Wildlife of Brazil - Including Smuggled Budgies

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Iguazu's Amazing Falls

Wow, these falls are massive. We visited both the Argentinian and Brazilian sides and were stunned by the volume of thundering water and area that the falls spread over. Absolutely beautiful, especially once the sun shone and rainbows appeared.

We spent a day at the Argentinian side, wandering along the walkways to get different views of different sections of the falls. We were joined by lots of pretty butterflies, birds, cheeky coaties and guinea pigs. Such a beautiful setting not spoilt too much by crowds of tourists as the walkways are long and spread out.

We had a rushed visit to the Brazilian side of the falls the following day. From here you get a better view of the Devil's Throat which is the largest of the falls. A raised walkway takes you much closer to the face of the waterfall although only those with good elbows can get past the crowds to reach the spot for the most impressive view. The sight and sound of all the water flowing and the strength of colours in the rainbow were awesome.

11 Buses in a Day - Must be a Record!!

We have got quite accustomed to buses during our time in South America, however, on the 17th June we outdid our own expectations. It's quite a complicated business getting from Argentina to Brazil, via the falls and then overnight to Campo Grande. A shame our biceps aren't reflecting the constant rucksack lugging.

Pantanal - Wildlife Spotting, Piranha Fishing and Running Away from Caiman

Taking advice from our not-so-trusty Lonely Planet book (don't get Ang started on it) we allocated 4 days for a trip into the Pantanal. This area boasts the densest concentration of animals in South America with jaguars, pumas, caiman, the biggest rodents in the world, anteaters, armadillos, giant otters and so much more. We booked onto a basic camping trip and headed to these wetlands.

As soon as we entered the Pantanal we spotted many birds and hundreds of caiman close to the dusty road. We were taken to our camping area and allocated our hammocks (all the tents were already taken). After dinner and chatting around the campfire we climbed into our hammocks. We soon became very well acquainted with our fellow travellers - the hammocks were so close together than whenever one person moved the rest were nudged too - just like a series of Newton's balls. The next two nights were managed to get a tent although it became apparent that we were not alone in this - something had a field-day nibbling Pete's back.

Whilst in the Pantanal we went for a few walks through the woodland and swampy pools of water. We were advised to wear flip flops and told it was best to walk barefoot through the wet areas. In places the water came above my (Ang's) knees, the floor was squelchy mud and we were warned that if an anaconda rubber against your leg not to run or scream. With our guide also pointing out caiman close to us, adrenaline levels were running high. We didn't see any anacondas although did spot a snake (fake python, which looked real enough) which was about 1.20m long, an anteater, coaties and lots of birds. At one point we were all stood close to a caiman when our guide decided to poke it with a stick. As the caiman turned and bared its teeth the men took one step back, the women ran for their lives. Ang has now managed to get most of the splinters out of her feet and legs from her sprint away, though we do have pictures showing the blood spilt from this ferocious croc attack.

One of the highlights of the trip was piranha fishing - standing knee deep in water with a chunk of meat on the end of the line. We were told not to worry as the piranhas would only attack us if there was fresh blood and fortunately Ang's croc wounds had healed. As soon as the meat was dipped in the water you could feel the fish attacking the free food. After catching a few tiddlers we both managed to hook fish large enough to eat. Pete did very well and ensured none of us went hungry that lunchtime. Luckily only one of our group got bitten by a fierce little fighter!!

Horseback safari was next on our agenda. Horse allocation is always a little exciting as everyone tries to convince the guides that they are the least experienced rider present and therefore needs the calmest, most obedient horse. Pete seemed to win this time and almost looked professional on his stallion. I was also quite happy with my new friend who I sarcastically named "White Lightening". We managed to spot an anteater, marsh deer, caiman and a few birds although the most exciting part of the safari was riding through the deep water and hoping the horse didn't tread on an anaconda or caiman.

At night we sat around the camp fire hoping the smoke would fend off the mossies and tasting the local drink Caiparinha - quite strong and very very drinkable and it helped us sleep very very well until we heard the gong for breakfast in the morning at 6am.

During a night safari on our last evening and a canoe trip on our final morning we tried as hard as we could to spot a jaguar or armadillo but had to be satisfied with giant otters, capybaras, kingfishers, hummingbirds and an iguana - not too bad!

Rio - Favelas, Hang Gliding, Sugarloaf and Budgie Smugglers on Copacabana Beach

There is so much going on in Rio that it is hard to know how to spend your time. We first booked onto a half day favela tour and visited two very different poor housing areas. Our guide lived in a favela himself and was keen to dispel negative impressions of these poor housing areas. Vila Canoas is a small favela, without a drug problem (according to our guide), and has faired reasonably well from charity aid. We were pleasantly surprised with the housing conditions and amenities. We visited a community school and walked through the rabbit warren of paths between housing before making our way to the largest favela in Rio, Rociñha. Our guide explained to us that a third of Rio's favelas are run by drugs gangs, police don't enter these favelas. Rociñha is renowned for drugs although apparently only 1% of its population is involved. The drugs gangs maintain some laws - if you steal once your hand is blown off, do it again and your throat will be cut. Walking through Rociñha didn't feel much different to walking through another bustling city area although we didn't step off the main roads and kept close to our guide. The sight of all the houses on the hillsides was amazing. We were told to listen out for firecrackers as they tend to be used in code to signal the arrival of drugs or the police - none were set off in our short time there. This tour, although giving an almost too positive impression of the favelas, was so interesting.

The best thing we did in Rio was run off a hillside. Fortunately we were also joined to a hang glider and a very experienced pilot. The views over the city were amazing with rich and poor housing side by side, posh hotels lining the beaches and Sugarloaf Mountain in the distance. We both think we could easily get hooked to the feeling of flying. The instructors took some great pictures of us and said we had near perfect flights and even commented how Ang glided like a vulture!? Which she promptly corrected to like a dove.

There are so many other sights in Rio, some of which we managed to squeeze into our 3 days. We took the cable car up Sugar Loaf Mountain which made us appreciate what an interesting city Rio is, and took a hair-raising ride up to Santa Teresa hanging off the side of a tram (for dear life in places) - we made sure we got a seat on the way down. Pete and all the passengers on the tram had a good laugh when Ang dived (understandably) into the seats when we turned a corner and found ourselves on a 100-foot high narrow viaduct with scarcely more than chicken wire to catch us if we fell off. We also made the most of the kilogram restaurants where you pay according to the weight of the food you pick from the buffet. Images that also stick in our minds from Rio include the swimwear of choice for many men - speedos are not just restricted to beach areas it seems but it is quite acceptable to wonder around town in them. Sadly(Pete) / fortunately(Ang) women were not quite so confident in their string bikinis.

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Photos

The amazing Iguazu Falls
Devil's Throat, from the Brazil side.

Snakes on a tree
not on a plane. This one was at our camp. Ang implemented strict zip-up-the-tent rules after the sighting.

Horse riding in the Pantanal
Pete was in total control the whole time and was meant to go through the lake.

Soaring like a dove
Or as the instructor put it, like a vulture...?

200,000 strong Rocinha favela
We were safe to go in but the police aren't as the favela is run by the drug gangs.

Rio de Janeiro from Sugarloaf
Copacabana on the left and you can just see Mr Christo on the top right.

No seats left on the tram? Ride like a local
White knuckle ride up to Santa Teresa, Rio. Bashed by bushes, holding on for dear life over bridges and dodging parked cars - Pete's new slimline figure probably kept him alive.

So much water arrives at Iguazu!
Great views from the Argentina side

The pictures do not do it justice!
It is hard to imagine that places like this exist. Mother nature at her best.

Too close to a caiman
We all moved back after the guide annoyed the caiman with his stick. The boys took one step, the girls twenty.

Snake, Tree
or is that tree, snake? Great sighting of a fake python.

The nearly newlyweds
Honeymooning in the Pantanal

Peter the fisherman
Didn't quite catch enough to feed the 5,000 but he did catch a dozen of which 3 were big enough to keep.

Comments

[Fiona]

Geography from the other side of the world!
Ang will be glad to know she is still spreading the Geography word... your latest blog has made my job teaching Tourism in Brazil to Year 8 very easy. Enjoy the last bit of your epic adventure. xxx