It's hot. Today and yesterday the thermometer has hit 40 degrees. In fact it's very hot. We are in Cuiaba, the starting point for our trip into the Pantanal - the world's largest tropical wetland.

To get here we spent the best part of three days travelling, by train, bus and plane. Staying in three Brazilian cities that you've probably never heard of (I hadn't before planning this trip): Corumba, Campo Grande and Cuiaba. None of them, unfortunately, showcase the best of Brazil.

Our first stop, just over the border from Bolivia, was Corumba. Our hotel, the 'Hotel Gold Fish', was on the outskirts of the city and felt a bit like a Brazilian Butlin's. But it at least had a good size swimming pool overlooking the Rio Paraguay (which we last saw in Asuncion) and the start of the Pantanal beyond. We managed to find a decent enough restaurant in the town but our search for a cash machine that would accept one of our cards and give us some money was more frustrating and needed several attempts before we eventually found one

Next day it's Campo Grande. A six and a half hour bus ride. But the bus was very comfortable and we passed through some spectacular scenery. Campo Grande is a very large and new city - all high rise blocks and wide dual carriageways which we really only see through the windows of the bus and a taxi. We have ended up staying in an Ibis Budget hotel which is not ideal but we arrive at 6 in the evening and leave at 4 the next morning so it serves its purpose.

Finally, after a short flight, is Cuiaba. Sizzlingly hot, like stepping into a sauna, and madly busy. There are lots of people out shopping even at 10 o'clock on a Monday morning. All the shops have speakers outside blaring out music or someone trying to sell the goods that are inside. The noise and the oppressive heat quickly drive us back, firstly to our hotel room and then, as becomes the seasoned travellers we are, to the nearest air-conditioned shopping mall. Ah...the benefits of capitalism.

On our second day to escape the worst of the heat we take a rather more acceptable trip, to Chapada dos Guimaraes, a small town 800 metres higher than Cuiaba on a plateau surrounded by a national park that has been compared to the American southwest.

A little overstated perhaps. It is true that we pass some fantastic, deep red cliffs and rock formations on the road to the town but nothing that really compares with, say, Monument Valley. And the views from the edge of the plateau and over the plain are spectacular, except they are slightly spoilt by it being very hazy. We get these from a restaurant, Morro dos Ventos where we have a lovely lunch, that sits right next to the edge. Kate manages to overcome her fear of heights to step out onto a metal platform which juts out over the edge (no more than 12 people or 1,000kgs at a time!)

Then it's back into the sauna.

Interesting (or possibly not) footnote - Cuiaba was one of the cities used for the World Cup in Brazil in 2014 and hosted four games in the group stages in a brand new arena that still wasn't quite finished when the Cup started but was at least useable. Which is more than can be said for the tram that was supposed to connect the city to the airport, which remains unfinished to this day.