Pantanal

So the ten seater van pulled up outside the Fazenda Hotel in Cuiaba to take us on our three hour journey to the Pantanal. The ugly city of Cuiaba soon turned into green countryside, only passing the odd shack as we drove by. Pulling up at a petrol station pit-stop for a toilet break and a fake Magnum, we only then realised the full magnitude of the heat – searing, unrelenting heat which made climbing back into the van a pleasure.

Soon the asphalt petered out into a red dirt road which slowed the journey down considerably but interesting wildlife like birds, dear and a small Cayman were pointed out to us. 

A series of unnerving wooden bridges had to be crossed but eventually we reached our destination of the Pousada do Rio Mutum where we were greeted warmly by Helda (?) the manager.








 We were seated on rocking chairs and given a refreshing pineapple juice under a thatched shelter.

 Then we were shown to our room for the next few days which was a huge step up from the Fazenda and the air-conditioning and ceiling fan were a relief to see. Shortly we met Helda back at the dining room and were treated to cake and coffee and then proceeded to show us around the lush grounds populated by roaming horses, various birds, more Cayman and the long-awaited capybara (a large rodent/guinea pig type creature the size of a dog).
 Bringing my mosquito bites up to a nice round total of six we retired back to our hut, showered and rested then headed out for dinner in the main dining room to sample more Brazilian delicacies.

After a hot and restless night with insect bites flaring so badly the urge to scratch my legs to pieces was unbearable, we rose at six, breakfasted and were met by our guide for the week, Raoul. He took us out for an ecological walk through the jungle to view the wildlife for a couple of hours – more birds, rodents and insects. 

 On our return we took a delicious dip in the pool and escaped back to the cool of our room before lunch. As was to be the norm, the coolest part of the day was reserved for excursions and the afternoon was to be filled with a canoe ride down the Mutum river. This was another great excuse to view wildlife and ended with a paddle through shallow flooded jungle conjuring up scenes from ‘Deliverence’!

Again we adjourned to our room as the heat is too oppressive to do much else and then on to dinner.

Another early start, another early breakfast followed by a morning horse ride through the jungle which the children were wildly exited about. 
My chestnut horse was named Maradonna and was a very placid natured creature.  It was more of a slow stroll through the woods for the horses other than a few tussles for lead position; a fight in which my horse always came out worst. He was definitely lowest in the pecking order! 

The horses splashed through a long stream towards the end of the ride which was a source of great hilarity for everybody. 







Creatures of habit, we took a dip in the pool, rested, lunched, rested again and then on to the next excursion.

After our afternoon siesta (God, I wish I could carry that tradition on in my day-to-day life), there was to be a motor boat trip down the Mutam river to spot more wildlife and it was nice to have a break from rowing. Gareth stopped the driver regularly to get shots of birds which I'm sure I will appreciate looking at but although the birds here are colourful and amazing, there are only so many snow egrets or herons I want to stare at for any duration. Give me more mammals, I say! Still, it was a lovely trip topped off by stopping in the middle of a lake to watch a beautiful sunset (mosquito's humming around our ears). 
This was only marred by my late sister Lynn popping back into my head as she is more and more regularly since we've been in Brazil (I'll talk more about this later if you don't mind). Hiding behind my sunglasses, I was glad of the sun sinking behind the hills so my silent tears would not be visible. It seems every time I see something beautiful or something amazing or something that I want to recall for the rest of my life, I think of her. I wish she could be seeing this with me, experiencing all these things. Perhaps she is.

Back to the lodge, another huge meal (three huge meals a day - please stop feeding me! I have zero willpower!) and off to bed. Switching on the air-con and the fan for double protection against the wilting heat, we fell asleep.