Pantanal

Day 13 (1 of 2) – FAREWELL PANTANAL, BRAZIL

Today was our last day in Pantanal. We know we would miss this memorable 4-day experience. In the morning, our guide Flavio took us for a morning walk near the lodge. We stroll on a trail that took us through a forest to the edge of the lodge premise and back. Along the way, Flavio stopped frequently to listen to the sounds of birds and animals, and helped us to spot their locations. If not Flavio, we would not have had seen so many wonderful wildlife in the pass 4 days. During this last stroll near the lodge, we saw some capuchin monkey, a tepu lizard, and again our beloved hyacinth macaw. After the walk, we rested a bit at the lodge, packed our backpacks, had lunch at the dining hall, and bid farewell to Pantanal to conclude our 4-day trip in Pantanal. A four hour drive took us back to Cuiaba Airport where we took a Brasilia-bound flight to continue our journey.

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Read other posts on Pantanal, Brazil
Day 9.1 – Trail of Waterfalls, Chapada dos Guimaraes
Day 9.2 – Stone City, Chapada dos Guimaraes
Day 10.1 – Pantanal
Day 10.2 – Transpantaneria Highway, Pantanal
Day 10.3 – Pousada Rio Claro, Pantanal
Day 10.4 – Rio Claro Boat Tour, Pantanal
Day 11.1 – Morning Safari and Forest Walk, Pantanal
Day 11.2 – Rio Claro, Pantanal
Day 12.1 – Morning Walk, Pantanal
Day 12.2 – Pouso Alegre Lodge, Pantanal
Day 12.3 – Afternoon Walk and Evening Safari, Pananal
Day 12.4 – Night of Caimans
Day 13.1 – Farewell Pantanal, Brazil

Next Destination – Brasilia, Brazil
Continuing on our journey from post Day 13.2

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South America 2013 – Our Destinations
Buenos Aires (Argentina), Iguazu Falls (Argentina/Brazil), Pantanal (Brazil), Brasilia (Brazil), Belo Horizonte & Inhotim (Brazil), Ouro Preto (Brazil), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Paraty (Brazil), Sao Paulo (Brazil), Samaipata & Santa Cruz (Bolivia), Sucre (Bolivia), Potosi (Bolivia), Southwest Circuit (Bolivia), Tilcara, Purmamarca, Salta (Argentina), Cafayate (Argentina), San Pedro de Atacama (Chile), Antofagasta & Paranal Observatory (Chile), Chiloe (Chile), Puerto Varas (Chile), Torres del Paine (Chile), Ushuaia (Argentina), El Chalten (Argentina), El Calafate (Argentina), Isla Magdalena (Argentina), Santiago (Chile), Valparaiso (Chile), Afterthought

October 22, 2013 | Categories: Brazil, Day 11 to 20, Pantanal | Tags: Brazil, capuchin monkey, hyacinth macaw, Pantanal, tepu lizard | 1 Comment

Day 12 (4 of 4) – NIGHT OF CAIMANS

After dinner, I (Calvin) went alone to a water pond about 1 km from the lodge to photograph caimans. Inspired by a photo from a National Geographic magazine, I longed for a chance to take some night shots of caimans. Because of the heat during the day, caimans normally will only come out of water or mud during nighttime. Tonight was lit by a full moon. I didn’t even need to turn on my flashlight when finding my way to the pond. I stayed at the pond for about 2 hours, photographing the caimans as close as I could get before scaring them off. It was such a memorable night.

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October 22, 2013 | Categories: Brazil, Day 11 to 20, Pantanal | Tags: Brazil, caiman, Pantanal, wildlife | 1 Comment

DAY 12 (3 OF 4) – AFTERNOON WALK AND EVENING SAFARI, PANTANAL, BRAZIL

To avoid the heat, our afternoon hike didn’t start until 3pm. We walked through a forest, passed by many capybaras and caimans, and crossed a grassland before reaching a water pond where animals usually come for a drink. As we crossed the grassland, it was hard to imagine that during wet season, this vast piece of lowland would be submerged under a few feet of water. At the waterhole, we saw toucans, a tortoise, many waterbirds, a deer, a tapir, coatis, and a rare irara. Before we headed back for dinner, we also did a night safari near our lodge. We were again lucky to see two tapirs, a nine banded armadillo, and two tamandua anteaters.

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October 22, 2013 | Categories: Brazil, Day 11 to 20, Pantanal | Tags: anteater, armadillo, Brazil, caiman, capybara, irara, Pantanal, tamandua, tapir, wildlife | Leave a comment

Day 12 (2 of 4)– POUSO ALEGRE LODGE, PANTANAL, BRAZIL

Today we said goodbye to Rio Claro Poudosa and moved to another lodge at about 30 minutes drive away. The new lodge was located in a ranch off the Transpantaneira. Along the way, we passed by some small green ponds full of caimans having just their eyes sticking out of the water. The Pouso Alegre Lodge was very different from Rio Claro . It’s country lodge with horses , cattle and rheas. There are a few old trees where hyacinth macaws occasionally rested on from time to time. Finally, we got a glimpse of this rare beautiful bird from up close.

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October 22, 2013 | Categories: Brazil, Day 11 to 20, Pantanal | Tags: Brazil, country lodge, horses, hyacinth macaw, Pantanal, Pouso Alegre Lodge, rheas | Leave a comment

DAY 12 (1 of 4) – MORNING WALK, PANTANAL, BRAZIL

Another day at Pantanal. We started our animal-sighting hike at 4:30 this morning. With the the full moon still visible in the sky, we didn’t really need a flashlight. Then the sky started brightening up at around 5:15 and gradually we started to feel the heat of the day. Today turned out to be our hottest day in Pantanal. Perhaps it was because of the heat, most animals seemed hiding from us this morning. We could hear different birds and howler monkey from afar. In the 2-hour walk, we saw an army of leaf-cutting ants, a crab-eating fox, two deers, a parrot and again many different kinds of birds.

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October 22, 2013 | Categories: Brazil, Day 11 to 20, Pantanal | Tags: animals, birds, Brazil, Pantanal, wildlife | 1 Comment

DAY 11 (2 of 2) – RIO CLARO, PANTANAL, BRAZIL

We decided to do another boat tour of Rio Claro for sunset. It was great for wildlife viewing on a boat. After the rain, the river looked extremely calm. Interesting moments of this boat ride include a family of capybaras, a group of ducks and two storks sharing a mud delta; a tree climbing iguana, and a family of noisy otters whom our boat operator tried to interact with by mimicking their sounds.

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October 22, 2013 | Categories: Brazil, Day 11 to 20, Pantanal | Tags: Brazil, Pantanal, rio claro, wildlife | 1 Comment

DAY 11 (1 OF 2) – MORNING SAFARI AND FOREST WALK, PANTANAL, BRAZIL

We left our lodge at 4am for a morning safari. We spent the first half of the driving inside the lodge area. With a strong flashlight, our guide managed to spot many Pantanal rabbits and a fox. Then we drove off onto the Transpantaneira Highway, and saw some birds and deers. The surprise came when our guide spotted a small tamandua anteater. The second highlight came not long after when our guide found us a giant anteater. We were excited and followed the giant anteater for a while. We returned to the lodge for breakfast. After a short break, we headed out again, this time on foot. We did a 2-hour walk in the nearby palm forest. We saw some monkeys, a tortoise, and armadillo holes, and returned to the lodge with uncounted number of mosquito bites.