Pantanal

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We left Sao Paulo on an overnight service to the huge bio diverse, subtropical area called the Pantanal. After arriving bang on time we were greeted by our super helpful tour company (Panatal Discovery) who offered us a few sweeteners to seal the deal. We were offered a free day in the Pantanal and a free nights accommodation where the tour ends in Bonito. He also confirmed the boat details from the Pantanal which would transport us into Paraguay. We had phoned the captain ourselves and asked the same questions, so it was good to hear the same thing from a local, meaning our langue skills were up to scratch! We left the access city of Campo Grande and travelled deep into the southern reaches of Brasils Pantanal.

We arrived at our very modern lodge with plenty of hammock space, cable tv, pool table and even a mini bar. The lodge is built very close to the passing river, which is set below a cliff type bank. At the base of the cliff sandy beaches meet the rivers water, all lined with the Pantanals common feature - the Caiman (crocodile). We spent the afternoon chilling out in the array of hammocks and enjoyed the sunset. After more hearty South American food of massive portions we were taken on a night safari. We didn’t see much as the jeep drove through the dust ways of the Pantanal, for a starters it was too dark and secondly the jeep was far too noisy. We did get a treat when we pulled up next to a distant lake, the guide got out and shone the jeeps mega spot light onto the lake. We saw a pretty amazing sight. The lake was a good 250m away and as the spot light scanned the lake hundreds, maybe thousands of eyes reflected back at us. The lake was full of Caiman, with the water at its lower levels they had all come to the same place to hunt. Not sure if I like their chances!
During the daylight hours we were taken out again in the jeep for more wildlife spotting. We had more luck than in the darkness. Birdlife was in abundance, racoons, artichokes, deer, otters and of course caiman. The jeep flew around the dust ways stopping for Tucans, monkeys, parrots and to watch the otters playfully eat a fish in front of the caiman. They were not too impressed and tried to circle the cheeky, crafty furry critters but it was plain to see who the king of the water ways are......
We passed a couple of mini built up areas which had shops so we stopped for a bit. We then saw herdsmen guiding livestock through the little settlement. This is a common occurrence as the Pantanal is also used for farming. Our lodge is built right next to a farm itself. As the waters were low the marshlands were accessible meaning we could go anaconda hunting!! The group slivered around the edges of the boggy, fauna covered mud pools, spying for the fearsome predator. A member of the group spotted an anaconda lurking under the low lying shrubbery. The guide got further into the marsh to have a look, he looked quite scared. The anaconda was on the large side but luck would have it, it seemed to have already eaten! The guide pulled the snake slightly out from the cover of the fauna and it was easy to see that it had previously eaten a baby caiman. Without wanting to disturb the animal (I think the guide was also petrified) we left the anaconda in peace. We continued to look for more but I was happy with what we had already seen. We made our way back to camp while enjoying the diversity of the Pantanal.
Another way to see the diversity of the Pantanal is via the water ways which feeds this region. A few hours spent searching the low rivers gave us a different view of the area. All the banks were lined with caiman - there are millions of these creatures in this area. We saw various birdlife and many different lizards scarpering into burrows on the bank side. The surrounding flauna and fanua was as interesting as it is diverse in this in region. We continued through smaller, tighter waterways covered in algae and reeds and then returned back onto the wider sections, with its low level flying birdlife. We hung around and got a decent spot for another soothing sunset.
We saw the rest of our time in the Pantanal, Pirana fishing (only a metre or two away from the caiman - they aren’t very dangerous, actually they seem a fairly relaxed animal), relaxing in the hammocks, sharing caiparinha’s (mixed at the mini bar and brasil’s best!!) with our fellow guests and to take a horse riding excursion into the scrub. Again the Pantanal displayed what a diverse place it is with small green lagoons and hot, hot thinly, dusty, forested areas.
As we left I couldn’t but help thinking about the varity of terrain this region has to offer. It is a wildlife paradise as is the Amazon. But the thing with Brasil is, it’s portion of the Pantanal / Amazon isn’t quite the same paradise as it is in the neighbouring countries. Brasil has built a massive amount of infrastructure and modernity into these regions. Roads, railways, huge cities and humanity all have their part in gradually grinding these areas down. I can compare the Pantanal to the Amazonian Pampas in Bolivia which is far more remote, denser and a place where the wildlife thrives ten folds. I can say the same about the Rainforest in Bolivia compared to area I saw around Manaus. Its a trend that Brasil doesn’t seem intent on stopping and will continue. This is something of a worry as this country has the lion’s share of these delicate and wondrous regions.
We left our lodge and travelled to the southern edges of the Pantanal and namely Bonito. This little town harbours a tone of activities to do in its beautiful surroundings but as the area is all privately owned, it is ridiculously expensive. As time isn’t on our side we reluctantly decided to continue. We had less than four weeks to make it back to Santiago and still quite a lot of ground left to cover. Besides, we weren’t leaving a lot of time to get to our boat on the Rio Paraguay.
Continuing onto Jardin we found a small ‘boutique’ town for Brasilians. Not as expensive as Bonito it had its own character. Clean with a good atmosphere, its main street was lined with Brasils version of small upper market shops, large expensive cars and some decent restaurants. Jardin was just another stop off point on our way to Porto Murtinho where we could get our connecting boat onto Paraguay. We stayed in a nice motel and had our last fantastic Brasilian breakfast before we took our last bus journey to the boarder.
We arrived in Porto Murtinho at around mid day a good six hours before our boat into Paraguay would depart. We caught moto taxis straight to the port to see if our boat had docked. The port was very primitive with a few tourist boats hanging around which take fishing parties up and down the Rio Paraguay. A short distance on the opposite bank is Paraguay, marked by a small naval base. We wanted to make sure we got onto the boat so we could drop our bags off and then sort out Brasilian immigration, while getting supplies for our three day journey down to Asuncion. We got off our moto’s and removed our bags and saw the array of small dingies taking people to and from Paraguay. We started to look for the Aquidaban (a cargo boat) but one of the ever friendly locals came over asked us what we were looking for. ‘The Aquidaban’ we replied. ‘It left at 9am’ he replied. To say that our stress levels had sored is an understatement. We had both spent ages researching this journey - internet research, phoning ahead, speaking to the local tourist board, talking to our Pantanal office. The Aquidaban only runs once a week so we had tried to make sure we had all the details correct - we don’t have one week on our hands anymore. The journey although adventurous is supposedly as spectacular as it is an experience.
Disappointed we then realised that we still had to get into Paraguay somehow. Had we left Bonito via the easier road option we would have been in Paraguay by now. The friendly boat people around the port knew of another way via the dust tracks into Paraguay. It would be a case of a couple of buses but would get us as far as Paraguay first major town. We found a hotel, had a look at the small but interesting fort in town and got one of the boat people to take us out on a consolation Rio Paraguay journey. The river was certainly spectacular, untouched with gorgeous sub-tropical forest lining it banks. Wildlife was in absolute abundance. We probably saw more different species here in three hours than what we saw in the whole of our Pantanal trip! Our trip concluded with our last sunset in the tropics, the Rio Paraguay was the ideal setting. Although well worth while taking the smaller trip, it did show us what we were missing out on……
We later tried to get our exit stamps from Brasil but were told at the Police Station that we needed a federal office which wasn’t based here but they assured us we would find the relevant officers we needed at the boarder tomorrow. We had a dinner and talked to the ever intrigued locals. It seems there are no travellers coming this way.
We left Porto Murtinho early the next morning on an old rickerty bus which was already late due to puncher problems. The bus travelled south in the morning heat and we soon found ourselves at the boarder barracks. Again we would find the most chilled out soldiers on the planet baring meter long machine guns. We tried to get our stamps out of the country but they didn’t have any. It seems they don’t worry about customs here. The location is ridiculously remote. The Brasilian side has a small army base (about four building worth) and they only record who crosses the boarder and don’t issue stamps. As we knew we would later be returning to Brasil we asked if it would be ok if we didn’t have an exit stamp. After the usual round of South American ‘tranquilo’ we knew we had to cross the board - if you could call this a boarder! A river separates the countries but there is no bridge, so we leave the bus and take our bags. The rivers pretty wide and is also pretty low. Luckily there are boats on hand for the bags but we have to wade through the waters to the beach in the middle and we were then treated to a boat for the remainder! We even saw a local riding his motorbike across the whole width! Now on Paraguayan soil there is no boarder controls in sight, just a hot sweaty bus waiting for its passengers. The most remote boarder I have ever seen, it’s almost illegal! Well officially we are! A surreal exit/entry between countries but the most fun I have ever experienced so far.
So that was it for Brasil except for a planned quick hop back over the boarder in a week or so. I really enjoyed this country, ok it’s by far the most expensive place on this continent but it has a lot to offer. We had to miss out many places that interested us, but we felt we did well in the five or six weeks we had here. But that says a lot about Brasil for me, you can come here and see as little or as much as you want and still feel you’ve seen enough. From the glitz and glam of Rio to the small town friendliness of Porto Murtinho nothing seemed like a waste of time nor did I feel I missed out on the places we didn’t see. I think it’s the culture that makes Brasil what it is, my fondest moments were talking to the locals over a morning beer in Parnaiba to chatting to the boat driver yesterday on the Rio Paraguay. Brasil, its all about the people.
Full Pantanal Photos on Flickr
Full Porto Murtinho Photos on Flickr
Full Rio Paraguay Photos on Flickr

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