Crossing from Bolivia into Brazil is also a massive contrast - again the level of development is dramatically different, the difference in price is even more dramatic and for the first time in a long time I was back to being unable to communicate with people - It showed how comfortable I'd become with my poco of Spanish!

In the queue for immigration I was approached by a man offering tours to the Pantanal. This was something I was really keen to do (many years ago I read a John Grisham book set in the Pantanal and I remember thinking to myself that some people got to go amazing places I would never see) although wasn't sure about going with someone who tries to poach people at the border - however they offered me a lift into town so I though no harm in checking them out!

When I arrived in their office there were two other guys who said they were going - this reassured me (remember my trip to the jungle with only one other old dude) and decided I'd go with these guys if the price was right! The trip was actually leaving that day which was good as it saved me a day hanging around in a boring border town!

We set off from Corumba into the Pantanal by bus, when we arrived at the junction to meet our truck we met 4 more people who were all going on the same tour and everyone spoke English - this was very reassuring! We headed down a very bumby road for about an hour to get to our lodge which was basic but comfortable (we were sleeping in hammocks)! Things about the Pantanal in wet season - there are less animals around because they can spread out because there is more water and they don't like the mosquitos, there are a LOT of mosquitos - like everywhere and they eat you through your clothes and it is still very hot!!

The first afternoon we just went for a bit of a wander and saw a caiman which was cool! In the evening we had an awesome dinner and then sat around chatting and playing cards. We had a really good group, we all gelled really well and that really added to the experience!

On the second day we got up early for a nature walk. It was an enjoyable walk although it was really hot out of the shade and in the shade there were millions and millions of mosquitos! We did get to see some howler monkeys though and some other animals that looked a bit like racoons in the trees!We saw some macaws which were really beautifully coloured! It was an enjoyable walk! After a great lunch (the food was great and plentiful) we went on a boat trip into the pantanal - we saw lots of caiman at very close proximity, a hawk, a tucan (that was really cool - the beak was such amazing colours). We also got to have a swim in the warm but murky and caiman filled water! That night we went out in the jeep for a jeep safari although we saw very little!

The following morning we went on another jeep safari - that was cool, we saw more of the same animals but we also saw some capybaras (the largest rodent in the world) which was really cool! We had also, on one of our trips out seen a big boa constrictor crossing the road which was mega cool and is also apparently rarer to see than a jaguar! In the afternoon of the second day we went piranha fishing - this was much more successful than my previous attempt and we caught loads - they are fairly ferocious looking! This was a lot of fun and afterwards we got to eat them - (fairly tasty but very lacking in actual meat). We chilled in the lodge that evening and had a few (actually quite a few) beers!The next morning was horse riding - so still sore from my previous attempt and nursing a mild hangover I headed off horse riding. This was a much more pleasant experience! There was no galloping and the horse was fairly tame - I still don't see a lot of horse riding in my future!!

That was the end of the Pantanal trip - it was a really enjoyable trip - maybe fewer animals than I would have like or expected and the mosquitos were ferocious but the group was really good and it was a relaxing trip and the animals we did see were pretty awesome!

From the Pantanal we went to Campo Grande where we had a nights accommodation as part of the tour! We went for dinner on the Friday night and then just grabbed a relatively early night - it was pretty nice to sleep in a bed (first time in 7 days). The next day we just chilled by the pool and took it easy and then I headed off for Iguacu falls (with Isaac and Robert - 2 of the guys from the Pantanal).