11:30 - This is my last morning at the Pousada. After saying goodbye to the german couple who were leaving early, I went on a canoe ride with Raul. Even though it was 8am, the heat from the sun was frying my skin, so i lasted about an hour and then asked to turn back. On the way we saw an otter :-). I then spent an hour at the pool playing with little Erik. His mum kindly offered me a beer...I had to turn her down, but this is the proof I needed to know that they...

11:15 - A difficult night. I kept waking up every couple of hours, I was either too hot or too cold and the squaking birds started at 5.30 this morning! We had breakfast as usual at around 7am and then got ready to ride the horses :-). The horses in the pantanal are smaller than normal horses but they have more endurance I am told. My horse was called Maradona. We rode around the jungle and swamps for a couple of hours lead around by Douglas, the man in charge of...

11:45 - This morning, as it turns out, we did the most relaxing thing I think I have ever done :-)! We did go on the canoe trip, but we were on two kayaks and I was sitting in the front with my camera and Nico (one of the chaps from the lodge) did all the paddling from the back (similar situation with the germans and Raul on the other kayak). But it was not a very fast and furious affair...we almost drifted along, in complete silence amongst and under the vegetat...

18:30 - I did set my alarm for 6.30 but alas I was woken up rather early (just before 6) by a squawking bunch of birds or ducks or such like! Other than that I slept soundly. After breakfast and a first attempt to use the wifi to check my mail (not very successful), Raul, our guide for the next three days, talked us through the basics of the Pantanal region. It is so hot because it has four warm winds converging on it, it is flooded 6 months a year and it is dry ...