Bonito and The Pantanal

So the falls at Iguazzu are amazing but I was probably more excited about our trip north from Foz do Iguazzu to The Pantanal Wetlands stopping in at the little town of Bonito on the way. Bonito is Portugese for beautiful and the area surrounding the town is certainly that. We arrived early in the afternoon after a massive delay on the bus (we were lucky to make our changeover in Dourados) and it was a scorcher of a day. After checking in and enquiring as to what tours to take for the day and a half that we planned on spending, we decided that our best option fo the afternoon would be to take a trip to the Balneario Municipal. As it was a little far for a walk we decided to hire bikes and cycle the 6kms or so out of the town. The Balneario Municipal is a little section of the river where it is slow enough and deep enough to swim in. It also has little food kiosks, volleyball nets and a place to hire snorkel gear for R$4, its a pretty cool little spot. The river as well is full of fish and the locals would sit on the embankment tempting them to jump clear out of the water for a piece of fruit or bread whilst you could swim or snorkel right in amongst them, the fish I mean not the locals. We were lucky enough also to see a yellow and blue macaw as well as a green winged macaw feeding from a table at the kiosk. The trip back on the bikes was not quite as pleasant, its been a while since I last rode one and the saddle sore was intense. The next day we had decided to go on the tour of the Rio da Prata, River of Silver. There are lots and lots of things to do in the area, the Rio da Prata is one of 3 rivers that you can snorkel down and there is cave systems with lakes and underground passageways that you can scuba through, they would have been cool. There is also a large lake you can scuba in and places to go abseiling and tubing and other cool stuff. We choose the Rio da Prata as it has the greatest abundancy of fish and also lasts the whole morning whilst the rest are more 1/2 morning adventures. It was a great choice I think in the end. The water is beautifully transparent and the water is teeming with fish. When I first put my head under the water, I was met with the strange sensation of the smaller fish nibbling away at my beard. Its pretty cool just floating down the river only using your hands to steer you. There was large black fish munching on the leaves whilst there was also a blue coloured fish which seemed to eat anything, including the river bed. Our guide Pierre was pretty good as well and the meal at the end was fantastic. I would have loved to stay longer and do more of the activities in the area but we had already booked The Pantanal. The next morning we set off from Bonito in the rain and our driver was pretty skilled in managing to get the bus along the mud track between Bonito and Buraco dos Piranhas as the road was being repaired. When we got off the bus at Buraco to get on the jeep to Santa Clara, there was an anaconda lying across the dirt track. It was about 2m long and gorgeous, yellow coloured with black spots. We were able to get really close to it as well before it quicky (really quickly) slithered off. Very lucky, as not many anacondas get spotted on the tours. Also saw a couple of 9 ringed armadillos on the road as well. We arrived at the campsite in time for lunch and our guide Marcelo told us that we would be trekking by horse in the afternoon. We headed to the stable and were giving our steeds. I was meant to get Osama bin Ladens horse whilst Mike got the Ferari. Thankfully I got a horse named Caramelo, who turned out to be a great horse whilst Marcelo attempted to ride bin Ladens horse before it reared up and he chose another. The trek was good fun, we didnt see a great deal of wildlife though we did see a group of coatis running through the grass and numerous birds, including a savannah hawk. That night I went caiman hunting with a torch in the river at the back of the campsite whilst listening to the noise of the Black Howler Monkeys in the trees. The next morning we set off on our hike into the savannah accompanied by amongst others, a French couple who had brought a camera the size of a rocket launcher and the man was intent on breaking every twig in his vacinity. The trek was excellent though, even if our guide Marcelo got lost for a bit and told us we might have to run as there was the risk of killer bees and wasps near. I think he may have been pulling our leg a bit however. We saw wildlife aplenty on our walk. Fighting coatis, a female howler monkey with baby, pair of burrowing owls, toucans, a grass snake and an oreol were spotted along with others. The highlights though were just as we were walking back and our guide pointed out high above us the 2.5m wingspan of the Jabiru Stork, the symbol of the Pantanal and found nowhere else in the world. Better than that though was when we spotted a pair of Hyacenth Macaws perched in a tree next to the campsite, gorgeous deep blue with yellow round their heads. We were able to get really close to them and watch as they spoke to each other and even kissed!! That was great, they are the biggest parrots in the world measuring 1m long and can crush a skull with their beak. Once they decided to fly off, another pair joined them in the air, 4 macaws at once, incredible. The afternoon was the jeep safari and Marcelo, dont know how, was able to spot countless wildlife whilst hurtling along the track. We saw plenty of caiman in the pools, a green iguana, various kinds of kingfisher, all beautiful, a tiger herron with its striking feathers, and many other birds. We even saw another 2 Hyacenth Macaws in a field, so that means out of the 3000 left in the wild Ive seen 6! On the road back it was dark so we used the spotlight to pick out the animals. We saw a capibara and watched the caiman fish in their pools. That was a great day. Our last morning in the camp and we were taken on a boat trip up the river with a bit of piranha fishing at the end. More caiman were spotted, along with hundreds of water birds, the white necked herron, largest in the world, wood storks, white herron, kingfishers, loads. The piranha fishing was good fun. I was the 1st to catch but only managed one, in fact the group of five of us only managed 4 fish and Mike broke his rod!! We cooked the piranha back at the camp and had them for lunch, theyre nice but very boney and not that much meat on them. On our way back from the campsite we spotted another Jabiru standing next to a lake. We caught the bus from Buraco dos Piranhas for the border city or Corumba, next stop Bolivia.

If you have managed to make it till the end of the blog then I would just like to mention the tour company we went with were excellent. Santa Clara, provide the option of either a pousada or like we stayed, a campsite where you sleep in hammocks, a guaranteed 5 hours of sleep. The site is right on the river so you can watch the caiman, listen to monekys and the birds and even go for a dip if you dare (its pretty safe actually unless you see a Giant Otter). The people who look after the campsite are wonderful and the three meals a day are great. Our guide Marcelo, was just awesome as well. These guys are ridiculously underpaid and work without a day off fo periods of 6 weeks at a time. Marcelo though was a barrel of laughs and quite happy to rib you at any time, whilst taking the ribbing back. He spoke perfect english including the names of all the animals and trees as well as spanish and most importanty, he was extermely knowledgable of the area, birds were his speciality but he was able to answer all of my questions about anything. I would definitely recommend going with Santa Clara and if you are able to get Marcelo as a guide then go for it. He will make it the most memorable journey and will remember you as well which is cool. All in all it was three of the best days I have had since going travelling, the abundance of wildlife here is unrivalled anywhere else in the world and our hosts made it a thouroughly enjoyayable, wonderful, beautiful, breathtaking, satisfying, gratifying, exciting, stunning and spectacular adventure.