Hi Everyone.

Well we´ve just spent the last 2 hours uploading phots and sending emails. Not to mention wrestling with this ancient compuiter. The word I am typing at the moment lierally appear about 28 seconds after I type them, so don´t be surprised if there are even more mistakes than usual. By the way, we are in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. But this is the entry for the Pantanal in Brazil, which we left a couple of days ago.

From Iguazu, it was a 16 hour bus ride toi Cmpo Grande, in Brazil, so we left Iguazu in the afternoion and arrived in Campo Grande at breakfast time on the nexty day. The first thing that happens is you are approached by tour operators, and they give you a speal about what they have to offer. We beat a guy down to 31o reals per person for 4 nights with activities ibncluded. After scammed a cheap breakfast out of the competition, we were on a 5 hour minibus to the Camp. Dave got a bit of payback for years of driving with out regular comfort stops. On the bus, he had drubnk little and dehydrated so that he didn´t have to use the facuilities on board. Once we hit the deck in Campo Grande, he began re-hydrating in a big way. So a couple of hours into the trip he needed to stop desperately, but the driver had in mind that we´d stop at a certain point 45min later. Shoyuld havbe seen him bolt when we got there!

The camp hasd a pet cappyburra, which is the worlds largest rodent. It looks like a giant guinea pig, and its name is Tachuca. Theres also a cayman that is a sort of pet to the camp. Caymans are like crocs only they don´t get as big, don´t get as aggresive, and have longer legs.

We spent the nexct 3 days exploring the jungle in jeep, boat, on foot, at night and during the day. Ity was especially good seeinwas especially good seeing our guide was so passionate and knowledgeable. I would recommend Gil´s Pantanl Discovery to anyone who asked and I would also recommend trying to get Marcello as your guide. Also we did horse ridinmg, sweimming and tubing on the mighty Miranda river.

Funny tyhings happen on Safari. Eugene wanted to take a close up photo of the Cappyburra, and when he was right in its face, the animal bit the camera and scarted the russian. The reaction was for Eugene to belt the Cappyburra with the camera. Very Funny!!

On the 4th day we unfortunately had to leave the Pantanal and caught a 1.5h bus to Corumba, which is just a place you have to go to get to Bolivia. But our accomodation had a giant antyeater named

Santa Cruz is a different styory for a different day

The Panatanal was the last place we thought we would meet such a varuiety of people: heres a cross section of the people we sat down to eat with on safari.

Eugene aour russian friend, who is travelling with a Brazilian guy, a french couple, Batrbara and Jerome- a polish couple, an allfemale couple from Holland, an older kiwi couple, another all girl couple from poland, two poms, our other pommy mate justin. On the last night a guy from Germany arrived in Leiderhosen.