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Published: April 29th 2007
By early March I had hit the wall on the independent travel thing. I was ready for a break. And I still had a few weeks before I was due to meet my parents in Brazil for a tour to the watery and wonderous
Pantanal. So I just chilled in Buenos Aires, catching up on my reading, running, and attending some yoga classes (in Spanish!). I also had to get my visa for Brazil.
Meeting up with M & D in Sao Paulo, we set off for
Caiman Lodge at the SE corner of the vast Pantanal. For those who have never heard of this place, the Pantanal is a similar environment to the Everglades but much larger - about ten times larger! The Pantanal is the largest freshwater wetland on earth and harbors many species common in the Amazon but with a more open setting that makes it easier to see wildlife. It is often referred to as the Serengetti of South America.
During our five days in the Pantanal we spotted scores of birds, mammals, reptiles, and insects, revelling in the wild pageant of life. Giant anteaters, howler and capuchin monkeys, peccaries, deer, capybaras, agouti, rheas, screamers,
chachalacas, herons (7 species), egrets, ibises, storks, vultures, hawks, caracaras, seriemas, jacanas, macaws, parrots, parakeets, cuckoos, anis, potoos, pauraques, hummingbirds, a trogon, kingfishers, a jacamar, toucans, woodpeckers, antwrens, woodcreepers, scythebills, ovenbirds, kiskadees, tyrants, tityras, jays, martins, donacobiuses, tanagers, grassquits, cardinals, oropendolas, orioles, caiman, and more. All told, we spotted or heard 140 different vertebrates, but just as striking was the abundance of certain species. It was quite different from my brief trip to the Amazon in 2002 - not quite as many species here, but crowded, crowded, crowded!
It was the end of the wet season so things were drying down and heating up. While watching for feathered, furry, or scaled critters, we enjoyed a twilight river trip, tours of the on-site jaguar and hyacinth macaw conservation work, some lake canoeing, and evening spotlighting. One night we were lucky enough to spot 3 jaguars along a road. This was a rare treat and even our guides were overcome with excitement. There seemed to be some strange social interactions going on between a large male, a mother, and her offspring...strange and mysterious family dynamics.
After four days in the Pantanal we moved onto
Iguazu Falls, on the border of Brazil,
Argentina and Paraguay. Rivalled in size by only Victoria Falls in Africa, Iguazu's moist, humid setting attracts scores of butterflies. Though touristy, the Falls are impressive and we spotted some additional critters here: parrotlets, woodnymphs, aracaris, more colorful tanagers, a dacnis, and coatis persistently seeking to raid the breakfast buffet at our hotel.
In the midst of all this abundant life, we learned of the death of our close family friend Tim Andersen back in Oregon. We love you Tim, and all the other Andersens: Lindsay, Court & Rebecca, Shea & Jen, Adam & Kate. All the wilderness trips we enjoyed together growing up in the Northwest made your family into a part of our family... Though I am overwhelmed with sadness over the loss, I know Tim will always be with us when we head for the woods or mountains.
Life was passing me by back home and it was time to head that way.
Leaving M & D I had a marathon bus and plane journey from Sao Paulo back to Buenos Aires, and up through Bolivia and Peru back to Lima, from where I flew home. I am back in the Northwest now looking
for work and getting settled in.
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Lindsay
non-member comment
Welcome back
Ted, your photographs are stunning. Thanks for the tribute to Tim, though you must know that our last name ends with -En. Hope to see you in Central Oregon soon.