On to Fazenda San francisco

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We picked a guide up on the way who would be with us at the Fazenda (farm). We arrived around noon. We were originally allocated a four-bed room shared with the other couple but after a chat with Dave and Ivan, we managed to get our own room.

Lunch on arrival was a large buffet with two different cuts of beef being sliced up. Salads and rice, a bean stew with rice pudding and fruits for dessert. Following lunch,we were given a talk in an Auditorium/lecture hall by one of the people on the farm about the flora and fauna and importance of the animals in the overall ecosystem. Around 3pm, we had a two-hour safari round the estate (which was a vast number of hectares) on the back of a lorry that had been converted to platformed seats with a raised chair on the roof of the cab for the guide who could point out the animals and instruct the driver to stop when something noteworthy was glimpsed. We saw the inevitable recent footprints of the puma which perhaps Ed should have taken a photo of as this was as close as we got to this animal which is - in fairness - a rare sight although both of us are fairly sure someone goes out with a stamp of the large animal´s footprint and tells the drivers where it's going to be stamped that day! We saw many birds, i.e. herons, kingfishers (several types and colours) hawks and owls and a few animals which were pointed out by our guide and an interesting tour round a small part of the farm.

Back for a swim or laze for a short time and then dinner which was similar to lunch . We then went on a night safari in the same vehicle where they used a spotlight to find the animals. After seeing a small, allegedly wild fox-type animal near a small house just at the start of the safari it was a case of following the spotlight and seeing just trees and grass. Nearly everyone
nodded off after the first half hour as the movement of the truck and the dark with just nothing to see lulled us all into a doze. We could have reported that we missed something but it appears not... Aah well!!

Return and bed.

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Photos

Fazenda San Francisco
a capybara

Fazenda San Francisco
Owls