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Published: March 12th 2009
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Jaguar footprints
the one that got away Another sleepless overnight bus journey got us to Campo Grande so we could visit the Pantanal. There is nothing wrong with the actual buses in Brazil. The problem is they stop at every bus station possible, stop regularly for food and the roads are bumpy. Not a great combination, as just when you eventually get to sleep the bus stops, the lights come on and people shuffle on and off.
Anyway, on arrival at Campo Grande we got straight off the bus and into one of the travel agents Anwar, at Hostel Natura, had recommended. Within an hour we had booked a 3 night trip to the Pantanal and were hungrily tucking in to breakfast as we waited for yet another bus. After 5 hours on the new bus we were dropped off at a roadside shack, where fortunately a truck awaited to take us to the lodge.
The Pantanal is a vast wetland area, which spans the Brazil-Bolivia border. It is home to a vast array of wildlife, mainly birds, but also a few unusual mammals such as Capybara, Giant Anteaters and Jaguars. It isn’t like a game park. Most of the land is actually farmed for cattle,
The bush walk
Not as scary as the one in Botswana says Lynne but the species are protected. The lodge we stayed in couldn’t be compared to an African safari lodge, but it was comfortable enough and right on the banks of the Miranda river. The package included all our food and about 7 different activities over the next 4 days.
Straight away we were introduced to our guide, Gabriel, who told us to change into our swimsuits as the first activity would begin shortly - tubing down the river. We were to be a rather exclusive group of six and we got into the boat to take us to the tubing start point. We’d heard that the rivers in the Pantanal were full of piranha and caiman. This made the six of us a little reluctant to get out of the boat and into the tubes. We were assured by Gabriel that were no piranha in this section of the river and that the caiman were too small to eat us and that they kept themselves near the banks anyway. Nervously, we got into the tubes and set off. Luckily the only things that bit us were the mosquitoes but, despite Gabriel assurances, I think that we all had one eye
on the look out, especially when we drifted towards the bank.
The next day we went on a full day jeep safari and bush walk. There are a few species of monkey in the Pantanal but the main one is called Howler, because of the noise they make. Gabriel proved himself fluent in howler monkey and whatever he said to them made them really angry as they would scream down really loudly. The bush walk also allowed us to see racoons and huge spiders! I managed to get a few huge ants in my t-shirt that continued to bite me until lunchtime when I finally figured out what they were and removed them. Apparently if you get more than 50 bites, you die. Well that was one of Gabriel’s stories anyway and I wasn’t counting! He also told us yarns about a Scottish lad being attacked by an anaconda and it trying to drag him underwater, so we were never quite sure what to believe.
Later than afternoon we also went horse-riding which was great fun. It was ridiculously hot and the horses weren’t too keen on an outing, but I managed to get myself a good enthusiastic
one that liked to be at the front with the guide. Andy however, as usual, managed to get the old nag and spent the whole time bringing up the rear with a glum look on his face until he found it’s “weak spot” and came cantering to the front doing some dodgy lasso action and shouting “yea-ha!” - very classy!
The following day was a river cruise. Mammal wise we saw more monkeys and quite a few capybarra. These are the big rodents you may have heard about. Apparently they have a very short lifespan as jaguars, caiman and anacondas all like the taste. We didn’t get to see the elusive jaguar but settled for some very recent footprints, apparently we missed it by minutes which was a bit of a bummer. We did see lots of very colourful birds though including the hyacinth macaw which was an amazing blue/purple colour and had a fantastic, elaborate tail and a few toucans, which are beautiful. We also saw the jaraboo stork which is huge and the symbol of the Pantanal. It really is massive and looks like the stork that delivers babies.
One of our highlights turned out to
be the piranha fishing. We got in the boat and moored up at a spot just opposite the place where we had started the tubing. This didn’t seem like a very good spot given that had been told the day before that there weren’t any piranha in this area. Oh how gullible we were! There were loads of the nasty little things! They don’t get any old bait either, but cuts of beef and as soon as we put our primitive looking bamboo rods in the water, you could feel them biting! Andy and I weren’t very good at first as we left the bait in the water too long and the crafty things just took the bait. It was amazing, if you left the bait at the surface you could see them all fighting for it. We eventually got the hang of it and managed to catch quite a few. The first one was a bit of a surprise and I ended up swinging it around on the end of the rod not sure what to do next. When you get a close up look you can see how nasty their teeth are, there’s no way we were getting
in the water again.
Our few days in the Pantanal were great and also good value for money (which kept Andy happy). However, we’ve being spoiled rotten by doing the safaris in Botswana so we wouldn’t compare it to them. One of the great things was meeting a couple called Alan and Anne. Alan was 71 and Anne was not too far off. They spend 6 months each year travelling to different countries and it was great to see. Hopefully we’ll still be seeing the world in our 70’s!
River snorkelling
From the lodge we took a bumpy 5 hour journey to a nearby town called Bonito. This is marketed as the Brazilian ecotourism capital and there are all sorts of activities you can do. The man attraction here though, is to snorkel the crystal clear rivers.
To say the rivers are clear is an understatement. Apparently calcium in the water attaches to any pollutants and makes them sink to the bottom. We took a trip to the Rio del Prata where you snorkel the length of a tributary stream. The stream emerges from an underground spring and you can even see the water welling up
Got one
Piranha fishing, our first catch! from the sandy bottom in places which is strange. You can dive down to touch the bubbles and feel that the water is colder in these places too.
We actually had two attempts at snorkelling the stream. The first day was fine until we got into the water, at which point a storm hit and we spent the next hour in pouring rain, listening to the cracks of thunder and wondering whether lightening is conducted by a river! The guide called it off, saying the visibility wasn’t good, but to our eyes it was still good and you could see 5-10m. Coming back the next day, we definitely understood what he meant. The visibility was amazing. It was far better than any diving or snorkelling we have done, and must have been 20m. It is also massively different from snorkelling in the sea. At some points it feels as though your chest is almost touching the bottom and then you lift your head out of the water and you can hear all the sounds of the jungle. There are also loads of fish and some, like the Dorado, are really quite big. I also had the slightly surreal experience
of seeing a small Caiman on the river bank, half in the water as we glided past. If you are near to the Pantanal, it is definitely worth the detour.
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