From Paraguay we got the bus to Campo Grande, Brazil which is the gateway to the Pantanal national park. When we got of the bus we were surrounded by touts trying to sell us tours. One knew a cheap hotel so we went there with him and it was fine. The next day they woke us up early offering to book us a tour that day. I didn´t appreciate that. Anyway we said no, then had a look on the internet doing some research about the different tours you can do. We were struggling with the language, literally couldn´t say anything. Had top point to food without really knowing what it was. Always fun. Eventually we went and booked a 4 day/3 night tour with the guy from our hostel, leaving the next morning.

We left at ten, and it was around a four hours drive to the pantanal drop off area. From there we transferred to a jeep with 4 other people, as it was a dirt road from there to the camp. It took about 40 mins. On the way we came across a snake in the road, our guide ran out and picked it up and we all held it and took photos. He said it was a small anaconda.

When we got to the camp it was quite basic. We slept in hammocks for 3 nights in a room with everyone else. The food was basic but plentiful. There were loads of mosquitoes. The camp was by a small river where there were loads of caiman. We also saw raccoons, foxes and loads of hawks and parrots around the camp. There were frogs in the bathroom. We were pleased we´d opted to camp rather than stay in the Lodge which was like a hostel.

On the first day we got up at the ridiculous time of 4am to go on a jeep safari. They were eight of us altogether and we easily fitted in the massive truck. We drove until dawn and stopped at a lake where we saw loads of animal. There are literally millions of caiman in the pantanal and I think we saw most of them. They are harmless but quite intimidating when the water is full of them. We also saw some giant otters and a family of cappybarras. They are also very common and we saw a lot of them throughout our trip. We stopped for breakfast in the back of the jeep and some wild piggies came up to have a look. We ended up driving from several hours and didn´t return to the camp until about midday. We saw a lots of wild deer and a lot of bird life, including storks and big hawks. Alan spotted a small anteater in a field from the jeep, and we parked up and went to have a look at it. It was really small and cute.

Back at the camp we had a few hours nap in our hammock before the afternoon activity which was horse riding. We saddled up and rode for a few hours around the camp. I had the smallest horse. We didn´t go too fast, just a gentle walk around, saw a few animals. My horse didn´t obey me at all. Alan was a bit allergic but he was ok in the end. We got back to the camp in time for tea, and got an early night. We slept poorly. An English girl in the room was up and down all night being sick and a German guy got drunk and kept shouting in his sleep. It was hot also.

The next day we had a relative lie in and got up at 7am. Nightmare. After breakfast we went for a walk in the jungle with our guide and a Scottish girl. There were many mosquitoes in the jungle. We had to go really quietly to try and see the animals. We saw some coaties. Later we saw loads of monkeys up high in the trees which was really cool. We also saw more cabbybarras and deer. Just as we were returning to the camp Alan started to feel unwell, he was dizzy. The guide went to get the jeep and drove us back to the camp. It turned out Alan caught the bug the other girl had and spent the rest of the day in the camp being sick, bless him. The cook brought him some tea made of leaves which was supposed to help. Anyway Alan had to miss the afternoon´s activity which was a boat ride. We rode for a couple of hours, saw loads of animals. It as really hot. Our guide caught a piranha fish and used it to tempt a giant caiman up to the boat which was quite scary. I had my photo taken with it as well. Back at the camp Alan still felt rubbish but the other girl felt a lot better, so we hoped it would only be a 24hr thing. It was really stormy that night with lots of lightning. The staff at the camp provided Alan with a bucket to be sick in.

The next day he felt a lot better however, so we both went to the last activity which was pirhana fishing on the river. Our poles we pretty basic and we baited our hooks with raw meat. I caught one straight away. It had spiky teeth. I didn´t get any more after that however, but ALan got three, one of which was a small catfish. A caiman kept lurking near the bank after our fish, the guide had to keep bashing it with the pole to make it go away Our guide said it was poisonous so she threw it back it. We cooked up the fish as part of our lunch but there wasn´t much meat on them. After lunch we packed up and drove back down the track to our bus pick up point. We had to wait two hours in the sun for our bus as it was delayed. Also there were many mosquitos and it was a bit rubbish. To be fair, when it did come it was the best bus ever, with aircon and cool water. It was only about an hour and a half to Corumba, the Bolivian border town.

In Corumba we stayed in the worst dive we have stayed in in our entire trip so far. At first we thought it would be ok just for one night as we were leaving to Bolivia in the morning. It would have probably been ok, if it weren´t for the powercut just as we went to bed. It was over 30 degree and the fan died. Unbearable. I took a torch to the bathroom and found it crawling with cockroaches. We decided to go to the posh hotel down the raod to see if they had power. They didn´t, but we ending up hanging out there by the pool for a couple of hours as it was much nicer than our place. No one noticed in the confusion. We eventually headed back to the hell hole and luckily the power came back on not longer after so we could get some sleep. We moved on the next day to Bolivia.