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Published: March 2nd 2007
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Will we make it?
Tony, our driver, tries to get our truck over the rickety bridge that the Budget truck got stuck on. The Pantanal
Ok, so I'm having trouble with photo uploading again. Which is a shame as I have a few great animal photos. I'll try again soon.
Our last day of driving to the Pantanal involved a couple of interesting moments. We had to change a tyre on the way, only to see one of the Budget overland trucks fly past. This was slightly annoying until we got onto the dirt road into the Pantanal. It hadn't rained for a while so this road was
extremely bumpy as all the previous bumps caused by rain plus trucks had hardened. It made for an interesting ride, especially for those on the back seat. We'd been over a few small bridges which were just made of very rickety looking wood with no sides. We reached the big long bridge to find that the Budget truck was stuck on it. They had swerved to avoid a hole right at the end of the bridge only to end up with on front wheel in another hole. It looked like we might have to get the lodge to send out transportation for us but then they finally managed to jack up the wheel under
Alfonso gets a snack
Alfonso the caiman munching on one of the piranhas that my boat caught. planks and get on the move.
The Lodge
We had even more bumpy road than the Budget truck to travel along as we were staying in an ecotourism lodge right in the heart of the Pantanal. We basically took over the place, apart from a couple of kiwis, israelis and germans. It was such a relaxing place to stay what with the pool, hammocks in the shade, volleyball and various animals to play with including the cutest puppy in the world! The first night turned into a bit of a travel release session for some of us, including myself. We cracked open a bottle of cacaca (can't spell that, it's the cane spirit in caipirinhas. Unfortunately a few drinks later and I had forgotten to go back to my room and change into trousers - hence the horrendous mozzie bites I've got on my legs. People gasp when they see them (I'll try to put a photo up) but they don't itch that bag so I'm doing better than the guys whose bites have swollen right up. This explains the title of the blog. The Pantanal is known as the Pantahell amongst overlander leaders due to the amount
Toucans in the wild
The boat trip downriver to the piranha fishing spot was a great opportunity to see some wildlife. These toucans looked stunning against the setting sun on the journey back. of biting menaces that frequent the area - well it is a wetland full of stagnant water!! It was fun evening though and I took on a couple of kiwis at pool rugby and we won (although my other team member was a honary brit - actually kiwi).
Horse riding
The next day I managed to drag my hungover self onto a horse for a bit of a ride. It was really lovely to be back riding again and good practice for Argentina when I want to become a gaucho. Managed to get a good canter out of them but there was fair bit of wading through water and a swim at the end. Had to learn how to ride western style which was a bit strange at first and the guide kept laughing at my rising trot!
Piranha fishing
After chilling out at the pool, doing some washing and napping in the hammock the afternoon brought the fun of piranha fishing!! This involved heading out in a tin tub along the waterways of the wetland to a little inlet and then sticking lumps of meat in the water on very rudamentary fishing rods. Quite a few
Sunset over the Pantanal
South America seems to be full of fabulous sunsets so my apologies if this is one of many sunset photos that I bore you all with. This was taken on the walk back from the boat after a successful piranha fishing trip. people in my boat managed to capture one but unfortunately they eluded me. The little blighters nibble at the bait, you can feel the tugging, but the are very clever at avoiding the hook. Some of the girls brought their fish back for din dins (quite yummy actually but very boney) and one was fed to Alfonso the caiman (very small alligator). I had a great photo of him munching which I'll have to get up soon. The joy of this trip was also seeing lots of wildlife along the way, including my first sighting on a guiness toucan! Sooooo beautiful in the tree tops with their beaks glowing in the evening sunlight.
Day Safari
After the previous night's escapades I retired for the evening to hide from the mozzies. Good job as I had a 5am start the next day to head out on the day safari. It is a lot easier to see the animals in the early morning. We saw tons of really colourful birds including lots of toucans, green and blue kingfishers (even saw them fishing), turkey vultures, a type of comorant fishing, a bird of prey that I forget the name of and
Blurry Jarabu (?) stalk
This guy is the symbol of the Pantanal. However I have forgotten how to spell his name. If anyone could enlighten me that would be great! I know his cousin in Africa is the Marabu stalk so maybe they share a name. tons more. Heard the howling monkeys howl and saw a few of them cuddled up together in a tree - the males are black and females are golden so they make very cute pairs. But the highlight for me was seeing a capybara in the wild as I've met these giant rodents before when I was a zookeeper for the day. Lots of caiman were spied sunning themselves, but sadly the elusive jaguar evaded us. Not surprising when some of the guides haven't even seen one.
Moving on
I'm writing this blog from our hostel in Bonito. Another long and very hot day of driving got us here. Spent the morning visiting a cave called Largo Azul because it contains blue blue blue water at the bottom. Was stunning to be inside with the stalagmites and you could see to a depth of 60m through the clear clear water. Met some irish guys from the Kamuka truck who have been a good laugh this afternoon larking about in the pool playing volleyball. Pleased that they are following the same route as us so there should be more fun ahead.
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