Blogs from Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, South America - page 13

ok, so we´ve left Brazil now and were in Bolivia, but hopefully we´ll be able to get up to date with what we´ve got up to so far!! and i´ll start with the snorkelling we mentioned at the end of the last blog. After arriving in Bonito, Bryan our guide then told us a bit about the town, it has only fairly recently started offering ecotrips to tourists, the town itself has no attractions other than the natural resources of the area, and it has only been recently that the people of Bonito realised that people are interested in taking ecotrips such as snorkeling, abseiling and horseriding. As a group we decided that we would go to a ranch that was near the Prata river that offered snorkelling trips and horseriding, and would possibly abseil tomorrow. ... read more

delayed entry again so here goes..... got the bus from copacabana to la paz to finally get my bank card from the embassay!!!we celebrated with a subway which tasted nearly as good as home!!!! Then we got the most upgraded bus in boliva and paid 150 bolivanos about 15 pounds to go from la paz to santa cruz. Good bus, even although it was 3 hours late and obviously no reason just when we think yes we are nearly there we ask and the driver is like 3 more hours, aaarrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Then we get to Santa Cruz to get the death train (not scary just used to take ages and be dodgy) to the border into Brazil. This is the most chugguest train ever, never stops chugging and making loads noise and is really really shaky ... read more

So the only way to the Pantanal and Brazil is a 16-20hr train, doesnt sound too bad especially if we splash out and go top class with full reclining seats for a few pounds. Oh those trains dont go til Sunday, we get told, and its Friday so we have to go semi-recline and slightly grubby class, half price. It all starts going a bit awry at the train station with everywhere being a bit hectic as the strike gets hold and the distinct lack of any tourists/travellers still concerning me. Oh look theres some western looking folk, they are western looking but are all wearing dungarees and trucker caps (not the trendy ones that Gemmas loves, just plain red or green, think Mario Brothers) and they all look identical, kinda a mid-west american country look ... read more

Ok, so it's been a week since we left Bonito but this is the first chance we´ve had to write about it (see next entry). Spent a couple of beautiful hot days here, a bike ride to an artificial beach, which included volleyball courts in and out of the water, a "Flying Fox" hang-slide into the lake, a trampoline, and huge fish surrounding you as you wade through the shallow end! The next day was spent snorkelling, unfortunately we have no photos other than us in our wetsuits (very flattering!), but it was amazing. The waters were absolutely crystal clear, and in fact we weren´t allowed to touch the bottom as disturbing the limestone would dirty the water. The fish were beautiful, colourful, and unperturbed by us floating silently above them watching their every move. One ... read more

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 ... read more