Pantanal

Day 1

After our fantastic underwater adventure in Bonito, we were just as over excited to be boarding a bus to our next wildlife destination, the Pantanal! The journey itself took about 4 hours, and finally brought us to what looked like a half lodge/half farm. Here, we met Paulo who was to be our local guide, a once caiman hunter turned nature preservationist who has spent his whole life growing up in the Pantanal (the Brazillian side).

He didn’t really formally introduce himself, but the first time we heard him speak was when he pointed around a hedge and shouted ‘CAPYBARA!’, with a mischievous look on his face. We were amazed to see a whole group of the giant rodents casually strolling past the building.  Obviously we all scrambled for our cameras and tried to get some pictures of them, as they were one of the animals we wanted to see most. They were pretty relaxed, and didn't seem too fussed by us until we got a bit too close and they all scattered.

After the initial excitement, Giulia and Paulo rounded us up onto an open top jeep, and we embarked on the second leg of our journey (about an hour long) down a bumpy dirt track. After about 10 minutes we made a quick stop in the closest shop around which was in a small little hut. Paulo jumped out to buy some Cashassa, hooks and line for piranha fishing tomorrow! This greatly excited Tom, as catching a piranha was at the top of his bucket list. After the short shopping stop, we continued our journey down the track. This in itself was a great opportunity to see the local wildlife, and gave us a little taste of what a high concentration of biodiversity the Pantanal had to offer. Every single tree had a different bird in. Hawks, Eagles and Vultures were riding the thermals overhead, and swooping from branch to branch right in front of our eyes. The small waterways we crossed on the way harbored small caiman, herons, storks and kingfishers, all on the lookout for fish. There was a real buzz of wilderness in the air.

After about an hour we finally arrived at our ranch. There was a small ranch with a few cowboys who looked after a small stable of horses. The surrounding area was a mix of wild farmland, jungle and the infamous swampy wetlands the Pantanal is largely made from. There was no real clear segregation between these different landscapes, and they all seemed to cross over and intermingle with each other.

There was an open communal area with a roof over top like a giant pagoda, which was full of hammocks to lounge around in and take in the wildlife and scenery. Slightly offset from this, there was the kitchen area which supplied us breakfast lunch and dinner each day, and had comfortable seating for about 40 people. Here we could also buy simple supplies like water and a few Ice lollies.

From here there was a long grassy mound wedged In between two sections of wetland which lead to our sleeping quarters. There were caiman warming themselves in the sun either side of the walkway and Paulo with another giggle told us to be careful at night because they like to sleep on the walkway. We weren't sure if he was joking or not at the time….. It turns out he wasn't.

Our room was a large outhouse barn type structure and had a row of canvas hammocks where we would be sleeping. 

The toilets and showers were just across the way and were hilariously jam packed with little climbing frogs and geckos. They were literally EVERYWHERE! In the toilets, on the doors, climbing up the showers, lined up on the rafters above, and if we hadn't checked properly, probably in our pants. Tom found them quite amusing and a bit of entertainment whilst showering. Steph however was not too impressed and we could hear many a shriek coming from the bathrooms from most of our team.

There were also bats nesting in our dorm which we could hear squeeking through the night. Unfortunately we didn’t see them but it seemed everything here was alive.

Once unpacking our things and getting settled in our surroundings, we went to have some lunch. This consisted of rice, beans, and chicken and various vegetables, sometimes potatoes and sometimes other meats too. This was similar for dinner times. It was traditional but nice enough and filling. We quickly devoured it and proceeded to gaze at the abundance of bird life right in front of us. There were Blue hyacinth macaws, bright green parakeets, ungainly looking Caracaras that Paulo joked about being half eagle half chicken, egrets, ibis and woodpeckers to name but a few. There really was so much to look at, it was difficult to believe they were all in front of our eyes.

After about an hour of free time we were all rounded up again for a walking tour through the wetlands themselves. We all gathered, and Paulo told us to wear our flip flops and bring lots of bug repellent and water. He also halted us whilst he went to grab a massive stick. On his return I asked him what it was for, to which he replied with another giggle.. “the caiman and anacondas” again I thought he was joking, so laughed along with him but, AGAIN.. it turns out he wasn’t. 

We all proceeded to form a tight single line walking bare foot through the wetlands which Paulo waded through stick first to scare away any potential dangers in the murky waters. Luckily for us, it wasn’t high wet season so the water was only about knee deep. Despite this, the squidgy texture of the muddy bottom and not being able to see what was below, was more than enough to freak Steph out. Safe to say she screamed a lot and hated every minute of the barefoot wading, but to her credit she stuck with it. Intentionally or not.

It was such an amazing experience to be walking bare foot through completely untouched wilderness. Luckily for Steph, a heavy rainstorm blew in so Paulo took us under a canopy of trees to shelter. Like a real caveman, he cut down some palm leaves to keep everyone’s cameras dry.

We tried to wait it out but Paulo said we should head back, as he pointed out the low but loud grunt of a group of howler monkeys across the way, tends to be a sign there was more rain to come, as apparently they’re very fond of it.

After dinner we all sat around and watched the sunset as we lighted a big campfire and drank caiparinhas, which we had become quite accustomed to. 

Here we bumped into another G adventures group who had done their piranha fishing that day. This set the bar for numbers, and we had to catch more than their 9!! It also made us even more excited to go!! They were doing the same trip as us just the other way round, so it was nice to exchange stories about what we'd done, and it got us excited for the later part of our trip that they had experienced, including Bolivia which we would be going to the following day. Eventually it was time to return to our hammocks for the night, and played frog dodge on the way back, as well as taking great pleasure in shining our torches over the wetlands, to pick up the glare of the caiman eyes, which popped out of the water, watching us go to bed.

A large toad outside our room.

Day 2

We woke up early with sunrise and to the chorus of frogs and birds. Today we were having a morning horseback ride through the wetlands, and then an afternoon piranha fishing session.

After showering and getting dressed, we were on our way out our lodge when we spotted a dappled red snake half way into where we were sleeping through a crack in the wood. For some, this was disgusting but for Tom it was FANTASTIC! We spent the next 5 minutes taking pictures and filming half of its body until eventually it revealed its head with its mouth stuffed with a fat frog, a great snapshot of how wild the Pantanal really is. We watched it slither off and attempt to go through another crack, but the large frog shaped lump in its body wouldn't allow it to.

After the excitement of the snake we went to get kitted out a ready for our horseback riding. We each got assigned a horse and jumped straight on. Tom's was called Faffa, which Steph found hilarious as thought it was quite apt for me and the time we had spent travelling. Having said this, Faffa was actually quite a good horse and quite keen to be at the front. 

Steph's was a white horse called Cognac. It was really slow and grumpy, and constantly stuck at the back, stopping to eat whatever it could find. She assumed he had a hangover. Meanwhile at the front of the group, Tom managed to see a lot of wildlife before it was scared off by our clumpy horses. He saw an Armadillo and Toucans, and managed to talk to Paulo a lot about the wildlife as we waded through wetlands that went up to the horses tummies.

With a slight fear of horses, Steph didn’t enjoy it so much and couldn’t wait to finish, but strangely bonded with Cognac over their common interests and lack of enthusiasm for the morning they had together. Both just wanted to stay in bed, and eat snacks. With lunch being served shortly after returning, hopefully some food would perk her up for the afternoon of Pirahna fishing.

As we ate, a large cloud of rain hammered down, making us worry if fishing was still going to be on the cards. Paulo made the decision to go ahead with it, and we got onto the jeep and went to the river. As we arrived, there was a group of scary looking Hell's Angels looking men, staring at us as we approached their fishing spot. As we neared, the intimidation soon waned, as we could hear them blasting Cyndi Lauper's "Girl's Just Want To Have Fun" from their trucks.

The fishing technique was simple. Attach your bait, and wiggle your line and you'd have a bite in seconds. A long bamboo rod, is used as it's an eco tourism destination and protected area, so rods with reels aren't allowed to keep it sustainable. Paulo geared us up and attached one of three types of bait. Fresh and dry meat, and fish.

As Paulo promised, we had a bite each in seconds, the real technique however, was with the swift flick of the rod to catch them in time. Obviously, Tom caught two and was chuffed to cross this off his bucket list. 

Steph managed to catch a dog fish, however Paulo said they aren't tasty and have spiked barbs, so threw it back much to Steph's disappointment as in the end she didn't catch any Piranha's. Her day was going from bad to worse, whereas the group as a whole managed to catch five Piranhas. Luckily the other group left that morning so they would never know that they beat us!

As we fished, a sneaky caiman was getting a little brave, and started to approach us on the bank. Paulo grabbed some of the smaller Pirahna's left on the bank from the Hells Angels and started throwing them at the caiman, so we could see just how much power they have, and how scary they can be. It whipped it's head so fast like a flash, to grab the incoming fish. It was a great way to finish off the fishing experience.

We got back to the ranch and looked out onto the beautiful sunset and showered, whilst our Pirahna's were prepared for us in the kitchen.

We went for dinner and saw our battered beauties waiting there for us. The rule is you should never play with your food, but this was a slight exeption.

The taste itself was ok, but they were so bony, it was a bit of a high maintenance dinner. But an experience none the less. As we finished dinner, one of the kitchen staffs small son started running around the dining area. He was very cute, and the girls started to play with him and chase after him. Steph's day was improved dramatically after a bonding session with the tiny cowboy. He was very cheeky, and loved being shown round and round the garden, and how to make paper aeroplanes. The highlight was during a game of hide and seek, the four year old felt it appropriate to give everyone the middle finger once he'd been found.

The evening finshed with a few games of cards and a few beers, and we all went to bed feeling quite tired after our day of activities.

Day 3

As the walk on day one was cut short due to the rain, Paulo said he would take the group early that morning before we left. As the girls had struggled with basic living at the pantanal, they gave it a miss due to feeling tired after a few tense days. Swiss Tom stayed too as he had been unwell. 

The rest of the group, Guilia included, headed out at 6:30am, to catch the early risers of the natural world. Tom loved every moment, as it meant more one on one time with Paulo, who had become his hero very quickly. He showed us a variety of natural curiosities, including fever ants that could hospitalise you from one bite, a tree that reclines it's leaves to avoid being eaten, a pink flower that can be used for makeup, as well a making a necklace from a lily for Christina and teaching Tom a few Portugese chat up lines. Paulo is a man of many talents. Caiman hunter turned jewelry making hopeless romantic.

After the walk it meant it was time to leave, after a fantastic few days. We said our good byes to the team, however Paulo wanted to hitch a ride, as going to the city is an infrequent luxury for the people who live in the Pantanal. We drove for 3/4 hours, whilst Paulo waved an ad of David Beckham in Tom's face, as he finally decided he was his doppleganger. We stopped for lunch where Paulo left us, and we headed for the Bolivian border.

According to a few sources, Paulo is the most passionate and informative guide when going to the Pantanal. Tom tipped him slightly extra as he was so impressed with him, and they had an emotional goodbye to end the 3 day bromance that had budded like a lily flower necklace.