Blogs from Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, South America - page 6

Arrived this morning in Campo Grande after long, cold overnight bus journey - not as good as Argentina, but OK. Assumed Campo Grande was the last stop - which it wasn't so we were still sitting on the bus when our bags were already off and sitting on the pavement, Atsuko was still asleep - putain !!! weather is now getting warm - high 20s in the day and much warmer in the sun. Tomorrow we're heading into the Pantanal for 3 days. Organised the tour through the hostel, should be hiking, piranha fishing, horse riding, and lots of wild animal watching. We took the option of camping so plenty of mosquito repellent to hand. Expect to have more huge steaks and chorizo sausages for dinner tonight - Brazilian portions are the same size as Argentinian ... read more

well well well, we made it over the border, after all the tales of the hellish adventure we would encounter, it really could not have been easier. Our train from Bolivia to the Brazilian border was fine, no wonder you have to book in advance though, there are only 50 seats in the 2 carriages provided. Also they store all your bags under the train which is a bit disconcerting, but there you go. 12 hours flew by at about 10mph, but they did have Hollywood films on the go so you cant complain, and a weird chicken and rice dinner. We were met off the train by Ronny Anaconda - a genuine fella, who even paid for our taxi to the border point. After 6 months of crossing borders you dont worry anymore, but it ... read more

Hey Guys, Well we arrived in Campo Grande @ 7am and we´re booked for a 4 day Amazon Jungle excursion in the Pantanal by 9am so pretty productive morning to say the least! We can´t take all the credit since we were mobbed at the bus station, but we choose to go with the Hostelling International guys since the took us to there hostel gave us breakfast, let us use a room for an hour to shower after a long night on the bus so we were impressed. So at 10 we jump in the van for the 5hr ride into the Pantanal, once we arrived at our lodge we pretty much just hung out since it was late and waited for dinner. The Pantanal is the southern edge of the Amazon jungle and is the ... read more

So I’m sitting on the pantanal... Well not literally. I’m in the lounge dining room overlooking the river. It’s so nice and HOT here. At least 30, easily 35. Finally!! And humid. Presently there is a nice cool breeze coming through here. I can swim in the river if I want but considering we just went piranha fishing there... maybe not. Hehehe... So I’ve decided to be a little ambitious in learning Portuguese. But first let me wrap up the journey here. So there was the 14 hour bus ride from iguazu, like 10 stops and one bus change, and even though i was cramped and claustrophobic from the hulk overflowing into my seat from the seat next to me, I slept relatively well. Well really well, and I didn’t mind the long bus ride, it ... read more

Thankfully the remainder of our trip into the historical gold mining town of Ouro Preto was less eventful. The bus station is situated a short walk from the town square, Praça Tiradentes, which faces a beautiful old museum. Hopping off the bus we sought out the tourist information booth and a very helpful young man was only too willing to give us a hand selecting a suitable hotel. He went through many providing commentary as to price and whether he thought we should stay there. His advice was to stay at the Grande Hotel in the town centre which was “a very good price” at 111R per night. Indeed, it is one of the “better” hotels if you are into crap 1970’s style and design. Oddly the hotel was designed by Oscar Niemeyer (Brasil’s most famous ... read more