreed to go with the other jumper as it was all organised and apparently the weather was perfect. Well all I can say is that jumping off a ramp over the side of a cliff is the scariest thing I have done to date. I also have to apologise to the instructor who I jumped with for nearly strangling him in a neck lock. When you jump you start with your left hand on your partner's neck and your right hand holding a cord. After a while you can release both hands, although unfortunately mine were both locked into position with fear! Also to be noted is that it takes 10 minutes to descend. Due to the gusts of wind, this provides ample time to become completely nauseous...this is not a good combination with jet lag and no sleep.... That night I calmed myself by doing something normal and seeing a movie "Click" with Adam Sandler, which was really good.
Next day went up the
Pantenal 7
Last chance sighting. On our trip out from the pantanal we saw a large deer from the truck. mountain to see "Christ the Redeemer", one of the probably thousands of Christ statues dotted around the country. Once the clouds lifted, this lookout provided a great view of Rio including the beaches, favelas, city centre and mountains. In the afternoon I walked to the famous Copacobana beach which is complete with cycling, walking and motoring lanes, a day and night market, restaurants, juice bars, hotels and cafes. As the weather was unusually overcast, the beach was pretty empty by Rio standards, and people watching was at a minimum. However, if you used your imagination you could picture how it would be with a blazing sun and hordes of beach goers...
Last day in Rio, the sun is shining - yay! Took the cable up Sugar Mountain which gives a fantastic 360deg view of the city from the summit at 396m. Also took the metro to the "centro" (city centre), which was pretty nice. As well as the modern business buildings and mandatory "man on horse" type statues, there are cathedrals, colonial churches and outdoor bars and restaurants. There are also fantastic juice bars dotted around which will basically pulp up any kind of fruit you can think of,
and a lot that you didn't know existed. There are also several pedestian walks with great shopping (better than Buenos Aires). Only thing stopping me from loading my pack with 10 pairs of new shoes, was the embarrassment of having to reveal my traveller's feet to the shop assistant- eew!
Also stopped at Confeitaria Colombo (Rua Goncalves Dias 30) for decadent desserts!!! This place is a must see just for the ambiance, large glass mirros and stained glass skylight. My dessert (see pic) cost about $15US, but was worth it! Mum you should have been there!
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