Hi All,

Sorry that we haven`t been on for an age, we`ve been too busy travelling to write about it. Here we are though finally with the next few instalments. Starting with our first week in Brazil when we spent 7 days on a farm in the depths of the Pantanal wetland.

Five years ago I opted to write an essay on The Pantanal for a wetlands module at uni, ever since then I had wanted to visit one of the worlds largest wetlands, and finally I made it. We were given the sales pitch for a 2 night trip after crossing the border into Brazil from Bolivia and arriving in Corumba. We were all set to go and Diego the bloke running the excursion just happened to mention that his family owned a working dairy farm 6 hours further into the Pantanal than we would be. Well you can imagine my face, and 30 minutes later after much chatting the tourist trip was off and we were staying with his family instead for 7 days in the middle of knowhere on a farm, typical us!

The next morning we had an early 4am start before starting on the 9 hour journey. We did make a brief stop before leaving town however to buy some Cachaca, the all important ingredient for my beloved Caipirina cocktails that I had become so attached to last time I was in Brazil 6 years ago! The truck ride was awesome but exhausting; it was like a safari in itself as before we had even arrived we were already blown away by the variety of birds that we saw from tiny bright tropical things to huge hawks and gigantic pelicans. Once we got to the swamplands we also saw Aligators from afar and some racoons. When we arrived at the farm we were black with the dirt from the road and our arms were dead from clinging on for so long. We were certainly ready for a Caipirina in the hammocks! The farm was really beautiful. An hour from any neighbours. Overlooking a lake and fields of cows and calfs and horses. Our room far exceeded our expectations, it even had an ensuite! And when dinner was served I think Greg thought he had died and gone to heaven; roast pork, mashed potatoes and rice pudding for dessert. Any weight we might have lost in Bolivia was going to come rushing back and some more, that was for sure! We finished the day (And most throughout the coming week) nodding off in a hammock with a cold Caipirina, bliss.

After a fabulous breakfast (I have to talk about the food, following in Gregs blog writing footsteps!) of watermelon, bread, homemade jam and fresh hot milk straight from the cow. We went with our guide Junior and driver/chef Guilerme for an hour or so to the nearest river, we were going fishing. Not any old fish might I add, but specifically Piranha. We took a boat across the river and scared away the aligators that had been basking in the sun on the banks, they were in our fishing ground! Starting off with pieces of beef for bait we attached the meat to hooks at the end of a simple bamboo rod and line and unexpertly chucked the hook in. I couldn`t believe how quickly they took the bait. Well I say quickly, everyone else managed to quickly start catching them one after the other. I on the other hand was destined not to suceed, it could only be me, they ate 12 pieces of bait right off my rod before I finally hooked one out of the water! My first ever fish! After that luckily I did manage to catch some more otherwise I would have been without lunch. Once we had caught enough we gutted them and marinaded them in garlic and lemon then fried them in hot oil on a pan over a BBQ. Yummy!

After lunch we went down the river on the rowing boat to see more Aligators. Greg and our guide Junior started daring each other to swim with the Aligators and finally it came to a head when they stripped off and jumped in, with brief advice from Junior, `Dont touch the bottom, or they`ll bite!` Not suprisingly they weren`t in the water for long, stupid boys! The real danger though turned out to be the fish who started to bite Gregs nipples, and draw blood. The finale being when a Piranha took a huge chunk out of Juniors toe! At that point it was decided it was time to go home!

The second day we went for a walk in the morning before it got too hot. I was dubious that we would see very much wildlife, but was amazed at how much we did see; Toucans, Pelicans, Racoons, Wild Pigs called Piccares which were huge and quite intimidating, and more Aligators, to name just a few. The hike also involved wading through a stagnant black swamp which was great fun (Although not helpful in my fight against the mozzies). After lunch and an afternoon swinging in the hammocks in the shade we went horse riding. I could hardly contain my excitement at getting to ride in such a fantastic place. I think Greg on the other hand was sceptical about whether he would love or loath it. Thankfully he really enjoyed it, and so I got to ride a lot more during the week. It couldn`t have been more idyllic, acres upon acres of open grassland, the sun was setting orange on the skyline and to top things off we came across a howler monkey family in the forest, a male, female and baby. Fantastic! That night we went out on a night safari, which inevitably allowed us to see even more wildlife. The most spectacular being at a lake where we saw literally hundreds of Aligator eyes reflecting in our torch light as they all squeezed into the one pool for warmth. We also finally caught a glimpse of a pack or Capybaras; an animal that can only be described at a cross between a hippo and a hamster!

Besides thoroughly relaxing, for the next 5 days we did plently more night safaris and walks, as well as some jewellery making (from aligator teeth and leaves), tatoo drawing (from a dangerously permantent black ink that would leave Greg with a pretty snake on his arm and me `Ì heart SUFC` on my foot for the next few weeks, amongst other patterns!). Also enough horseriding to give Greg saddlesore and have us both walking like cowboys for a while!

A truely unforgetable week, we were loathed to leave but Rio was calling and it was time to return to civilisation.

Love Ruth and Greg xxxxx