There and back again…

As part of the cook team I had to get up early, which was a bit of a struggle. ! In addition to the cold that I have my voice has now turned into a really deep husky tone. Barry White eat your heart out. We set up the breakfast so that people could also make sandwiches for lunch as well as the normal breakfast. The lady who owed the campsite also brought round a really nice bran/fruit loaf she had baked for us. I divided this up into twenty pieces for the group. Dion was fairly late to the table and had thought that everyone had eaten the cake. So he took what was left. Unfortunately this meant that Donna and Maxine missed out on a lovely cake! Oh well!

Our guide Marcello turned up and we drove out into the national park (Chapada dos Veadeiros). The plan for today was to go for a hike and see the waterfalls. It was a really hot day. I had almost 3 litres of water but some of the others only took a litre. The area we were walking through had a history of quartz mining. Until fairly recently the quartz crystal from this region had been used in electronics but now modern synthetic quartz was much better. Quartz is still mined in this region, but no longer in the national park. The amount of quartz crystals meant that the local town (Sao Jorge) had a distinct hippy feel. Lots of healing going on!

As we walked along we could see the hand dug old mine workings and crystals on the ground. Some of the crystal were so clear it looked more like glass that what I had previously seen as quartz. Marcello also pointed out the flora as we walked along. Much of this has adapted not only to the low water levels here, but also the frequency of fire. Natural fires are started in two ways. Lightning storms are fairly common, but also because of the prevalence of quartz crystals over time these become exposed and act like magnifying glasses. One of the trees, Quina, had a bark that protects the tree in fire. It is a very slow burning wood. The previous night at the fire pit we had some of this wood on the fire. We didn’t realise until Marcello pointed this out why the wood would not burn.

As we walked down to the first waterfall the view down the valley was amazing. The first waterfall was the highest though with the low water level it would be even more impressive in the wet season.

At the top of the waterfall was a small lake with another smaller waterfall. We went swimming here and it was such a great feeling to be in the cool water on such a hot day. So many people had come to the town for the music festival so the crowds here were amazing. That said, in there was plenty of space in the water itself. I was a bit disappointed that I had lost so much fitness since the last time I was able to swim in the pool in Cuba. We had some lunch and then I had another dip before leaving.

The next spot wasn’t waterfall as such as more a river with some minor waterfalls. When Marcello had originally described this I was thinking it would be similar to Aqua Clara in Mexico. But as I should know by now; every place, every experience is different. It was fun to play around in the waterfalls and although it wasn’t possible to swim against the current as it was too shallow. Sitting in the waterfalls was like getting a water jet massage. It was relaxing.

By this stage most people had used their water. I was carrying the chlorine tablets so I was able to dish these out so the group could get more drinking water.

By this stage it was mid afternoon and we walked back to the main entrance where we had left the truck. On the way back we drove back into the village. The girls were excited to do some more shopping. I stocked up on ice for the bar, which was the most expensive so far; almost half as much again as usual. I wandered back to meet up with the others. Fi was debating on whether to buy a bracelet so the guy made her a ring there on the spot. However she was mortified when the guy slipped it onto her wedding finger. Apparently its really bad luck!

We drove back to Alto Paraiso and I had some time to head into town to the local bar which had wi-fi. Ian joined me a bit later. When we got back to the compound dinner was well on. Fi and her group had prepared Chicken Fajitas. It was a really nice meal. Perhaps one of the best truck meals so far. Afterwards we retired to the fire pit and had some more drinks. The owners had a small kitten that came to join us. It kept trying to get into the tents and climbing up the outside. We christened it whisky as it kept trying to get it my shot glass. Eventually it settled in Maartje’s lap!

Today was a very early start. I was glad of a hot shower but getting up was struggle. The hotel we stayed in put on some breakfast which was a pretty simple affair of coffee, cake and bread. It was good though considering we weren’t expecting anything. We got into the truck and drove to the other hotel to pick up the rest of the group, packed the truck and hit the road.

This would be a pretty long day as we were going to spend the morning in Brazilia and then head out to Alto Paraiso where we would stay to visit the national park (Chapada dos Veadeiros)

We got to Brazilian for around 10am. The first place we visited was the memorial to JK, the president who oversaw the building of the city. Not to be confused with JFK or the lead singer of Jamiroquai! The desire for a capital in the centre of Brazil was even written into the first constitution after independence. Brazil had had three capitals, the first was Salvador and then Rio before Brazilian was built. Until JK many presidents had promised to build a new capital but he finally made it happen. One of the catalysts to push for a capital in the interior was in the 1930’s a motion was put before the League of Nations by the French to create a new country in the interior of Brazil because it was sparsely populated. It was a fairly popular philosophy that it was OK for more populace nations to invade less populace nations in order to annex land. By making a capital in the geometric centre of Brazil, the country would be able to populate the interior and also have a valid counter claim against any land grab by western imperialists.

After the JK memorial we drove further into the city and visited the large radio mast. It was free to go up and the view was absolutely amazing.

From the top you could see all the way down the main avenue towards the government buildings and the lake at the bottom. From the radio mast we walked towards the Sanctuary of Dom Basco. Dom Basco was the monk who had a dream about where the city should be built. In his dream he walked all over Brazil and found the perfect spot in the interior. The Sanctuary was a really interesting church. From the outside it looked like a contemporary concrete box, but the way the light played through the stain glass windows gave in interesting effect inside. In fact it was almost like being underwater with so much blue light. There is supposed to be an amazing chandelier in the centre of the cathedral but unfortunately it was being taken in for repair.

I was finally able to get some money out of the ATM which was a relief as I had had to borrow some money since Pocane. Then Maartje, Charlotte, Mirrka, Lisa and I went for some lunch in a mall. The food was no great, slow service and over priced. We were also a bit late getting back to the truck.

Back on the truck we drove a little further down the main avenue to the metropolitan cathedral, designed by Oscar Niemeyer. I really like this building. It reminds me a bit of the catholic cathedral in Liverpool.

Inside the way the light comes through creates a really interesting space inside. I definitely saw some interesting ideas to try and recycling into some of my own work in the future.

From the cathedral we drove to the bottom of the main avenue to see the government buildings designed by the architect Oscar Niemeyer. As we left the buildings there was a small film crew doing what looked like an interview. The person on film looked really animated and Dion hit the Truck horn to give him a wave. The guy was shouting in our direction. Then composed himself to restart the piece so Dion gave another toot. This happened a few times and was most hilarious as the guy got more upset and animated with each go.

It would have been interesting to go inside these but we just didn’t have the time. I wasn’t too bothered though and if we had to sacrifice something on the trip, to pay for the extra time in the Pantanal, I was glad that it was Brazilia. On the way out of town we called at the supermarket so that the cook teams could buy for the next few days. It was a big shop, between three breakfasts, lunches, dinners and restocking the bar.

On the way from Brazilia to Alto Paraiso we played a drinking game based on Presidents an Arseholes. In this version everyone had a role from the president down to the arsehole and you can order anyone lower than you to do something. Usually like arsehole get me a beer! Maartje, who had been arsehole on the previous round and had risen to a higher position said “OK can I f**k the arsehole now”. She meant to say “f**k with the arsehole” but needless to say the effect was most hilarious. Webster who was arsehole at the time almost couldn’t believe his luck. Jesper made Webster do some press ups as part of his round. Doing pressups in a moving truck is not easy and Webster smack his head into Trevor (Trevor is the steel safe at the back of the truck). Not sure which one came of worst though. The drive passed in no time and if was a great laugh.

When we arrived at Alto Paraiso it was our turn to cook. Most of the group decided to upgrade to rooms but a few of us that were running on a budget opted for tents; Majjrte & Charlotte, Sarah and Jesper, John and me. We pitched the tents pretty quickly and started cooking. The plan was to do a coconut curry but because we had to buy frozen chicken it took ages to cook through on the stove. It was an OK meal, but it could have been better. There was plenty to go round though. After the meal we sat around the camp fire for a bit drinking a few beers before turning in for the night.

I had perhaps the craziest dream during the night. For some reason I had convinced myself that a snake had got into the tent. In reality I had slept on my arm so it had started going numb. In the dream the snake bite me on the arm. I woke up with a jump and was horrified to feel my arm going numb. I was really confused for a moment believing that the dream was real and that I had been bitten. Not pleasant!

My voice was also feeling pretty sore this morning. I think that the singing was the final straw. I’ve been suffering with a bit of a cold since the pantanal. I thought I had got rid of it, but it has returned. I think that we are all passing the virus round, mutating it and then re-catching it. Needless to say I’m not too thrilled with the idea of losing my voice.

As with all long truck days we got on the road very early. Instead of doing a truck breakfast and getting out the tables we just popped into a service station and had a few “frago pears” for breakfast. These are shredded chicken coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried. They are really tasty, especially with hot sauce, but not great for the cholesterol.

I wish I could say that this was an eventful day but actually this was one of the few days in which I took no photos. The day was pretty much full on driving. A lot of time spent playing cards, draughts and chess with Jesper, reading and sorting through photos.
We stopped for a dinner at a pizza restaurant. Like most small towns the restaurants are pretty small and because of the size of the group the quickest from the truck we able to sit outside the restaurant. This was the best place because even though it was about 8pm it was still pretty warm. Fi, Maxine and I sat just inside at a small table. Ironically though we were the last into the restaurant we were served first. I had a pizza with the Brazilian sausage. It was really nice, made in a proper pizza oven also.

We got to the village of Abadiania (?) around 11:00pm. The hotel that Dragoman usually used couldn’t take everyone as a coach party had also turned up at the same time. We had to split the group into two lots. To say the hotel was basic was an understatement. But there was enough rooms and beds so that was good enough for one night. I was able to charge up batteries again which was great as Brazil only use 110v so the batteries in my camera are lasting much less than normal. Considering it was so basic I actually had a great night sleep.

I woke with the theme to the “Great Escape” going through my head. This was it! D-Day!

The day did not start well. After breakfast a group of us set of to get the tractor and pick up the timber we had got from the woods the previous day. The owners of the posada then said that we could not use this timber as it belonged to the adjacent ranch. This was really annoying to say the least. We had spent a great deal of time the previous day sourcing this timber and it was great for what we needed.

The owners of the posada then said that there were timber piles we could us from their land. I set of with some of the guides with the tractor to find the timbers. The first few planks where pretty big and would be great for runners which the truck wheels would be in contact with. The guides also said that there would be another huge runner on the other side of the river. One of them went back to bring a boat so we could cross the river and look at the timber. The plank in question was actually part of a jetty that had fallen into disrepair and literally into the water. It took two of us to drag this plank from the water and then four of us to get it onto the boat and back across the river. With the four runners we needed to source some spreaders. These came from various wood piles around the woods at the back of the posada. We had to be really careful about handling wood from these wood piles and we found several large spiders and even a snake that had made its home in one of the wood piles.

With the trailer full of timber we made our way over to where the truck had driven. The route that Kent and Dion had defined went alongside one the track that followed the powerlines. This route provided the shortest distance across the quagmire. Luckily after a few days of hot weather the mud had dried out. It may have been possible to attempt to cross without the raft in place but if a wheel had sunk into the mud their would be no going back. There was two groups; a cutting group that had beaten a path for the truck through the undergrowth and a bridge group. The cutting group had already laid some brush across the path and on top of this we laid the spreaders and then the runners. I was the leader of the bridge group and directed where we would place spreaders and runners. I was really nervous as everything was placed on instinct without any calculations. Eventually Dion and I were happy that everything was as good as it would get.

Dion backed up the truck and slowly approached the raft. As the back wheel hit one of the runners it broke but the truck had passed this point and slowly continued. Dion then revved the truck and built speed to get over the last part of the ramp and onto freedom. I was so relieved we had made it through the first obstacle. Simpson Engineering: we do National Stadiums and bridges in the Pantanal!

The bridge team disassembled the raft back onto the tractor and we made our way to the next obstacle. Originally when Kent had planned the road he had to plan a cross country route as the roads had not dried out properly. However one of the guides had said that the road was passable now. In fact Dion was pretty much able to get the truck to the road. There was just a small section where we had to build up the ground into a ramp and fill in some of the ruts. This didn’t take long and then Dion reversed the truck over the ramp and onto the road. This was it. We were home free. Everyone was so happy and the escape from the Pantanal was almost complete.

Donna and Dion took the truck onto the road and Dion set about making the truck road worthy; pumping up the tires, changing the diff lock and various other tasks. The rest of us went back to the posada. We dropped of the timber at a wood pile behind the stables and then set about packing up the camp. We even had a bit of time for a quick dip in the pool. We then loaded the tractor with all the camping gear and bags. With the bags stored we all jumped onto the vehicle used for jeep safaris. The irony is that had the weather been fine we would have done a jeep tour on the first night. Now we only managed this on the very last day. Not that it was much of a jeep tour we pretty much headed straight out along the road and met up with the truck close to the main road. After packing all the boxes and tents we hit the road again back to Pocane. To say that everyone was in high spirits was an understatement.

We stopped briefly in Pocane. After time in the Pantanal several of us were broke so we headed to the only ATM in town to try and get money out. The bank did not take international cards and the ATM next door refused my card. It had been blocked again by the bank. Not happy that this is happening too often. The others had a similar problem. So Mirrka, Maartje, Jepser, Sarah, Charlotte wandered round town first to the post office which again didn’t have any international ATM. Finally we went back to the bank and Jesper and Mirrka persuaded the bank to give us money on the cards but without going through the ATM. No one else had any ID and in a way it was good because it took about half an hour. In the end we had ten minutes to get into the centre and grab a bite to eat and get back to the truck. We were all pretty hungry and grumpy but in the end it worked out OK. I borrowed some cash from Kent until I could get to an ATM.

In order to catch up with our schedule we opted to eat at road side diners for the next two days rather than buy and cook food. We were on the road again and heading to Brazilia. There is not really a lot to say about the rest of this journey. We stopped for dinner at a non-descript service station and ate at the buffet. Some of the group ate at a different restaurant within the same compound.

Back on the road quickly after dinner we carried on the drive with the idea of trying to get as far as possible before stopping to pitch tents. To pass the time Webster, Charlotte, Maartje and I played a drinking game with dice called “3 man”.

It was really simple game. When you rolled a double six you could make up a new rule. Someone, I think Webster, made the rule than when you rolled a double you had to sing a song that everyone could join in with. Of course one of the problems with drinking games is that you need to go to the toilet a lot. Perhaps not the best move on a truck that was only due to stop for pee-stops every two hours. We eventually made camp which was an abandoned service station.

OK so staying in the Pantanal is now starting to wear thin. It was great to be here an extra day but now this is starting to eat into other places. On the Brightside the weather is warm and the quagmire is drying out nicely. I went for a walk with Eugene this morning. We walked over to where Eugene had seen the Ocelot (a small cat with similar markings to a Jaguar) the previous day. At first we though we were heading to the river but it turns out we were walking in the opposite direction. We carried on along the path we had trekked with the horses, but apart from a Racoon we didn’t see much wildlife.

We got back for breakfast and then set about making plans for our escape from the pantanal. Dion had some work to do on the truck and it looked as though we needed a raft of sorts to drive over the worst of the mud so that the truck wouldn’t bed in. If the truck sank at all in the mud it would be game over and we would be stuck for a long time. It so happened that the previous day in walking with Maxine I had spotted a pile of timber in the woods. I had no idea whether this belonged to anyone, probably the adjacent ranch, but it just seemed to be there doing nothing. I spoke to Dion about this and we decided we’d scope it out later. Pretty much spent the rest of the morning chilling in the hammock.

I would have happily drifted of, but there was a bit of excitement from outside the dining hall. The guides had decided to bring the anaconda back from the tree. Why, I’m not sure, perhaps to give the guests a closer look. Though I think they should have left it alone, it allowed me to get really close to the snake.

I asked the guide who was holding it whether I could hold it. I’ve never held a snake before and it was not what I expected. The skin was very dry and I could feel the muscles under the skin rippling as I held it. Speaking to Jesper later for such a large snake you should support the weight of it in the middle. I could feel the anaconda trying to pull it head from my grasp and it was getting distressed. I was worried I would hurt it in some way and Diceasar was also saying “don’t break its neck”. In the end I gave the snake back to Diceasar who put it down near a tree so that it could climb to safety. A great experience though not sure I would like to meet it again in a few years when it’s grown up.

Dion and I looked at the timber I had seen in the woods and asked the guys at our Posada whether we could use it for building our raft. Max, the guide said it wouldn’t be a problem. In hindsight we should have confirmed this with the owners of the posada. Later that afternoon Ian, Jesper, Eugene, Kent, Webster and I headed back to the planks and started moving them out of the woods. In all there were about 60 timbers we could use. The wood looked as though it had been stored in the woods for some building purpose but was now quietly rotting. In fact moving the timbers we disturbed several terminate and ant colonies as well as discovering huge cockroach type bugs and spiders. For now we just moved the timbers from the woods and stacked them with the intention of getting the tractor and trailer there the next day.

After an hours hard work we felt that we deserved to cool down in the pool. A bit of synchronised jumping/bombing was a great way to round of the day. Fi was also unceremoniously thrown into the pool. Well she looked as though she really really wanted to get into the pool, but didn’t want to, so I just helped out! How kind am I?

Another great sunset rounded the day off nicely and everyone was excited for our great escape the following day.

Got up early again to go for a walk into the bush to try and see some animals. Firstly headed off in the same way we had done the first jungle walk. The sunrise was absolutely spectacular and the whole sky was golden for a moment over the bushland.

I decided to turn back and head back to the Posada. On the way back met Maxine and we decided to walk the reverse circuit to the one we had done with Diceasar the previous day. We didn’t see much except for a “Fi Tapier” aka a horse. So called because every time Fi tried to draw any animal it ends up looking like a horse.

This time we approached the river from the woods. As Maxine and I got close to the bank we heard a splash as a large animal or bird dove into the water. We then heard a sound of loud exhaling, similar to what we had heard the previous day with the Giant Otters. We never saw an otter but I’m pretty sure that this is what made the splash. We then walked back along the river to the posada. On the way back got some better photos of the female howler monkeys close to where we had seen them the previous day.

Most of us had breakfast from the truck to try and save some money. The rest of the morning was pretty chilled and in the afternoon a few of us opted to take another boat trip. This time we headed up stream to explore the other part of the river. It was nice to be doing something but I would have preferred to be going out later in the day. At 2pm the sun was hot and most of the animal would be taking shade. To be honest it wasn’t a great time to take a boat ride, but the other option was to do nothing. We saw plenty of birdlife though; herons, kingfishers; black hawks and cormorants.

When we got back to the posada there was visible excitement at the jetty. An anaconda had been spotted close to the posada just downstream. We piled back into the boat and our guide took us to the spot downstream. The anaconda was small, maybe about 2.5m in length, so about a year old, and was curled up in the high branches of a tree next to the river. Even though it was a small anaconda it was amazing to be this close to it. The colours were so vivid. After a while we went back to the posada so that others could head out to see the snake.

I watched the sunset from my hammock. It was such a great way to relax. I’m looking forward to bringing my hammock home and setting it up in the garden. It would make a nice change to have a permanent home for it instead of lugging it all the way from Belize.

In the evening some of the group opted to cook to keep the costs down whilst others, including me, ate at the dining hall. Later that evening after a few games of “ambition” the local guides and housekeepers lit a bonfire over by the stables. I got talking to another of the guides, Roberto as well as some of the housekeeping staff. It was a fun night!

It was noticeably warmer during the night. Again a few of us got up to do an early morning hike before breakfast. This morning we were rewarded for our persistence with no rain. This was starting to look promising and with the rain stopped we could start to hope that the roads would start to dry out.

The early morning hike started off by heading back along the road we drove in along and then cut through some of the forest back towards the river. The reason for getting up at this stupid time was that it is suppose to be the best time to see animals. Someone should have told the animals this though as we didn’t see a great deal of either bird or animal life on this hike. That said it was nice to be up a doing something. As we got back close to the posada Eugene and I split from the group and walked to the river to take some photos of the dawn.

As we finished breakfast there was several chestnut eared aracari in the trees close to the dining hall. These are a small bird related to the toucan. This was quite unusual to see so many together. The smaller birds were out in force as well at the bird feeding stations. Maybe the cold weather which had get the birds away for the previous day was really on its way out.

After breakfast the two groups headed off for a morning walk. Our group headed across some of the land owned by an adjacent ranch and then into the woods. As we approached the woods I could see something black in the tops of the trees. These turned out to be howler monkeys. I was surprised as how quiet these were compared to the howler monkeys we had seen in Central America.

As we walked through the woods Diceasar pointed out various things along the way such as the Caraca Hawks and Black Vultures.

As we walked along the river bank we heard a noise like someone exhaling loudly. Diceasar was pretty excited about this and the next moment we saw a family of giant otters swim past. These are really beautiful animals and they were pretty inquisitive about us, looking out of the water at us. Eugene managed to get a great photo, but the rest of us were either too slow or not in a great position to get a shot.

We walked along the river through the woods for a bit longer and then struck inland. We saw a small rodent called an agoti but this was about it. We reached the edge of the marshland we had ridden through the previous day made our way back to the posada.

When we got back Eugene, Fi and I had opted to do another horseride. I think more people would have liked to do another ride but unfortunately there was only three horses available and it was first come first serve.

I think that I must have had the horse that Webster had the previous day as it did not want to do anything more than walk, an even then walk as a sloe pace. The guide cut a switch from a tree and said that I was to use it to get the horse to move on. The first time I uses this on the horses hind it tried to buck. When it realised that I wasn’t phased by this it then broke into a trot. This would form a pattern to be repeated for the rest of the trek. My horse would fall behind with a slow walk. I would then kick it to get it to move on, when this failed I would hit it with the switch and then it would buck and break into a trot. Towards the end I would only need to kick it to trot for a while. At the very end we were even able to get a small canter down the last leg of the track. I was so glad that I had learnt to do a rising trot all those years ago as when we came back I wasn’t sore in the least. Eugene on the other hand hobbled from the horse having been crushed against the saddle.

When we arrived back Donna and Dion had reccied the way out. They pretty much confirmed what we had thought earlier in the day. There was no way were going anywhere and we would be grounded for the next few days. The slight irony to this is that Eugene and I had been complaining that we were not spending enough time here. We had asked Dion if there was any way we could leave mid afternoon instead of straight after lunch. The reply was that we would get back to Pocone too late. Be careful what you wish for.

To help us out the Posada said that we could camp in their grounds and we could still eat in the dining hall. This gave us more time to explore the area. In the afternoon a few of us went Piranha fishing from the jetty.

Though I could feel the piranha biting I didn’t manage to catch one this time. Eugene caught a few though. Webster managed to catch a Cayman.

One of the guides managed to unhook the cayman which were impressed with until Jepser pointed out “how many times do you thing a stupid tourist does something like this!”.

Later on I went for a walk with Fi but we ended up turning back as the mosquitoes were pretty aggressive. One of the great things about walking with Fi is that is there are any mosquitoes she’ll attract them all so you don’t get bitten. After we got back to the Posada I chilled out in my hammock by the pool reading Treasure Island till the evening meal was ready.

Today was my parents wedding anniversary, but because there was no mobile signal I couln’t send a text or phone them.

It was so cold during the night. The temperature had dropped right down and it had not stopped raining all night. Apparently this was really unseasonal weather as it should be the dry season. There was a real risk that we would not be able to get the truck out along the roads we had driven along. The first plan for today was to go on a dawn walk. We got up at 5:30am to meet. It was surprising to see just how many people from the group will get up at a stupid early time in the morning, even when it is rainy and cold. I guess this is why I like travelling with groups like this as they are generally the sort of likeminded people that enjoy similar activities to me. Unfortunately though it was still raining and basically hadn’t stopped all night. There was little point going for a walk so we went back to bed for an hour before breakfast.

Mid morning the rain had stopped and we could split into our activity groups. I was doing the horseriding first up. In this group was Fi, Maartje, Charlotte, Mirkka, Eugene, Renee, Webster, Maxine and our guide Diceasar. As we got onto the horses Diceasar’s got spooked and tore off through the others. As he wasn’t properly seated when the horse stopped dead Diceasar was thrown from the saddle, over the horses head to land on his back. He was pretty winded but other than that fine. However he had a really badly bruised ego! He could laugh about it afterwards, but he felt a bit embarrassed in front of the group. The other guides though found it highly hilarious.

Apart from being a bit chilly the horse ride was nice though with the paths being very muddy it wasn’t possible to go fast at all. We rode through some of the forested area where previously tapiers had been spotted, but we saw nothing except for a single deer out in the marsh. I guess any animal with half a brain would be curled up keeping warm. This probably doesn’t say a great deal for us humans who were out there regardless of the weather. After trailing through the forests and across some of the tracks we then made our way straight through one of the swamp areas that gives the Pantanal its name.

Webster’s horse was very amusing. Apart from refusing to move at anything but the slowest speed it was also fairly averse to getting any mud onto its legs so tried to find the driest route through the swamp. Towards the end of the ride and back onto the roads we managed to get some of the horses to trot. Back at the ranch we got started getting off the horses. Fi dismounted like she would back home pretty much jumping from the horse. However I don’t think these horses are used to this and it spooked the horse which tried to bolt. However fo had hold of the reins and managed to control it. It was pretty impressive to see the way she was able to control the horse. Whilst we were helping to get the kit off the horses Webster eventually arrived. Not exactly high planes drifter, but considering the last time he had ridden he’d been thrown I think he was pleased to make it one piece.

After lunch we met up again for a boat ride. It was still pretty cold and the first time I have been glad that I had brought at least some cold weather gear. Maartje and Charlotte warmed up with some aerobic exercises, which was very funny to watch; made even more so as I had it recorded as a video. I think I’ll set it to “flash dance” or something when I get back before posting it to facebook! We split into two boats with Maxine, Mirkka, Webster and me in one boat.

From the dock we made our way downsteam stopping occasionally to see the various birdlife. A pair of Jabaru storks live on the banks of the river close to the Posada. In the boat we were able to get much nearer that we would on land. They are very ungainly birds, and though look quite attractive from a distance with the black head and white body, they actually look malevolent close up.

We probably spent close to half an hour looking for wildlife and we saw plenty of egrets, herons and even some howler monkeys in one of the trees close to the river. My batteries decided to give out at this time. I was sat on the side of the left hand side of the boat with my spare batteries in my left hand pocket. Unfortunately I was wearing gloves and as I was pulling the batteries out of my pocket I lost my grip on them. They dropped over the edge and quickly disappeared underneath the water. I was so angry with myself. Firstly because it meant I was out of batteries for the rest of the trip and secondly for being such a complete numbskull!

After a while in looking for wildlife we headed to a read bank and got the fishing poles out for a spot of Piranha fishing. The rods were pretty basic, only a cane rod with some fishing line and a hook. The bait was chicken. Unlike the two previous times I’d tried, in the Amazon and in Venezuela, as soon as the bait was in the water you could feel the fish biting. We heard a cheer from the other boat as Renee pulled out the first fish. Maxine was the first to catch one from out boat. In the end I was able to catch 3. The winner was Maartje with 5 closely followed by Charlotte with 4.

After we’d run out of bait we continued down the river for a bit. Our driver then spotted a black collared hawk in the tree and called out to it. He took one of the fish from the bucket and threw it into the river. The hawk circled before diving into the water to pick up the fish. It was amazing to see this so close up. I remember as a kid going to Loch Garton, in Scotland, to watch the Osprey’s fishing. The Ospreys are the only fish hawks we have on the mainland in the UK. But I’ve never been as close as these back collared hawks.

I found that by taking the batteries from my camera and switching their order I could squeeze a few more photos. After watching the hawks fish for a while we then sort out one of the cayman. By placing one of the fish on a stick the guide was able to tempt the cayman to jump out of the water. It was amazing to see just how far they can launch themselves out of the water. I don’t think you would do this with crocs in Africa or Aus, but these cayman are much smaller. Our boat driver/guide only was missing a few fingers from his right hand. It could be that he wasn’t too good with knifes or that something had bitten him. I never asked him why but I wasn’t going to put my hand in the water either!

By the time we got back to the Posada we were all pretty cold and it was great to get back and have a hot shower. The evening was pretty much similar to the previous evening; playing some card and dice games along with a few beers and caprioskis. In theory this would be our last night at the Posada and we would be making our way out of the Pantanal tomorrow. Realistically no one expected this to happen. There had been too much rain, making the roads inpassible for the truck.

The Pantanal is a huge wetland that covers most of the west side of Brazil below the Amazon. It stretches from Pocane in the north down to Campo Grande in the south. There are three ecosystems that make up the Pantanal; the wetlands which give the name to the area, a beach/lake ecosystem and higher savannah.

We drove in along an elevated dirt road and passed into the parkland. We started of actually walking along the road as it was much easier to see the cayman in the water and birds in the trees. We saw many of the same species we had seen in los llanos, but the cayman here were not the spectical cayman and also we saw wood storks and a snail hawk. This feeds on the freshwater crabs and snails.

It started to rain so we got back in the truck and drovc on for a bit. The shower passed and we were able to put up the roof seats again so that we could see the birds from the roof. As we were doing this two blue macaw flew past. These are the biggest of the parrot species and very rare outside of the Pantanal, but no one was fast enough to get a shot of them. Last time we had the roof seats up was los llanos in Venezuela, then there was only the eight of us so we could all sit up in the seats. This time there were many more so we had to rotate the seats. We got about half an hour each but towards the end of our turn it started to rain again.

We turned of the main road towards the posada we would be staying in. The route to the Posada was another dirt track with some small bridges, but the truck couldn’t drive over the bridges so we had to descend into the dried stream beds to continue. The last time the group had been in the wet season they had left the truck at the police station by the gatehouse and then got a smaller truck. In hindsight this should have been standard procedure as the rain that had started as a shower on the way into the pantanal just continued all afternoon. We got our rooms sorted and I was sharing with Kent and Webster. Webster is only seventeen and travelling with his father, Kent. Its difficult most of the time to appreciate that he is only seventeen as he looks and behaves older. It must be pretty cool to travel so much of the world when you’re young. At seventeen I took my first vacation out of the UK, camping in France with my parent and friends. It was a great holiday, but before this I had never travelled outside the UK and didn’t even own a passport. That said, I’ve more than made up for it since then.

We had originally planned to do a jeep safari that evening but it was too wet. Our guide, Diceasar, said that no animal in its right mind would be out in this weather. So there was little point in doing the jeep tour. I finally managed to put up my hammock that I had been dragging around with me since Belize and spent part of the afternoon chilling out. Later on we managed to get out for a short walk around the grounds of the posada and down to the river. There were several cayman hanging out by the jetty, and little wonder as they got fed from the people doing fishing from the jetty.

From the jetty we had a short walk through the woods and saw some capybara in the bush. We were able to get very close to these capybara, and although they still look incredibly tasty, they are also sort of cute, but then so is a lamb!

The food at the posada was a buffet style, eat as much as you want. The food was really nice. I also discovered caprivodkas. Basically a caprinha but with vodka instead of cachasa (aquadente). After the meal some of the locals from the posada played some Brazilian country and western and local pantanal cowboy songs. But for the most part we played the dice game “ambition” and listened to the rain pouring down.

The next day we were up really early. I was up just after 5:15am to grab a shower before striking camp. The shower was cold, which was no surprise. I’m getting used to cold showers now! The tents were down and packed away super quick and we were on the road for 6:00am. The plan was to drive for about two hours before stopping for lunch. As we drove along the sun came up and the sky was on fire for about 20 minutes. It was a very surreal experience to be driving along with such an amazing sunrise. I would say that the colours would perhaps bring this sunrise into the top ten, though it was a shame that we couldn’t stop to take any photos. Playing around with the settings on the camera, I was able to capture something. Considering that we were travelling at around 50kph on a bumpy road in low light, its not a bad photo.

The interesting thing about mornings is that there are definitely “morning people” and “not morning people”. At home I would say that I am against early mornings, but here travelling I don’t mind being up at all.

We arrived at the truck stop and set up the tables for breakfast. We always get funny looks from people when the drago truck rolls in an then suddenly all these tables, chairs and cooking equipment appears. I made a huge mistake with my morning drink. For some reason I thought it would be nice to try and make a moca using drinking chocolate and coffee. Unfortunately the coffee was bitter and the drinking chocolate was actually coco which was also really strong and bitter. Not a great combination! I’ll stick to tea in future.

At lunch there was no assigned cook group so we all mucked in to get the lunch together. It was the usual affair of salad and sandwiches. The bread was unsliced though and it was my job to try and slice the bread to give everyone 4 slices. Worked out quite well, but definitely not the best thing since sliced bread!

We arrived at the hotel in Pocane mid afternoon. I went for a walk with the girls and we found an internet place. However they would not let me connect my laptop so I asked for my money back. I thought I should try and get my hair cut and wandered round town to find a hairdresser. Getting a hair cut is an easy business I just indicate shave and then say dois (two). However in this town none of the salons seem to have the dubbers. I walked into four “ladies” hair salons before the last one directed me to a barber. Once there it took about ten minutes at the most. Feeling lighter and more streamlined I made my way back to the hotel to meet up for dinner.

As a group we started walking together to a restaurant that Donna and Dion had recommended up the road. However it was expensive so a group of us split of. The then got smaller as Maartje, Charlotte, Jesper and Sarah were happy to eat burgers at the roadside. I wanted somewhere cheap but didn’t want to eat burgers again. The rest of us then decided to head back to the hotel and this group then split further into another group who didn’t want to eat at the hotel. What started with the full group eventually ended up with several groups of four or five people. Ian, Annie, Fi, Maxine and Lisa ended up at the hotel with me. The food was amazing and well priced, but the portions where too big. I just had a plain steak but it was almost too big to eat. I say almost because I did manage it, but only just!

After the meal Mirkka, Fi and I wandered back to the burger place where the others had eaten and the tried to find the pool hall to play some pool. Unfortunately this had closed by the time we got there, which was surprising early so we walked back to the burger bar and grabbed a few beers with one of the guides from the Pantanal. He was telling us that a few days ago they had to move a huge Anaconda from the road so they could pass with the truck. It was about 20cm in diameter. In the end we all drifted back to the hotel. The guide insisted on buying all our beers. We found out later that he had been involved in a car accident on the way back from the Pantanal.