Blogs from Pantanal, Brazil, South America - page 9

It is amazing how different two places can be; leaving Bolivia for Brazil was like going to a different country. Brazil is nothing like what we have seen of the rest of South America; it has more money for a start, the streets are filled with kids playing football and sound systems blast out music on every street corner. Everything is so, well, Brazilian! The food is also a welcome change and somewhat quirky. Most main courses actually serve 2 people (meaning you and your dinner companion have to eat the same thing) or if you want different stuff you can indulge in the pay per weight buffet. Yup, you got it, just help yourself to what ever you like and the more it weighs the more it costs! The real gem however is the rodizio. ... read more

The journey to the Pantanal, the world’s largest wetland area, teeming with wildlife, was not a smooth one to say the least. I am quite used to the long journeys (here she goes boasting again!), but it’s true! One 15 hour bus journey (non-cama, standard) with a change over, a 5 hour bus journey, and then another 45 minute jeep ride into the Pantanal later, Sanj wouldn’t look at me. Why had he left me the task of arranging everything? Why hadn’t he insisted on booking flights? It was written all over his luxury-loving face but he didn’t want to appear a whinge-bag. ‘Give me a smile,’ I would ask him on the jeep ride. He could only muster a teeth-showing purse of the lips. Bless, we’ll get there soon. And sure enough we did…to good ... read more

Greetings from South Pantanal! I just finished up my 3rd English class today! I have found teaching to be very rewarding both emotionally and physically. I am supposed to be focusing on the field guides but all of them have been at another lodge all week. So all of my students so far have been the kitchen staff, wait staff, bar staff, and the nurse. I am a lot more happier and healthier feeling now that I have become friends with the kitchen staff for the guest. The food they feed the staff here is very different than what they serve the guest. The staff’s cafeteria serves very hearth meals that only consist of rice, beans, beef or chicken, and either raw cabbage or lettuce leafs for both lunch and dinner. Breakfast is sliced white bread, ... read more

The Pantanal covers approximately 89,000 sq miles (230,000 sq km) and reaches through Paraguay and Bolivia, but most of it lies in Brazil. It supports 650 species of birds and 80 mammals including jaguars, pumas, anteaters, capybaras, armadillos, howler monkeys, tapirs, deer, and ocelots. I saw more animals in the first 5 hours in The Pantanal than in 5 days in the Amazon: egrets, hawks, owls, kingfishers, storks, foxes, vultures, and dozens of caimans (and no mosquitos!!). Caimans are the passive cousins of the crocodile and alligator. They are everywhere - even outside my hotel room. The caimans climb up from the river to soak up the sun during the day. Statistics say there are between 10 and 35 million caimans in The Pantanal. The guides insist that they don’t attack unless provoked and that ... read more

Sucre, the official capital of Bolivia! A beautiful city, which we immediately noticed seems to be famous for its chocolate. It goes without saying that we did our fair share of sampling. From Sucre we eventually managed to get to Santa Cruz (after one failed attempt). The best thing about Santa Cruz was definitely its amazing icecreams and its strange 3-toed sloths who live in the main square. Due to its gorgeous weather and the fact that it was the Bolivian school holidays, the city was full of Bolivian tourists. Wandering through the big market place we bought a Rubik´s cube. We spent one afternoon sat in the sunny plaza whilst Helen taught Kate how to solve the cube. Geek! After Santa Cruz we took the ´train of death´ (which turned out not to be ... read more