Our last morning at Fazenda San Francisco was a very chilled one. Lunch followed and then we set off on the short 2 hour journey over to Bonito. The small town in the southern Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul is often described as the "eco-tourism capital of Brazil".
It's main attractions are the crystal clear rivers, springs and the stunning caves, with an abundant wildlife, which includes monkeys, alligators, anacondas, over 30 varieties of fish and extraordinary birdlife.

We were due to camp in the grounds of Hi Hostel but had the option to upgrade to a dorm room.. no brainer, I'll take a bed.

My team were up next for cooking duty that evening.. it's a big job cooking for around 20 people so it takes up quite a lot of your time. However, quite a few of us needed our laundry doing so I volunteered to take everyone's to the laundrette.. mainly so I could be excused from cooking duty. I stalled as much as I could then jumped on the back of a motor taxi and biked into town. Unfortunately it didn't take all that long to drop off the massive bag of laundry so I ended up having to get back in the truck kitchen to cook for the group anyway but I'd missed the main bulk. It was a delicious spag bol for tea.. big up to Chrissy from Australia who was the brains behind the operation.

It was Friday night in Bonito so a mix of about 20 from both groups decided to check out the local night life. We hit a bar for a few rounds of capirinha's before going to a hostel party around the corner where there was a combination of locals and backpackers. It's been a while since I've heard English/American chart music in a bar, it was almost like being out back home. We had a good night.. although the combination of alcohol and difference in cultures meant it was time to leave. We made the long walk back to the hostel and got ourselves into bed after 3.00am.

Saturday was another scorching day from the off.. Anthony and myself hired bikes for the day and mixed with several people from the other group who were doing the same. We didn't know them all that well so it was great to get to know them a little more throughout the day.

There is a few 'swimming holes' dotted around the outskirts of Bonito where the waters are amazingly clear and you can swim with the fish. We cycled to one about 7km's away but some of the bikes were pretty shoddy and in 38 degree heat it took a bit of time.

The park was lovely, as was the scenery and the stunning clear waters. We spent the morning/afternoon there chilling out in the glorious sunshine before cycling back to the hostel via the laundrette.

I'd been dying to get my running shoes on since I'd been away but there's never seemed to be an appropriate time or place to run. However, the town in Bonito is simply set out in almost a grid formation so I seized the opportunity as it's easy to navigate around.

I waited for the sun to cool a little, still in the 30's mind, strapped on my runners and had a good 40 minute run around the town. It felt great to dust off the cobwebs and get a proper sweat on for what was my first run in 4 weeks. It was also a good way to see the town which is split straight down the middle by a long main road full of shops, banks, supermarkets, restaurants and bars. I ran either side of the main drag through the streets where the locals sat outside the front of their homes and many loose dogs roamed freely.. they all appeared to be bemused by the sweaty 'gringo' running by them though.

The remainder of the evening was spent at the hostel enjoying a light tea but followed by drinking games which got very entertaining. Ria, Oli, Emma, Laurel and myself were all involved.. Laurel being the instigator with some cool games.. damn you girl!!
We all got pretty laced off beer, rum and vodka. Peter and Brenda, a couple from Australia joined us later on when the games were peaking. Somehow it ended up a game of myself against the dealer Laurel which I kept losing causing me to drink a lot of rum!! But I got my own back when I finally won (with the help of Oli.. cheers bro!) and the others had to remove their tops as a forfeit while I danced around celebrating.

The night ended with me falling asleep in a hammock having hilariously already breaking one earlier on in the evening with the help of Ria!! :-D
Fun night!

Sunday brought the highlight of the trip to Bonito and another first for me. After breakfast most of our group took an incredible snorkelling trip through the crystal clear waters of the Rio da Prata, getting a phenomenal view of the fish and aquatic plants underwater.

We had a lovely meal at a very peaceful and secluded location then slipped into our unflattering wetsuits and hopped on a safari style vehicle to take us to the large rock pool where the spring escapes from the river bed at the start of our trip led by a Brazilian instructor.

I'm by no means a strong swimmer and can't stand being underwater but this was pretty cool because in these waters you just float and you barely have to exert any energy as the flow of the water slowly takes you down river anyway.

The clarity of the water was unbelievable, seeing as far as 15 metres or more around you. It literally was like being in another world with all various types of fish, big and small, swimming by. It took around 3 hours in total to reach the end. It got a little samey towards the end but it was still cool to relax and float down the river.

We returned to the hostel in the evening where a wild thunderstorm brought an abrupt end to our plans for eating out in town so we had to make do with the hostel food.

The next stop is Foz do Iguacu which is yet another early start and marathon drive away.

Caio Caio xx