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Published: February 23rd 2006
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Noel and Tasmin snorkelling We got the farm truck from the Pantanal to a building that sat on a cross-road, it was a very strange place. We were greeted by a young gentleman in military uniform with a gun and jack boots which gave the impression the building was a State border post, however he beckoned us into the office in a ´make yourself at home´way. A few of us went in and a few of us waited outside. In the corner of the room was a small TV showing the final stages of a Samba competition, the guard was very much enjoying the girls shaking their bootie and encouraged us to watch it. Beside the TV was a huge library of pornographic DVDs. After getting directions from the guard I made my way to the toilet. Out the back I saw another guard and a local butchering a cow on a plastic sheet laid on the ground.
A tout approached one of our number offering a ride to our next destination on an air conditioned mini-bus which would be twice as fast as the bus we were waiting for. To be honest a rag-and-bone-man´s cart would have been sufficient transport to get us
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Fish in Bonitos clean waters away from this mysterious place of guns, pornography and butchery.
We arrived at Bonitio tired, but in good fettle. One of our party had suggested a hostel with a pool so we got our driver to take us there.
The next day was spent relaxing in the pool, what else could we do in 35 degrees c heat? Around the pool we met some of the people we had shared our journey with the previous day - Merrick from Dublin, Deidre from Dublin and Emery a girl from Holland as well as two people from Israel. It was a youth hostel so at 33 I felt quite old.
Bonito is famed for its crystal clear waters. The water is clear because it is filtered with calcium carbonate. The second day was spent taking advantage of these crystal clear waters. We took a tour which involved floating down the river in a rainforest for two hours in snorkel and watersuit. The reason for the wetsuit is two-fold.
1. There is no sunscreen allowed as it polutes the water.
2. The water gets colder towards the end of the swim - when I enquired as to how cold I
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Us rapelling down 70m (210ft) into the cave was informed 21 degrees c - oooh freezing!
The snorkelling was fantastic, the water was crystal clear, there was an abundance of aquatic life to be seen and plenty of obstacles like fallen logs to be avoid. Half way through the float it started to rain which looked very odd from our position in the subterranean world. The second part of the tour involved a walk back through the forest where we saw monkeys, red macaws (15 of them in 1 tree) and the second biggest natural hole in the world. (All jokes on a postcard please).
Our third day in Bonito entailed a little more adrenaline. This time we rappelled (like absailing without the wall) 70 m (210 ft) into a flooded cave where we snorkelled aqua green waters amongst the crazy surrounding of stalagmites and stalagtites. The stalagmites mirrored themselves on the water by relfection and underwater by physical presence. I have seen some of mother nature´s surreal works of art in the last two months and this under water installation certainly ranks as one of my favourites. There were very few fish in the water but there were the bones of deer and anteaters who were unfortunate to fall into the inescapable abyss. There were also a few deadly spiders but they were clinging to the wall for safety, theirs and ours.
The only way to exit the cave was to climb the 70m rope we had descended, a scarey task which took us nearly 12 minutes, the record being 7, the average being 15. We we greeted at the top by Brazil´s coolest rock climber and guardian of our ascent. Tas wanted to marry him but I think this was influenced more by the elation of reaching the exit without plummeting to our deaths rather than his scantily clad fat-free muscular body. He ruined it anyway by proclaiming he loved punk rock and The Sex Pistols, not one of Tas´s favourite genres or bands.
Bonito was the most relaxing place we have been to so far and the thought of the 19 hour bus journey to our next location did not motivate us to move so we spent the next 2 days in and by the pool. We read, swam and whipped each others arse at volley-ball, both sets counting towards ´The Life Challenge´ (see separate entry).
We are intending to get to Rio to see the Stones gig on Copacabana beach on the 18th and we have a few places to go before then, so it is time to move on. Our next stop is Foz De Iguaçu, the location of the worlds biggest waterfall.
Sorry about the lack of pictures on this update but we had to use an underwater camera most of the time which used film that we need to get developed - the good old fashioned way!
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