Although we were up by 8 this morning our plans for the day were postponed by the annoying lack of information about anything on the internet and it wasn't until after midday that we eventually left the hostel. It was hot and muggy today, about 33 degrees, so the bus that we managed to catch, much to our surprise given the chaotic system of random flagging down, was a bit on the warm side. A helpful passenger told us when to get off as the bus assistant (whose job it is to collect the money whilst perched up on his chair) didnt know the stops on his route! We walked 2 minutes along the road and entered CIGS Zoological park entrance which is a rather strange place in that it is the only military run zoo in Brasil (and anywhere else that I'm aware of!) and is home to many species of bird and animal who have been rescued from the jungle for whatever reason and not been able to return. Somehow this aids the military in their training, maybe seeing what things they'll be up against in the jungle, maybe just for giving new recruits unpleasant jobs such as cleaning the pig pens...who knows?!! Anyway, we paid our 4 Reals each to get in (twice what it said on the internet although Mutante later said he'd paid 5 Reals last year!) and were first of all greeted by several empty pens and cages as well as a few buildings closed or under construction. Worried that it had all been a waste of time and money we were relieved when we came across some large aviary's filled with several types of colourful jungle bird including to my delight Macaws!! We had seen 2 Macaws flying whilst we were in the canoe with Mutante but could see little more than silhouettes so it was great to finally see them up close and we were amazed at how striking and vibrant their colours actually are though we both agreed that we liked the Red Macaw better than the Blue for its ostentatiousness!! Continuing round, trying to stick to patches of shade, we came across many more species of bird including a Harpy Eagle whose head reminded me distinctly of the Hippogriff, Buckbeak in Harry Potter, as well as various parrots and a pair of Toucans. The main feature of the zoo though has to be the Jaguars, illusive in the wild and stunningly beautiful, there were 4 enclosures most with a pair of the typical spotted type, but in one there was a solitary Black Jaguar whose coat shone in the sunshine and you could see the dapples beneath. We spent some time observing these magnificent animals before exploring the rest of the park which was mainly different types of Monkeys but also Tapirs, Turtles and a rather large Boa Constrictor. Eventually when we were sure we'd seen everything, we stopped at the little cafe to have a drink before heading back the way we had come, catching the correct bus and then walking back to the blissful coolness of the hostel where we remained for the rest of the afternoon. By about 6 o'clock we were starting to feel hungry and so headed out into town to see what we could find. We ended up back where we had gone with Mutante the day before and treated ourselves to a Caipirinha each which were deliciously refreshing though I'd have preferred it a little sharper with more Lime. We then spent the next hour or so wandering round trying to find somewhere cheap for dinner and failing, eventually ending up at a little cafe where they served us up a large plate of all sorts of foods including plenty of meat for 7 Reals each. Full and satisfied we headed back to the hostel for an earlyish night and after screaming to Andy to get rid of the ENORMOUS spider (like the size of my whole hand!!!) we went to bed.