Pantanal Swamps, BRAZIL

I enjoyed a wonderful time in Brazil just 3 months ago but returned for one reason: To experience life in the vast Pantanal swamps. The size of the swamps is roughly 230,000 sq km and stretches for 1,300 km in length across Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay! Four times the size of England. With 650 species of birds, including the gigantic Jabiru stork – the world’s third largest bird, its a haven for bird watchers. (NOTE: None of these linked pics are mine. Credits to these photographers). One evening we drove down a dirt road and saw about 100 caimans in a 50m stretch of road....well, this was only 100 out of the estimated 30 million caimans who live across the Pantanal (a more realistic figure is probably closer to 25 million). All animals are now protected. Sadly, at the peak of the poaching era, in the 1980s, as many as 1 million caiman skins a year were smuggled from the Pantanal. Other animals I saw included the capybara (the world largest rodent), giant river otters, marsh deers, blue macaws, scarlet macaws, toucans, southern screamer, anacondas, southern caracara, pecari, quaties, howler monkeys, armadillos, etc. We also caught and ate piranhas (those flesh hungry fish) which just seems to be everywhere in the marshes, and found fresh jaguar foot prints. Also went horse back riding through the swamps...sometimes my horse was shoulder deep in the water....I had to lift my legs to avoid been eaten by the piranhas! The farmhouse where I stayed is surrounded by hundreds of parrots, macaws, and other colourful birds. Indeed a great experience!!

I can strongly recommend Natureza Farm where I stayed. Hugo, Thiago and the team is wonderful. Write to Luciana (naturezatours@hotmail.com) for more information.

Monday, Feb 6th (my birthday), I´m flying north to Quito, capital of Ecuador. The flight will be on Copa Airlines via Panama City.

Adeus from São Paulo, Brazil