Balneário Municipal

South America Day 35 - Travel to Bonito & Balneário Municipal

It was time to leave the lodge and head to Bonito. We re-traced our steps back to the highway. We saw the otters again in the same small pool we'd seen them a couple of days previous. We also crossed the Rio Paraguay (above). Being that it was the dry season there wasn't much water in this river, but you can imagine what it's like in the wet season.

It was quite a long drive to Bonito along a rough dirt road for the most part.

Balneário Municipal

We arrived at our hotel, got settled in and set off fairly soon after for Balneário Municipal.
Balneário Municipal is a 7 km taxi ride from the town of Bonito. It's a natural stream with three little waterfalls that absolutely teems with fish.

There is some shoreline development including a lifeguard tower, diving board and a flying fox. There is also small restaurant, and a couple of play areas, one for kids (playground) and one for adults (giant chess set and pool table).

It was a great place to kick back & relax in the water. It was a welcome respite after a couple of hot sticky days in the Pantanal. You can even hide in behind the waterfall below.
We did have to vacate the water at one point thanks to a nasty thunderstorm. After a couple more goes on the flying fox & a couple more jumps off the diving board, we reluctantly headed back to town.

For dinner we went to a pizza place that Suellen had recommended. Bad choice! They were probably the worst pizzas I've ever had.

The Pantanal

South America Day 34 

Explore the Pantanal

The noisy locals woke us up early this morning. As soon as the sun was peaking over the horizon, the racket started. The Parakeets (above) were the noisiest by far. I grabbed the camera before breakfast & went out taking photos of every different bird I could find. Before today, I had no concept how diverse the wildlife was in the Amazon. Here are just a few of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 Horse Riding

After breakfast most of the gang went horse riding around the local area. Me & horses aren't on good terms (nor have we been for decades) so I opted out. Kerri has a similar mistrust for these animals and also opted out. Nora & Vincent also didn't go. They set off & left us to our own devices. Apparently they didn't see much wildlife (more than likely because of the horses & noisy people scaring them off). I don't regret sitting out at all.

Wildlife spotting.

While to tribe were off horse riding, we the remaining four, went for a wander. It was already hot and muggy but we took it nice & easy.
It was a worthwhile exercise as we saw so many animals and birds that the riders did not. Pictured above & below are coatis. Their closest relative is the raccoon and are just as good at scavenging. They cruise around in troops of about 10. The one above was with about six others from his troop but he was the only one I got a chance to photograph. They're so funny scuttling around with their long stripy tails in the air.

Coatis come in different variants. The one below was probably from the same troop as the other one but was more orange instead of black and white.

Marsh Deer

The biggest animal we saw was this marsh deer. It was similar to a couple of the deer species in North America. They were just as skittish as their northern cousins.
Just after we saw the deer some sort of wasp or hornet came out of nowhere and stung Kerri on the finger. We were a long way from the lodge and it would take us at least half an hour to get back. Within minutes her whole finger had swollen up to twice normal size (needless to say it was quite painful). She was very brave about it particularly because it is her birthday today.

Kingfisher

This kingfisher wasn't as skittish as the deer. I watched it darting from his perch to a small pond picking of choice snacks which seemed to be insects more than anything else.

These odd birds look like turkeys to some extent. The one above is called a Blue-throated Piping-guan. The one below is a Black Fronted Piping Guan (or locally known as a Chuchalaca). They make the most bazaar screech/cackle. I can't even describe it because it was so foreign to me.

Raptors

The Jungle has no shortage of raptors. The bird above is a black collared hawk. It's one of four species of hawk we saw today.

 Roadside Hawk

Black Collared Hawk

Afternoon Safari

We spent a lot of time during the day in hammocks under a pergola. It was too hot and muggy to do anything else. Besides, most of the animals were in hiding as well.
Later in the afternoon we got back on the safari truck and headed out into the surrounding area. It was what we were supposed to do the afternoon before but the four hour train delay put a stop to it. We were forced to take this trip earlier in the day than we should have. Unfortunately it meant that many of the animals were still hiding in the shade. We did see a few, but we had done better during our morning walk. This marsh deer and her fawn hung around to have their photos taken, but not for long. We saw a few birds but nothing like first thing in the morning.

Ferruginous Pygmy Owl

Southern Lapling (one of the Plover family).

These are odd little creatures. Armadillos eat ants but have a seemingly over the top defence against predators. I guess with an abundance of predators like jabiru storks, hawks and jaguars, it pays to take out insurance. This little guy scarpered as soon as he saw our truck.

We left the truck for a little while to head into a stand of trees to look for monkeys. We didn't see any monkeys, but we did see evidence of the big cat. Jaguars are not exactly rare in the Pantanal, but like all cats are secretive nocturnal creatures. These ones in particular are cats that you really would like to see, but not really because unless you have some sort of protection, it will probably be the last thing you do. Of all the big cats, Jaguars being primate hunters, are more likely to hunt and kill you than any of the other big cats (& that includes lions).

Swamp Fishing

South America had done a job on me again that afternoon and, (not to be too graphic) I had to stay close to the "facilities". Kerri went with most of the group to a nearby swamp and went fishing. Above, our local guide is up to his waist in a similar pond to the one we'd walked around the day before.

Here's what they were fishing for. Piranhas!
So apparently it's quite safe to stand up to your waist in Cayman and Piranha infested water, throw bait in to catch one of the piscatorial owners of the pond. Sounds a bit crazy to me, but I guess taylor fishermen on the east and west coasts of Australia stand in a similar depth of water throwing burly into the water with sharks circling them.

Apparently the fishing trip was successful. Dinner was in the bag (or on the stick). The problem now is that Kerri wants to come along on the next fishing trip I go on.

Hyacinth Macaws

While the rest were off fishing, I was around the lodge with my camera chasing wildlife.
There were a few Hyacinth Macaws (pictured) that roosted near the lodge at night. They're noisy critters particularly when there's more than one (and there normally is).

I caught this pair doing a hot lap around our lodge. It was wonderful to see these great birds flying free. It reminded me why I don't like seeing birds caged.

 Lizards

We saw one of these in the bunk house last night (above). The one below was on a tree. They're a bit like a small version of our water dragons back on the east coast of Australia but with nicer colours. They aren't quite as angry either.

Dinner that night included the piranha that were caught that afternoon. The guides did a rubbish job of preparing the fish which ended up dry and over cooked. I couldn't even tell you whether they taste any good. I know one thing for sure, you want to avoid those teeth! It was the first time I'd seen them up close and I can tell you that they are razor sharp even after being fried.
The Birthday Girl

Being that it was Kerri's birthday, a few members of the group (who wish to remain nameless) baked a cake and set out some candles. Everyone was there for the big event with the birthday girl at the head of the table.

Nocturnal Visitors

The fly screens and inside lights made the lodge very attractive to the local frog population. The light attracts the bugs to the building but can only go as far as the screens. The frogs think it's a great idea and earn a very easy living as a result. I've seen geckos in Queensland fight for the best position for the same reason.

What an eventful day. Brazil has come up with some great wildlife today. I can't wait to find out what it has for us tomorrow.

Travel to the Pantanal - Cayman Infested Swamps.

South America -  Day 33

Travel to the Pantanal

Needless to say not much sleep was had on the death train and we didn't arrive at the border until just before midday. At one point not long before day break, the driver somehow took a wrong turn and went the wrong way for a couple of hours. It effectively added over 4 hours to our already long journey. Not impressed! We made it! The first thing we noticed was how hot and muggy it was. We'd definitely reached the jungle and was a sign of things to come.

Strangely the border crossing was more of a money exchanging exercise than anything. The passports were stamped and off we went. It was more tricky getting the paperwork done in Brazil. They took us to a customs point in the border town of Corumba. It shuts at 2pm and with the time zone shift, we cut it very fine particularly with the others that were on our train trying to do the same thing.

Having sorted our our visa issues, we were taken to a restaurant where it was an all you can eat meat fest. It was awesome, but I was totally bloated by the end of it. We then did the whole supply shopping and climbed aboard the bus for another 2 hr trip to the Pantanal.

Not long after we left Corumba it became apparent that we were in the Pantanal. It's a strange landscape being relatively flat with small pockets of higher ground. During the wet season the entire area gets flooded and the high patches become a safe haven for animals.
We were there just before the wet so the flood plains were reduced to small pools. Not long after we turned off the main highway the driver stopped so we could watch these guys. They are endangered Giant Otters. I was really hopeful that we would see Giant Otters but I'd thought it was a long shot. We were so lucky to see this small family. They seemed completely oblivious to us & just went about their business of hunting the fish that were concentrated in the pond.

We swapped from the van to an army style safari truck for the final push to the lodge where we were going to stay for the next two night. The truck came with a couple of local guides. This one had some local tools on his belt as well.

 On the way to the lodge we were taken animal spotting along the way. We didn't see any more otters, buy there were plenty of other critters to look for. The first one was this Jabiru Stork. There huge and are the second biggest stork on the planet behind the Marabou Stork from Africa.

The Pantanal is an odd mix between a wildlife sanctuary and a farm. The ranchers have realized that they can utilize the area for farming while leaving enough jungle to allow the wildlife to thrive as well. The wildlife brings extra revenue via the tourist dollar. It's not a bad compromise. Beats total clearing.

We stopped at this swamp where a huge number of water creatures were condensed into a tiny pond after being spread across the Pantanal during the wet season. These ponds are infested with piranha that eat anything they can, Cayman (like a cross between an alligator and a crocodile), and above water the Jabiru Stork hunt piranha & small cayman. We were lead around beside this swamp for a bit of a look.

You can see here the Cayman density is very high. They seemed pretty content to just lie around in the sun sucking in the warmth.

Cayman are one of the smaller crocodillians. They're nowhere near as big as the salt water crocs in Australia or the gaters in Florida (the Canadians would be more familiar with those). The cayman would probably take a piece out of you given the chance, but they just don't have to intimidation factor. I'll admit the bigger ones (like this one) are a bit more scary.

There was one other swamp predator, this kingfisher. He was perched on a power line high above the food fest.

After leaving the swap, we kept heading toward the lodge. Along the way, we continued watching out for wildlife despite the failing daylight. Above is a Jabiru stork nest with the inhabitants watching the sun go down.

Our local guides decided they were going to harass one of the local residents. I'm not sure what the point of it was other than to get us some dodgy photos lined up with the poor captive.

Just as the light was failing we saw these overgrown guinea pigs. They're called Capaburras. If I remember correctly, they're the largest rodent on the continent.

We arrived at the lodge on dusk, around about the same time the bugs came out to play. Fortunately the building was surrounded by mosquito mesh.
I was really worried about being able to sleep in the hammocks. I figured that my neck was going to be a complete mess the next morning as well. It was all good. I crashed & burned after the awful night on the train the previous night & slept like a baby (and I suspect many of the others did as well).