Left Bonito on 16th August. As it was my birthday, I was feeling a little homesick. Birthday wishes from the Group and Simon taking me shopping made me fell better though. A 4 hour bus ride along mainly dirt tracks took us to the Pantanal. About an hour into the journey, and in the middle of nowhere (literally) the accelerator cable on the bus snapped. As a rescue truck was unlikely, it was left for the driver to do what he could. After about half an hour, he cracked it. He had attached a further piece of cable to the accellerator cable, fed it through into the cab and attached it to a hairbrush which he then used to control the speed. I tried no to think about how much control (or otherwise) he actually had as we thundered along the dirt roads. Made it to the Pantanal in one piece though. The Pantanal is a remote low lying wetland area in South West Brazil about half the size of France. It is sparsely populated and basically one enormous nature reserve. We sayed in this great lodge next to the river and built on stilts due to significant changes in water level between the wet and dry seasons. Took a ride on a small boat upstream seeing plenty of wildlife, the highlight being the scores of alligators. Enjoyed the sunset which was then followed by a perfectly clear night sky. As the lodge is isolated, we all ate together in the evenings, the first meal being followed by a cake for me! Following day, we woke before sunrise to watch the sun come up and to see the wildlife. Amazing. Families of monkeys, stork, giant guinea pigs (about the size of a common pig) with their babies (!!) all around. Superb. Took a 3 hour horse ride in the Pantanal which was great fun. Simon, who has never shown any interest in coming riding with me loved it. He mastered the basics quite quickly and towards the end was holding back with the more experienced riders before cantering up to join the other riders. Cocky sod! After the ride, chilled out in hammocks for the rest of the afternoon watching a family of Makaws, an army of skwarking parakeets nesting and a few Alligators (in water the horses rode through) enjoying the sun. Final morning in the Pantanal, Simon went Piranha fishing at the lodge, relaxing before our mega journey to the border, into Bolivia and then a 15 hour overnight train to Santa Cruz. Pictures should follow in a few days. Lisa