Into the Wilderness

We left Rio on a hot day, exhausted but satisified, and took our place on what promised to be one of our last long over land journeys to Campo Grande. 20 hours later we arrived at the brand new bus terminal and started to search for a company to guide our adventure into the wilderness of the Pantanal. The guidebook promised hundreds of options but the relocation to a new out of town station left us just one company running a four day trip to their lodge. Scraping our pennies together we took the all inclusive package and the deal was sweetened with free accommodation for the night and a transfer across town- lovely. The remainder of the afternoon was spent stocking up on memory cards in the rather drab town.

The following morning we got up early for our 10am pick up and after a quick breakfast I headed for a nearby ATM to withdraw the extra cash we owed, having hit our maximum withdrawal the previous day. For so early in the morning the sun was really strong and as soon as I arrived at the nearby machine it was clear I had further to go in the heat- it was out of order. Asking a local for directions- both of us speaking broken Spanish- I obviously misunderstood as I did not find another bank but walked in a large circle before realising how late it was getting and that Blakey would be worried. I returned empty handed and reassured him that I had not been mugged, thankfully to find another girl waiting for the same tour in our lobby who had been equally unsuccessful in her serach for cash. We resolved to ask our guide to drive us to an ATM en route.

By the time anyone came to pick us up we could have walked into the centre of town and back again, but even with the large group waiting myself and Ashling, the Irish girl that was also penniless, were sent into town on foot. We trekked from bank to bank, each one refusing our cards becoming increasingly worried that we were not going to get any money in this town and be stuck here for ever. The sixth place we visited allowed us to take money, over 45 minutes later. We hurried back to the waiting group, anticipating anxious boyfriends, only to find them chatting amicably and enjoying a free coffee whilst we wiped the sweat from our brows and boarded the mini bus with embarrassment. It was almost an hour and a half since the schedule leaving time.

But we were off. It was a long ride into the hot and humid wilderness along bumpy dusty roads that soon became bumpy muddy roads as we hit the flood plains. After hours of driving we were all turfed out into the blazing sun to wait for an opensided truck. That then took us on to a ferry across the high waters of the river- the old bridge being in a state of utter disrepair- and then bumped and threw us around as far as the road could go, to all be turfed out again. This time we waited in the mosquito infested heat of the late afternoon for a tracker to tow us in a big trailer through the deep flooded plains to the Pousada Santa Clara.

When we arrived the small farm was like an island in the middle of a huge swamp- dark, dank, still waters all around. As we entered we instantly knew it was worth the drive as hundreds of birds filled the lawns and trees and we were shown to our nice rooms in the small resort. The farm setting is a great excuse for this company to remain eco-friendly whislt encouraging local wildlife- there seemed to be plenty of bird feed for the chickens to share with masses of falcons, small bright green parrots and impressive red and blue macaws. There were also four domesticated wild pigs, a very tame wild deer (I think adopted by the lodge as there was no sign of its mother) and armadillos burrowing in the flower beds. Not only that, but we had spotted hundreds of caiman already- the little but mean looking alligators dotting the paths and waterways on the approach to the lodge.

After the long sweaty journey I soon headed back to the room for a shower and for some reason was really keen that Blakey should stay with me and wait- slightly unneccesary and clingy perhaps- but I wanted him to be there. He grabbed the camera and went straight back outside, leaving me to get on with it! I set the shower off to find a pathetic dribble due to the large crack in the shower head that was sending most of the water straight up the wall to a couple of exposed electrical wires. I tried to fix the head when something fell off the side and electrically charged water pored down the side giving me a nasty shock straight through my hand. I turned it of quickly and used the safer sink to refresh- informing a helpful and symapthetic member of staff when she came to tell me dinner was ready. Balkey returned to the room feeling a little guilty when he bumped into her and a handyman who explained his girlfriend had been shocked in the shower!

That evening we tucked into a satisfying Brazilian buffet and chatted to the Irish couple we had already met- Ashling and Owen- and a couple from London- Anna and Ashley. It seemed we had a really nice group to spend the next few days with in a really nice place, and tomorrow the fun would start.

We were up nice and early for our first adventure into the surrounding lands. This place really is cut off by water- still flood waters- and I could not help but remember my Dad´s advice: "Don´t go too close to the edge of the waters as that´s where the anacondas wait to strike." Well, this was advice we were going to have to ignore this morning. Our danger was lessened as we were to sit high on the backs of horses and trek through the plains- although for Blakey this could spell more disaster. Having never ridden a horse- his greatest contact coming from a viscious bite on the ear as a young boy, he wasn´t exactly confident. Add to this an allergy that has seen his eyes swell up and gallons of gunk form and you have someone that might not be suited to this! But he mounted that horse with a belly full of antihistamines and a chest full of courage and was actually quite good!

The beating hooves of the horses as we splashed our way through meant we didn´t see much wildlife but we all enjoyed the ride- even when the rain started to pour and we got rather wet- as it was warm in the air and our toes were trailing in the bath like heat of the flood waters the rain was a relief. The horses didn´t seem to mind it- they all seemed more concerned with pushing to the front of the pack. Blakey´s and mine had a definate attraction to one another- which was just as well as mine sent a few of the oher horses and their riders off on a sudden trot as he bit the competetion to get them out of the way! By the end the whole group seemed more relaxed and confident in the saddle with a few of the boys disappointed they didn´t get a good gallop out of them when the gate of the farm came in to view. However, we were all quite relieved to peel our wet clothes off and I walked like John Wayne back to our lodge- my legs were stuck in a bow position for a little while after!

As we waited for lunch the sun soon came out and burnt through all the clouds, leaving a beautiful clear blue sky. This afternoon we were going on a boat trip to spot wildlife along the shores of the river. Previous to coming here we had been told that the wet season was the best time to come as the water forces the wildlife into small pockets of land and it is easier to see when it is all condensed. Now we were being told that the dry season was better as the wildlife would congregate around the few waterholes which made predicting their movements easier and getting around to spot them more practical. Still, as we sailed along we saw many birds- particularly kingfishers, caiman and even a few monkeys hiding in the trees. The wildlife was not as abundant as I had initially expected but soon we sat back and just enjoyed the pretty scenery as the tall palm trees and beautiful exotic flowers were reflected in the mirror like surface of the water. My day was made when after weeks of hoping we spotted some toucans in the wild.

That evening we returned for another meal with the other couples and got chatting about weddings. Ashling and Owen had become engaged during their travels about the same time as us, but they had decided to get married in New Zealand just two months later. However, they had also been facing the stresses of wedding planning as they were returning to the UK in just a few days and were planning a reception/ welcome home party. That evening we swapped stories and tips and chatted about the perils of free bars (which inspired some brilliant anecdotes) Although Blakey snuck off with a headache early the rest of us headed to bed only when the lights were turned out and the guides had all turned in.

The next morning I was glad i hadn´t joined the others in polishing off all the wine the lodge possessed as we were out early with our guide again- this time fishing for pirhanas. First we had to get to the fishing spot which meant wading across the flooded plain. Shoes off and shorts on we pressed our feet into the squidgey slimey river bed and progressed quickly from ankle to knee to thigh high water- the same water we were about to fish for flesh eating pirhanas in! Once there we were each handed a bamboo rod with hooks primed with raw meat and dipped them into the river. Then we realised we had been fairly safe as we waited... and waited. A short time later and Ashley, a keen fisherman at home, had caught a cat fish and two fish related to pirhanas (though instead of pointed fangs their sharp teeth had flat edges). We waited a little longer when a sudden tug on my line let me know I´d caught one too! After that everyone managed to reel at least one in, with a few actual pirhanas amongst the catch. Blakey was amongst the last, but then caught three in a row. It had been quite a relaxing and rewarding morning by the time we headed back for lunch.

After our break we were to head out for the last of our activities. In some quite clever marketing we had been offered a jeep safari, jungle trekking and a night safari which were all to happen this afternoon (drive there, walk around, drive back in the dark!) Having crossed my toucan off the list I was looking for a closer view of the monkeys. Owen had his heart set on seeing a capybara- something we had been given the impression were more than abundant out here, we all liked the idea of seeing a jaguar and only wanted to see an anaconda if it had just eaten.

In the end we saw many more birds: kingfishers, toucans, macaws, falcons and others, another couple of armadillos, a herd of wild pigs, wild deer and hundreds of caiman. When we went for the walk we did get to see the monkeys up close as the sat lazily in the trees above us. It felt really special seeing them here- in Asia we had seen so many but they were so used to humans it was almost like going to a zoo, here they were definately wild animals and it was a privilege to see them so close. We also saw coatis and though no jaguar, the remains of something it hads polished off earlier. After that our walk saw us become far more involved in looking down. Our guide had given us the impression there might be more wading to do when in the afternoon he said it would be OK to wear shorts and flips flops. Instead we were stood in the middle of the jungle at dusk getting eaten alive by mosquitos. Worse than that were the vicious little red ants who repeatedly inflicted their painful burning stings. We were quite glad to get back in the van and out of harms way at the end of the walk!

Driving back it soon turned very dark and in the spot light from the jeep we became even more aware of how many hundreds of caiman swarm this area. Taking to the water to feed at night the light picked up dozens of bright orange eyes reflected in the beam quite eerily. However, still no capybara!

Our final morning at camp arrived and before we were due to head our separate ways there was one more activity planned. To let us relax and lean back they had organised tubing down the river- again the pirhana and caiman filled one! We each grabbed an inner tube and hopped on the boat to journey up stream before laying back in the tube and gently floating back to our starting point. Most of us managed this quite gracefully, though Owen managed to fall out of his tube leading to a rather chaotic scramble to redeem his place. We were soon back at camp to shower, pack and leave. We had enjoyed a great three days here and would have loved to have spent longer exploring his place but it was time to head on to our next country- Bolivia. Still, we had one final treat- as we drove out of the park there was a capybara at the side of the road- tick!