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Published: November 5th 2006
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Halfway through our 4 hour bus journey to Bonito our bus switched to 4x4 mode and headed off down a dusty unmade track for the final leg of the journey. Where exactly is Bonito?
Thankfully Bonito is a very nice town. We were greeted off the bus by the HI hostel staff and transported back to their gaff just outside the town centre. This was one of the nicest hostels we've stayed in - the rooms were large, and they even had air conditioning (luxury after a hammock in a shed in a swamp), there was a swimming pool, pool table and an excellent chill area full of hammocks. We dropped off our stuff in our rooms and headed to the kitchen where was ordered a couple of Misto Quentes, a now very familiar meal. Basically a hot cheese and ham sandwich but you can get them everywhere. Paul & Rog quickly whipped the Irish at pool and then it was time for some sleep in our nice comfy beds.
Bonito, which means beautiful in Portuguese, is famed for its clear water rivers and lakes and all activities in the area are centred around this. I guess this now
means we can see the Piranhas and Alligators swimming towards us. Not sure if this is better or worse.
On our first day we opted for snorkelling in the 'Municipal Pool' and in the afternoon tubing (known as 'Boia Cross') down the Formoso River. The hostel books all this up for you and even organises the taxi to take you there and pick you up again. This organisation is not something we've been use to in South America!
At the Municipal Pool we hired our snorkelling equipment and headed for the water. It was very clear and there were plenty of sizeable fish swimming about. After a quick snorkelling lesson from Roger and Amber, we were all in. Amazing.
Next up, a short walk to try Boia Cross. There's some seriously nice jungle style hotels in the area and this was such a place (although maybe our standards have dropped since leaving blighty!). We walked a short distance along a wooden walkway in the forest to the beginning of the course. A quick introduction to our guide and our tubes and we were off. The river was quite slow which was good for chilling out in the
amazing surroundings and spying fish through the clear waters but every now and then a large waterful or rapid would sneek up on you. The first of which was particuarly large. I'm not sure anyone survived that one upright!
In the evening we went into Bonito and enjoyed a nice steak and then a few beverages at a bar called 'Taboa'. Bearing in mind we were snorkelling the next day we all possibly had more than we should and definately surpassed the 2 caipirinhas a night rule. But Roger & Amber were on holiday, so Vicki & Paul felt pressured into it to ensure they had a good time!
With sore heads we spent some time by the swimming pool the next morning, preparing for our snorkelling trip down the Baia Bonita River. Again the hostel arranged all the transport to and from the venue, another amazing hotel. For this trip we were given wet suits as it involved a 45 minute float down the river which was pretty cold! Nervous moments for Amber during the briefing as the guide described what signal he'd make if he saw an Anaconda! In the end the float down the river
was fairly uneventful but beautiful and relaxing.
At the end of the river we made our way to a large pool where an aerial runway awaited us. Paul went first and was instructed to let go before the red flag but sadly he didn't and he came to an immediate halt which flipped him backwards and then arse first into the water. Everyone else executed a perfect landing. After all this we were taken back to the hotel swimming pool where we spent some time relaxing in the jacuzzi. First bath in a while.
Our next stop in the trip was Foz do Iguacu on the Brazilian Argentinian border. There was some inconsistent information from the hostel and bus companies about how to get there but all solutions involved a nightmare multi-bus journey. Luckily for us there was another couple at the hostel wanting to travel to the same place so the very friendly hostel driver volunteered to take us all in the hostel van. A 12 hour trip, not on the backpacker budget I might add, but it would save us many hours in dodgy Brazilian bus stations.
The trip was relatively painless, for a 12
hour trip in a small van, and we arrived in Foz do Iguacu ready for some spectacular waterfall viewing.
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