Just finishing a very relaxing 3 days in Bonito which is about 3 hrs outside of the Pantanal and has lots of outdoor activities and nature to get stuck into. Yesterday I did a fantastic snorkelling trip in the River Prato which has crystal clear waters and visibility of about 15m so lots of opportunity to see all the beautiful fish. I have never snorkelled in a river before but it's great fun as you just float and let the current take you slowly along. It was very relaxing and tranquil for the majority of the time apart from when I had a close encounter with a large male tapier. I was drifting along, totally absorbed in looking at the fish when out of the corner of my eye I spotted some large legs entering the water from the bank and heading my way. I was rather slow on the uptake to be honest as i thought i was just going to see fish and didn't react very quickly so before I knew it this rather dazed and confused tapier was almost on top of me. I did the only thing you can do, scream loudly and luckily he decided I wasn't so interesting after all and headed off in the opposite direction. The brazilians in my group who were very nice and spook good English thought it was hysterical. Turns out, they are very rare to see so I was lucky...!

Our guide, Laura from Rome introduced us to the local liqueur at dinner yesterday. It's made of sugar cane, not the most delicate or refined of drinks but after a couple of shots, it starts to go down more easily so enjoyed a boozy dinner ahead of my cave trip this morning to a fantastic cave where you hike about 50 metres down to a beautiful underground lake. Thankfully no bats flying overhead so enjoyed the trip. This evening I am on my first overnight bus in Brazil and should arrive in Foz do Iguassu tomorrow!!

Promises to be an exciting few days, Brazilian side of the falls tomorrow and the Argentinian side on Monday. There is an opportunity to take a helicopter over the falls and as Philippa knows, I do love a helicopter trip so fingers crossed for good weather so I can report on that in the next instalment!!

Thanks for all the lovely messages, its nice to hear from you and glad the blog is offering some brief entertainment!