Bird Park a must ! :)

Another quick note before I get home... I am currently at Amsterdam's Airport (very nice, very spacious, lots and lots to do, one of the best airports I have ever seen I must say)... I hardly slept on the plane, nor the night before (one of my blisters on my foot had got infected as my shoes got so soaked and so dirty, so I had to try and do some 1st Aid throughout the night to keep my foot from swelling, phew). So, so far I have had very little sleep and won't be home for another 5 hours (the downside of landing at Terminal 4 meaning extra delays, yuk). Plus I will have to face the fact I have no food in my fridge, not even milk for breakfast tomorrow and I am not even sure I will want to go out again shopping when I get home... (15mns walk instead of 2mns walk now I have moved to St John's Wood).

ANYWAY... my last morning in Brazil was superb. Well, the weather was rather dull to start with so we started with the Bird Park and of course, I had the worst speed film on yet again (only 100ASA which was NOT good enough to zoom out - and I tried to use my tripod to compensate but the rain yesterday was so bad that it ruined it and some parts have since come unstuck, sigh) but when I changed to 400 ASA I was able to take some great close ups...

This Bird Park is supposedly the best in South America but to me, it is the best in the world... I had forgotten just how wonderful it was. It was almost as special as going back to Iguacu for one last glance because the Bird Park is so well done. They have managed to replicate a lot of their original habitats and the aviaries are so huge, you barely notice the cages sometimes. The birds are SO used to tourists that when you walk along the path they will come right to you and the toucans in particular, were fascinated by my tripod. If I leant it against a fence, they would automatically fly down to inspect it closely with their bills. Close up these animals look even more beautiful, their eyes are a very deep blue and they look so puzzled and yet cheeky (they are not as nice as they look actually as they will eat other birds' chicks so we should not be fooled by their toy-like appearances !). I had the BEST time.

My driver had suggested I spent an hour there but I was so totally enthralled that I spent 2 hours. I was able to take some great shots of so many birds I had seen at the Pantanal but had not got quite close enough to to do that kind of shots. In fact, they told us that this place is visited by most of the great photographers of this world as it is such an ideal place for close up of bird life. This is all the more facilitated by the fact that the birds are shown posing on branches of trees that would be found in the Pantanal / Amazon / wherever... so you would never know these pictures were actually taken in a zoo as such. They had some smaller cages where they put breeding pairs together as they have a very successful breeding programme for endangered species - again, because the park is so beautiful and looks so close to the real thing that even the birds are fooled ! :) But as breeding parents will kill any other birds that gets close to their offspring all the pairs with chicks were kept in separate enclosures to protect all the other birds who might unwillingly get a bit too close for comfort...

The last aviary is the macaws' and you are surrounded by about 30 of them flying all around... they say ' enter at your own risk' as they can be a bit dangerous and they are SO loud, boy... deafening. Most people left after 10mns because the noise was just too much... In the very last section they allow you to stroke one and to have your photo taken with it... which was a must, of course.

We then drove an extra 10mns to Iguacu and I brought my tripod with me again this time and I tried to think of new angles but by then I only had 6 shots left on my film. I did feel frustrated that I could not check the results there and then... in situations like this it would really help. The sun shone its brightest just as I had to leave... sigh. I treated myself to a souvenir mug with a coati on it (since I need to buy mugs for my new nest anyway !) and to another book that celebrated the beauty of Iguacu with some pictures from the air that I could not take myself... though, as with most tall wonders, you actually appreciate the width and height from the bottom looking up.

At this time of the year the Brazilian side actually looks better because the finale is pretty much as good as it is during the rainy season. The trails are also easier to manage. On the Argentinian side because you pretty much walk all the way over the falls on iron bridges they can get VERY slippery. This is another thing that did not help my moods yesterday... I was worried sick about slipping and pulling a muscle, it really is bad.

I was really sad to leave... but it is good to know that Iguacu will always be there in my lifetime for me to go back to should I ever want to and should my health and finances still permit in the future -- none of which I ever ever take for granted.

When I got to the airport I asked a TAM airline operator how much the domestic and international departure tax and I was quoted 16 and 77 respectively which meant I just did not have enough money left at all - I was down to 15 ! So I had to withdraw an extra 150 reals (as I needed to eat too) but it turns out that I was never asked for any departure tax ! So I am now stuck with a $35 worth of Brazilian money that I do not want as I could not find any films at the Duty Free shop (another downside of not switching to digital, I noticed that very few places sell films anymore... ahhh).

I will get my films developed tomorrow, have them put on CD and hopefully can email some shots over by next week-end or so... it will depend on Janet's availability since I cannot do anything like that from public places or at work... the downside of not having my own internet connection (a real pain for things like this).

Anyway, back to reality now... work will feel WEIRD. Gotta sign off, my connection expires in less than 5mns! AND I have my last (10th!) plane to catch ... Bisous... Sylvie xxx

Iguacu in the rain is NOT as great !

At 8am I was woken up by what I thought were truck drivers off loading stuff when it was actually thunder ! I was shocked. First day of rain in the last 10 days, I had almost forgotten the concept.... but it was pouring down... and of course I was stuck on the wrong side of the road to have my breakfast, wasn´t I ? and would have no spare hand with one suitcase, 2 bags and my camera bag to hold an umbrella... Thankfully there was a gap of 5mns in the downpour just when I needed to cross the road, thank you Lord !

I was even convinced that they would cancel my tour of the Falls as the weather was SO bad, but no, we went ahead as planned, straight across to Argentina (but I could not get the souvenir stamp in my passport this time as it was ´broken´). Another chance to practice my Spanish (my current driver is only just learning English so we have to communicate in Spanish as it is, good job I don´t mind at all !). I had braced myself for the worst of the weather, had left my raincoat and umbrella behind and felt I could get by with just my waterproof poncho which I had bought for such occasions but had, thankfully, never had the chance to use before... I thought I would be all right but boy, was I in for a shock (make that an understatement).

The rain just would not stop for 5mns and the drizzle got worse and worse and trying to take photos in such dire weather was mission impossible. Sometimes the Falls seemed to disappear in the mist altogether, I mean.... DIRE. I tried to rise above the challenge and had even brought my tripod as I knew the light was too awful to be of any use but do you think I could juggle my camera, changing my lenses and setting up my tripod with just 2 hands ? No way. Who was I kidding ??? I needed another 2 hands to hold my poncho over my head too so that water wouldn´t get into my camera or at least on my lens. I struggled like mad and got soaked to the bone... but I mean, SOAKED - down to my underwear. There was not ONE inch of my body that wasn´t drenched. It was just the worst photo shoot I had ever done. I would have never bothered in most circumstances but this was Iguacu... the greatest waterfall in the world... I would have kicked myself even more for not even trying. I had brought my tripod just for this moment!

My lens kept fogging up, rain drops kept falling on it too and, just as frustrating, I had not ONE spare inch of dry tissue or dry cloth to wipe it... I turned my trouser pockets inside out too just in case, but they were soaked throughout too... I just felt SO sorry for myself I cannot even tell you... I could see everybody with someone and I thought ´I just need one friend, one guide, somebody, anybody to help me out here for crying out loud !!!´ (well, when I say ´anyone´ please translate this as: minus the psychos and weirdos of this world!)... but no one cared to stop and offer help. I felt SO lonely and SO depressed and, I am ashamed to admit it: started to blob away like a big baby. Super Woman I was NOT. For a minute I thought ´I will never travel on my own again this is just too tough, I am not that strong... I just pretend to be´. My socks were so wet too (though my shoes were supposed to be waterproof and even they couldn´t cope) that I could hear the ploof, ploof, ploof every time I walked. Know what I mean ? :(

Then I had to wait 30mns for the train to take me back to the main gate (it is a bit like Disneyland where one train takes you to the Devil´s Throat -the waterfall with the most water- and one to the standard falls, and one back to the main gate). I was just about warm enough so long as I kept walking but the moment I stopped to sit on a bench on this open platform I was shivering. It was only 16C and a very wet bunny. I took my socks off, wrang them and could have filled half a teacup´s worth with smelly juice ! I felt sooo miserable. It is amazing what a difference 3 years can make. In truth, I am glad I did not drag a friend into this venture, they would have NEVER understood the Falls´ attraction on a day like today. In April 2003 I had had the BEST time, it was glorious sunshine, the water level was high so the falls looked spectacular and I had a cute enough guide to escort me everywhere... and in August 2006 it was a completely different story. It was cold, half of the falls were down to a dribble and I was all alone in my struggle.

When I eventually reached the main gate, at 2pm, I told my guide I could not possibly go straight to lunch as planned but had to go back to my hotel to put on some dry clothes lest I catch death. We put the heating on full blast in the car so that I could at least dry my hair and my top, but my cardigan and trousers were too soaked. I even had to hand over my shoes at reception when I got back and ask them to put them in the tumble dryer (desperate measure !) otherwise I will have to come back to the UK with very wet feet - either that or I will have to wear my water shoes, a strange fashion statement but this would be yet another desperate measure you understand. In fact, 1/4 of my clothes will be wet now. I have put the heating on in full in my room right now, as I am using the internet, to see if it will help a bit... at least.

Anyway, we had lunch at 3pm by the time I had finished (I badly needed a shower too as I had sweated a lot in the process!) so we didn´t make it to the Brazilian side before 4:00pm. Considering it gets dark at 6:30pm here I was wondering if it would even be worth it as we had set off in on a very cloudy afternoon (it looked like dusk already) but thankfully there was a silver lining in the clouds and by the time I got to the main display of water at Iguacu, it was the golden hour and I was able to take some fabulous shots... well, I hope. I was trying to remember what I had taken last time to make sure I didn´t take the same ones again... They had a new elevator which wasn´t there in 2003 and that takes you up above the falls. There is a lot of access for wheelchair users, 90% of the trails around Iguassu can be done in a wheelchair, they have really done a great job on that front.

The icing on the cake was that I managed to see about 3 dozens coatis... they were everywhere and they looked SO totally adorable and cuddly, I was in love... yes, that mushy feeling warmed me up all over ! :) I so wanted to stroke one but I didn´t dare as they can bite, but they are really cheeky and they will always try to get into your handbag if you put it down. But they are beautiful fluffy creatures and to see so many was a real nice way to end what had been a pretty disastrous day at Big Water (Iguacu means Big Water in the Indian language - simplistic, hey ? But it sounds very exotic when you have no idea it is so basic, right ?).

I still have to buy more postcards but I definitely will have no spare money to buy stamps by the time I have given my driver his tip, especially I don´t even know what the departure tax will cost me -- and sometimes it is a lot more painful that one would expect. So I can´t risk being caught out on that one either... lest I miss my flight. There are worst places to be stuck I give you that, but I feel as if I have been here 1 month already as every stop over has been so competely different from the next. I am really glad I came back to Brazil though as I had missed out a lot first time round. It is really a very diverse country with lots and lots of gems...

I shall now sign off to grab a sandwich and head for bed. I have a lot of sleep to catch up on and tomorrow we are starting at 8:30am to go back to the Falls (one last glance before I leave... since I have NO idea when the next glance will be -- if ever again?). It is supposed to be sunny... it is still pouring down right now as I am writing this (at 8:30pm) so I doubt it will be grand, but you never know... and I will stop on the way to the airport to the Bird Park as it is just around the corner from Iguacu and is supposedly the best in South America. I really enjoyed it last time so was keen to do it again. I am still hoping to do a decent portrait of a toco toucan and a pink spoonbill (if not, well, the book I bought will be my consolation prize).

I may have time to write again from Sao Paulo airport, but I am not sure... it depends in which part of the airport I land whether there is internet access in that particular terminal. I shall have another 3 flights in a row, i.e. another 40 hours of being on the go... phew. But as we all know ~ no pain, no gain. It works in every situation ! :)

Till next time... and may I dream of fluffy coatis all night...

Prada River - more crystal clear waters

Another wake up call at the crack of dawn but it was well worth it... what a great day this was ! Our first stop was at the Macaw´s Hole and the setting looked magnificient... an old cave ceiling (millions of years old) had collapsed a few hundred years ago creating in the process a massive hole in the ground with clay colour cliffs.... I always find such places thought-provoking re-the fragility of life... i.e. how tiny our lifespan is... Even though every pain we experience may feel like forever when the going gets tough, in the scheme of our great planet´s lifespan, it is just a vapor. Hence I felt it was a good thing to live it up NOW because NOW is MY time... MY season and it is a real privilege to have been born on such an awe inspiring planet and to have eyes to see all its glory in so many shapes and forms. I mean, how much more boring would it have been to be born on the moon instead, hey ? (assuming they ever find life forms there, ok, ok... ). The macaws were a beautiful blue and red but didn´t get as close as I would have liked - but close enough for me to take a few decent shots... but no sign of the ant eaters. I had my eyes peeled on the horizon as we set off at dawn, which is the best time to see them, but no, they were still on strike. So I remained gutted.

We then drove a further 7kms to snorkel down another river, the River Prada and I actually loved this one better. It was twice as wide and had lots more sand banks and 2 big ponds / pools on the way. The pools´ bottom was so glorious, it was like being on another planet because it had lots of shades of blues and from above the many branches and stones that had accumulated on the bottom formed some unusual shapes which, with some imagination, looked like a futuristic town, with fish flying above it - wow. Creative thinking and a bit stretched, I know, but it worked for me! The fish in the Prada River were much much bigger than the ones in the Sucuri river, and I did take quite a few underwater shots with one of these ´one off ´cameras so I hope they will turn out ok because it really was like picturing the inside of an aquarium. I had truly never experienced such visibility, it was surreal. It hit me I would have been very happy as a fish living there in such pure water - so long as I could mind the other fish that could potentially eat me. It was so pure that we could drink it from the Spring and even whilst swimming. I mean, if you got water in your snorkel, there was no need to panic because you were not going to get sick. They even rented digital underwater cameras that would take 110 shots or a 11mn video but I passed because 20 shots is all I needed for the record... but I thought it was a nice idea and fairly reasonable @ $20 or so. The BIG frustration with this snorkelling trip though, compared to the previous one, is that, because there was a small but quite fast rapid in the middle we were not able to have a boat follow us with all our gear in it (we actually had to get off the river and walk above a bridge and then resume the snorkelling as it was too dangerous for us too). Whereas yesterday I was able to keep my SLR camera in the boat and take great shots with my polariser, there, nada. I was SO frustrated at not being able to take decent shots of the pools. They really looked like natural swimming pools.... not quite as blue but almost. It was just incredible. I know that Australia, NZ and Canada have got such places too but even when the depth was 10m you could still see straight to the bottom. The banks of the river did not have as many palm trees though but it did have a large pool with bubbling sand at the bottom which was pretty neat and unusual. The average depth when you snorkelled was about 1m which was just right, amazing visibility. I could have done it all day, the water was 22C again but felt quite warm. It is actually 22C all year around, because it is how hot the spring is, so regardless of the weather outside it will never feel colder. Great !

Lunch was a disappointment again, not much of interest for vegetarians... like, they expect you to have potato salad with vinegar or olive oil. Personally I could only have it with mayonnaise... an alien concept here - you really have to ask for it, with no guarantee of getting it. It depends whether the Chef is in the mood to make you one.

I just had time to have a shower (cold, yuk, what an anti climax) and wash my hair before I had to be driven back to the airport... my last chance to see giant ant eaters vanished as none of them showed up at sunset either. Mosquitoes do though, boy ! My legs are looking dire again... If we were living at the time of the Great Plague people would think my days are seriously numbered as I look like I have caught a disease by now.

I had a 1h30 snooze in the car which kind of shortened the journey and was most needed considering I had a long journey ahead. I bought some more postcards at the airport but as you can imagine, have had NO time yet to even write any, let alone look for post offices where I could buy stamps (I haven´t even passed one YET as I am in the middle of nowhere half of the time). So, I will, again, have to mail my cards from London, sorry but I am sure you can sympathise with the fact that I cannot possibly deprive myself of more sleep, ah. When I landed at Sao Paulo, I noticed, by chance (since no airline staff will ever tell you!) that I had changed time zone again and was 1h+ which was a great relief as it meant I didn´t hit the sack at 1:30am after all but only 12:30am... saying that, it worked in the reverse when I had to get up ! sigh. So the excitement was short lived... :(

Whilst at the airport I found a nice photo book on the Pantanal (compact enough but full of pix) that I bought as a souvenir as the photographer had managed to capture some of the wildlife that had eluded me... I was actually 2 RS short but a nice lady behind me, seeing me struggle to come up with more change when my purse was clearly empty gave me the difference. 2RS is only $1 but hey, not everybody would bother. Sometimes good deeds DO come back to you.

And just when I thought the end of my journey was in sight when we walked through the hotel reception at 1:10am I was told that my room ´was not available anymore because there was no electricity in it´. WHAT ??!!! It was suggested I go and sleep in the hotel across the road as they have a reciprocal agreement when disasters strike. Bummer. The hotel was no way near as nice but I was in no shape to argue or complain by then (I was tired ! hence I wasn´t up to my usual - sorry to disappoint some of you...). I just wanted to get to bed ASAPat this point. Thankfully my pick up for Iguacu was not before 9am.... so I managed to grab 6 hours´sleep or so.

Bonito... beautiful indeed

Oh and behold, I managed to get a full 8 hours´ sleep last night, bliss... first time in 6 days and I could have easily slept another 4 hours... but there were more treasures awaiting to be discovered... which is always a much greater motivation to get out of bed than to go to work... :) After a hasty breakfast I met my guide (who was bilingual) and my driver again (who is really nice but keeps on talking to me in Portuguese as if I could understand him ok too, bless) and we drove 23kms out of town to the Cave with the Blue Lake.

It was a very sunny day today but I had been warned that the sun beams would not reach the lake at this time of year (through the cave opening), as it only does so in December and January for 10 minutes. This is when ALL the glorious post cards are taken... to fool us, naive tourists, into believing that it looks that stunning all year round (for those of us who do not bother to check their facts, or who do but can only come in August because it is the best month for other activities, i.e. Pantanal). The lake was only ´discovered´ by the government 10 years ago, before that it belonged to a farmer and all the people from the nearest village used to go down the cave to have a refreshing swim in the summer. Then the government got wind of this, thought ´this is a great way to make money´, bought the patch off the farmer (who, needless to say, had no say in the matter) and now charge tourists to visit the spot. They are such misers too that they refuse to add any ropes along the steep paths (VERY slippery on a rainy day) to facilitate the 75m descent to the shore of the lake. And it is only as of last year that they felt it might be sensible to wear helmets after a stalegmite broke off from the cave ceiling and almost killed someone. The stalegmite shattered into a million sharp pieces and actually injured a few people. So, here we go again, yet another government who wants its cake and eat it.... ´let us exploit this natural spot with tourists but spend minimal money on their H&S´... and who will sue the Brazilian government, right ? Last week because there were more tourists than they could handle they simply shut the place down for 3 days... and they put a limit to 300 tourists per day. Aren´t I glad I did not come last week then ? HUM. As it happens 50,000 people visit this cave every year, it is the number one tourist attraction in this state. You are not allowed to touch the water either, tempting as it may be, because if you had hand cream or sun tan lotion or mosquitoe repellent on your hands x 50,000 you would soon pollute the lake... fair enough. This, I can agree with... I guess all the villagers who used to swim in it regularly must have felt thoroughly gutted too....

The lake was indeed a deep blue (but how do you describe that particular kind of blue ?) but you did not really see that until you got quite close. I tried to take some pictures but I have NO idea if they will turn out... oh, this is the other bright idea they had : no tripods allowed inside... but then the guide tells you ´if you use the flash for taking pix they will come out too dark, you need to keep your shutter open for about 2 seconds´... right, but you have just told us that we are not allowed to use a tripod which makes it a technical impossibility to do just that? I therefore had to try and find a stone that was fairly flat and try to hold my camera as steady as I could, but I could not check the results instantly to find out if it had all been a waste of film or not. So I also took some shots with my flash gun as a back-up but expect very little. It was nice and unusual, but not as amazing as I had hoped because it was the wrong month and the wrong time... I think if I had done the same excursion in the afternoon when the sun is higher up, it may have been nicer. My guide told me that this place was virtually unkown to the rest of the world until the BBC came over 5 years ago and spent 10 days in Bonito to shoot all its natural wonders and ever since the interest has shot up... every year more and more tourists come over... it tends to spread through word of mouth or video clips. Bonito is a young city, only 50 years old, but 20,000 of its inhabitants now rely on tourism for work... so I guess we have our use ! In fact, it does not matter which agency you come over with ( i.e. mine was NY based) they have to sub-employ Bonito based people to guide you around and drive you around otherwise all these people will starve if the money is taken out back to NY or wherever. So in effect I am paying commission to 3 agencies... the NY one, who had to hire the Brazilian main one who had to hire the Bonito local ones... great ! But then I am glad there are some hotels nearby (and very comfy ones too -- my bed last night could have slept 3 people, wow, what a far cry from my previous night) and some internet cafes, and animal shaped phone booths (!), etc. etc. So I cannot have my cake and eat it... everything comes at a price, I know, I know.

We then went back to the city centre before heading back out again, another 25kms towards the Sucuri River. On the way we saw many wild rheas and some other birds (knee high) with a nice crest and some gorgeous blue eyes.... The South of the Pentanal is not that far so you can spot a few interesting birds here sometimes.

The city centre holds nothing much of interest but, as I have just said earlier, for its crazy plastic phone booths !!!! Very entertaining.... Every one represents an animal... a fish, a macaw, a toucan, a jaguar... pretty unusual. I had to take a couple of shots of these as you do not see them anywhere else in the world...

We started our snorkelling afternoon with a 30mn walk to the spring of the Sucuri River, where the water is ever so clear it is really like an aquarium, no exaggeration there. We then practised using our masks and snorkels and checked they were all ok (some capucchin monkeys came right down to greet us but I didn´t have my camera handy as I was already in the water, ahhh). We had to wear wet suits too because the water temperature was only 22C and our trip was going to last about 1 hour to 1 hour 30mns ... which is a loooong time if you are freezing. I actually worried it might be too long and it was only just a little bit beyond comfortable but it was quite incredible... Unfortunately, because we had to set off later than our scheduled departure time (we had to wait after 3 people who had lunch in town, grrr) the first hour was the most spectacular... after that the sun went down a bit too low for the sun beams to hit the bottom of the river -- though it was very shallow indeed. So, in effect, I did both my excursions at the wrong time and should have done them in reverse order... but maybe it was all that was available at the time? Again, they have a limit to the number of people they will take snorkelling per day and as it is becoming increasingly popular, it is not advisable to just turn up and hope you can join a group because groups are made up of 15 people maximum. We were lucky, ours was only made up of 5 and we were far apart from each other so it always felt as if you had the river all to yourself. It was quite nice to be like a floating log... they gave you a life jacket (though you could not possibly drown as the average depth was 70cms but could go as low as 30cms) so you didn´t have to move an inch, just float and drift downstream with the currents. You were not allowed to stand on the river bed not to stir up the bottom as it would have blurred the view for everybody. We covered 2kms in 1h10mns so it was fairly fast... a bit like Disneyland, but better because all natural :) The water colour was incredible... I had hardly seen anything like it before in my life, certainly not in a river environment.... I cannot even describe it (as I said earlier, how do you describe ´blue´ when there are so many shades of blue !? I later learnt that the hyacinth macaws were ´cobalt´blue but I am afraid my English doesn´t stretch to all the other shades!). The decor was superb too with palm trees and large ferns on the banks of the river which added just the right touch of exotism... MY kind of place! The fish were a bit disappointing because they lacked colours... There were all sizes and some were positively big (my arm length at least, my thigh width and a bright gold colour all over) but I only spotted about 10 different species if that, whereas I am used to tropical fishes being so incredibly diverse in colours and shapes that it is impossible to keep count of how many different ones you see. So it was pretty much more and more of the same... but it was certainly a different kind of experience and if my photos have turned out ok (and they should because, with my polariser, I was able to cut the reflections out and shoot straight to the bottom) they will give you a much better idea than I ever could in words.

It was very relaxing indeed... and the additional good news is that one loses calories big time when you stay in cold water for over an hour. Beats sweating it at the gym any time, trust me! We all had hot showers after that, able to shampoo my hair too... so it was very civilised. I would recommend this as a day out for anyone in the area. We left at 4:30pm which is when the ant eaters are supposed to come out but we did not spot any. I was oh so disappointed... on a good evening people have seen up to 5 or 7 in the fields nearby... but not tonight.

Anyway... tomorrow is another adventure... another very early breakfast (5:50am) as we must drive off at 6:15am to go to another river with very different landscape and different fish... same crystal clear quality but not so fast flowing. Snorkelling tour starts at 9am to finish at noon (should be sunnier too). So a whole different experience again my guide said... and after lunch I will have to be driven back to the airport for my 6:30pm flight to Iguacu, not getting to my hotel before 1am, eeek... (this will be the latest I will have hit the sack, so far I have managed to be in bed by 11pm latest). I have been warned that Iguacu can be very disappointing in the dry season and that TV news have reported that this year has been particularly dry for the Falls. You can see that all the fields are grey and brown too and one has to wonder what the many cows can find to eat... My guide said that usually in the summer it rains about 20 days over 2 or 3 months but this year it only rained 5 or 7 which is way below what they needed. Yet another sign of global warming :(

On this note, I shall love you and leave you and go back to my hotel for my dinner and an early night (my driver here is so cool he is always happy to drive me into town where I can access cheaper internet connections - and faster ones too). He even comes back to pick me up at a pre arranged time, which saves me the hassle of ordering a cab in Portuguese. I think I said before that very few people speak any English here... Proof: I have just tried asking them if they had any toilets in English, Spanish and French, and nada... and yet I distinctively saw the word ´Toilette´ written outside the entrance to the Ladies & Gents this afternoon... so it cannot far off !!! I guess I will have to make do without then ! And even at the domestic airport, when my flight was late, there was NO explanation whatsoever in anything BUT Portuguese. I tried to get a member of staff to explain why it was not boarding yet (fearing I had missed it... ) and had to go through 5 people (and these were people in uniforms working for the airline I may add) before one managed to explain to me, in Spanish, that the incoming flight was late. HUM. When they said in my travel books ´learning a bit of Portuguese will go a long way´ they were NOT kidding... they should have added ´it may also stop you from having to cross your legs for a very long time´...

No emails from me tomorrow, there is NO way I am hitting the keyboard at 1am ! :)

Brief encounter with a jaguar... and 3 anacondas !!!

The next day we were able to hook with Roberto´s brother in law who had come over with a high open truck (bliss as it was a more safari feel than an A/C 4 wheel drive) to take a Belgian couple on a river boat trip to try and spot jaguars and other creatures. This was not in my itinerary but turned out to be the best day! Orignally the plan was to leave at 4am but none of us tourists wanted to do that.... it would have meant having slept just 4h30 the night before and it felt like madness. So we pushed it back till 8am departure so that it was at least daylight for decent photos. I must say that the night safaris just do not work for me at all... if anything they frustrate me SO much before Roberto will be pointing at something and asking me if I can see the fox / deer / whatever and 10 times out 10 I just cannot see the shape through the binoculars, it is as if my night vision is just not adjusting the way his does (maybe through being older or through lack of practice ?).

But there we drove a further 2 hours deep into the Pentanal and reached some greener swamps and it did look a lot more scenic for a while. We did not spot any new birds but it was just a relaxing drive... and we most enjoyed watching the families of capybaras, many of which have 2 weeks to 2 months old babies in tail... and they just look so cute when they swim together, daddy at the front, babies in the middle and mummy at the back... they are really cuddly and a soft beige when younger. Little soft toys on the move. There were many storks feeling their babies in nests too... which made for some nice shots too, without the cuteness about it !

We then boarded this boat which had no shade at all nor life jackets. Hum, another big breach of H&S... and considering we set off at 10:30am and came back at 12:30pm we were exposed to the worst of the sun... but we shan´t report them because everybody does it here and it would make no difference. We spotted countless more crocs and some iguanas but for 2h45 what we had most hoped to see remained elusive... Then JUST as we had given up all hope and had increased the boat speed (mainly because, among other things, we were all bursting for the loo having drunk 1 litre each of water to keep hydrated and make up for the lack of shade) Ricardo (the other guide) shouted ´jaguar !´... we first thought he was having us on. But he was dead serious... and when Roberto pointed it out to me I was like ´wow´... it just felt like a mirage... and a miracle. Some people search for them for months and never see one. But there it was, on a cliff like edge by the river, in a bushland opening, lying down watching the world go by and for a few seconds seemed totally oblivious to our presence. It looked as unconcerned as the tigers in India do so I was really hoping for a decent shot. Roberto gave me his binoculars and I took a good look for about 4 seconds and then thought ´I really have to try and take picture´... we were about 20 meters away but trying to get closer. The lady next to me filmed everything on video, her husband shot digital shots with his zoom lens and I grabbed my camera and... shock and horror, realised I had my smaller zoom lens on. I was horrified. 95% of the time I had had my 300m lens on just waiting for that moment but 15mns earlier I had taken a shot of a water flower and since we were coming straight back after that, I had not done what I usually always do by default, which would have been to switch back to my 300m immediately. So I had to look into my bag, dig the lens out, change it, then looked up (all of this took about 10 seconds no more) and in the meantime the jaguar had got up and walked away... I just managed to frame his beautifully patterned ´derriere´... and that was that. We called them with groans (sometimes they come back, curious to see if another jaguar has entered their terrirtory) but to no avail. I was totally crushed. I mean, my mood went from right up to right low... I kept thinking it had been SO stupid to grab the binoculars first (not a reflex I would normally have either) but Roberto seemed so excited for me I didn´t want to disappoint him. Obviously there was no way of knowing we would only get 20 seconds. He even saw another jaguar get up right behind the way who was seated by the river edge but as there was just a small opening in the folliage, we could not see that from where we were standing.

I was able to watch again what I had missed (i.e. his getting up) via the video screen and the Belgian guy showed me his digital shots but they were all blurred. Which in some ways made me feel better I am ashamed to confess because I reckon that my potential great shots would have also been blurred since we were moving on the boat too much. We all got up the same time to try and be at eye level and of course, 6 people can make a lot of waves... even though we had to be careful not to go overboard either ! It would have been the perfect shot as it was just posing... and sometimes they stay like that for up to 1 hour but in this situation, because the wind was going from us to them, Ricardo said that they smelt us and didn´t like what they smelt, so, left. If the wind had been blowing in the opposite direction he reckoned we could have got a lot closer and they would have stayed a lot longer. My memory of the moment is very fresh right now and so I keep playing it back in my head but since visual memory only lasts a decade maximum (without photos as boosters), I know it will eventually fade...... sadly.

The first river trip I had done where I was thrilled to have seen a tapir swim across the river (remember?) was also a let down in hindsight because the Italian couple who had stayed at the lodge same day and went in the opposite direction (down stream instead of up stream) saw a jaguar swim across the river and they were able to take lots of great shots ... ahhhh. It was a lucky week as everybody who had stayed at the Jaguar Eco Lodge had managed to see jaguars... sometimes up to 8 groups can come and go and not see one. I shall have to remember this !

When we got off the boat (and all hurried to find bushes to relieve ourselves !!!) we had another exciting drive as we managed to spot not 1, not 2, but 3 anacondas !!! I actually spotted the first one because his skin was so shiny and smooth it just didn´t look like a caiman in the shallow swap. I told my driver ´is this a snake?´ and he was like ´you bet ! It´s an anaconda, let´s get off the truck and grab him !´... a classic ´boys will be boys´ statement me thought. I mean, would any of you girls actually even THINK of that ??? Exactly... so, he went back knee deep into the black water, again, all the baby caimans swam away instead of attacking him, again, and he took a close look at the snake to determine where its head was (it had just had a big meal so was digesting with its head in the mud and its end tail in the mud too) and sure enough, grabbed him by keeping his jaw closed tight and lifted him out of the water to put him around his neck.... a 5-7 meter giant snake. YUK. I took pictures with my 300mm lens and refused to get any closer but everybody else was enthralled. I feel total disgust for snakes so... I just took a photo for the record and that was that. It was the first one I had seen and they are yellow and black and actually have a nice coat but no thanks... He then said ´ boy, you girls are SO hard to please... I try to get you a caiman, I am offering you an anaconda and I still can´t seduce you !´... I said ´Sorry but I am a kind of candle lit dinner and roses type of girl, though a baby capybara or a lesser ant eater would do too´ ....

Within 10 minutes Ricardo spotted another one... this time it had just been trying to swallow an egret and the poor egret´s tail was sticking out of its mouth still. Again all the boys walked to it to take a close look... I was told it would make a great photo but I passed. It was just breaking my heart, especially as the egret´s partner was flying back and forth over the dead egret and making noises to try and stop this all from happening. It really proved to me that ALL animals have feelings and are capable of love. This poor egret was clearly distressed at not being able to do anything at all to save its mate. Thankfully the dead egret was already well dead when we got there otherwise I would have wanted to rescue it.... Anacondas only kill through strangulation and drowing their prey (in this instance) they have no poison and very small teeth (Roberto tells me as he has already been bitten by one when trying to impress another tourist with his balancing act). 250 meters later, we saw another one ! Just minding his own business this one... Ricardo said that whenever it is very hot all the reptiles come out as they love the sun. And the reverse is true, whenever it is particularly cold it is almost impossible to spot anything of interest at night as the animals stay in their burrows. He also said that he once took a photographer to the Pentanal who managed to get a fantastic shot of a jaguar eating something by the side of the road, the light was just right and the guy in question said ´with this shot I will be able to pay for my 50 day holiday in the Pentanal´... because the BBC Wildlife magazine was going to put it on the cover. This almost made me rethink about the egret in the anaconda´s mouth and whether it would have gone a long way to pay for this holiday but I still don´t think I could have coped with seeing it up close, call me chicken if you like !

We got back to the lodge for 4pm, grabbed a quick shower (our hair was caked with dust from passing vehicles - not many but enough to make you feel yukky) and had some food and headed back to Sta Teresa. We didn´t spot anything of interest at night which so disappointed me at the Belgian couple had seen 3 ocelots, 1 margay, 1 giant ant eater and 2 tapirs ! That was incredible luck for their first drive. Actually these two made me envious in more ways than one... She was mad on travelling and would do 6 trips a year to all the best wildlife spots in the world, he just followed, drove her everywhere she wanted (say 3 weeks in Botswana @ 3 game drives a day) and paid for everything and took as many weeks off as she liked (as he was self employed). When their daughter turned 17 they celebrated with a world tour through all continents including Tahiti and Bora Bora (one place I really want to go to but just cannot afford on my own). I was stunned. Mind you she gave me lots of tips for Madagascar and Zambia and Alaska and other places where I want to go. I consoled myself thinking that she was 20 years older and by the time I get to her age I will hopefully have done as much but they made me feel like a novice ! Still, I have to admit they were very very nice... I just told her that I was gutted never to have found such a husband myself as it would have been the PERFECT match for me !!!! He was not materialistic, they just spent all their money travelling like mad going the most obscure and incredible places. They too had never seen as much diversity for birdlife as one does when entering the Pentanal... they too felt that every country in the world still offers something to blow you away if you look for it hard enough. They even loved Iceland and Namibia and encouraged me to go. She said that yes, Iceland has no trees but moss there is SO thick it is like walking on an amazing carpet ankle deep and that you can feel the heat of the earth right under your feet and that there is nowhere else in the world quite like it to ´feel the forces of nature´. Hum. So I might put Iceland on my travel list after all, one day... maybe when I get to 60 or so.

We got back to Sta Teresa on time for dinner... but by then I was SO bored with yet more rice and beans that I did what I usually never do abraod and went into big sulk mode. I told Roberto I could no longer handle such boring food and just had to have something a bit more exciting. I requested a mango milk shake (far more taste, as much nutritional value) and got my wish granted. He then wanted to go on yet another night hike but I declined... I just could not handle the frustrations of not seeing what I really wanted to see when it is right in front of me. It is like torture... so why bother ? I tried to take a photo of the beautiful starry sky instead (the milky way was really clear and I have never seen the milky way before except in the Amazon and in Egypt - i.e. places with zero pollution) but do you think I could work my camera ?? I read all the instructions on how to use the bulb function but it all failed. I was so frustrated, again. Using the bulb function is one thing I never got to practise during my photo workshop in Costa Rica, which was really stupid ( but as we know, hindsight is a wonderful thing !). Actually, I am ashamed to confess that my photo workshop was a complete waste of time altogether because I have forgotten pretty much everything I was taught, still then to switch to automatic instinctively, even forget to take off my polariser in darker conditions and then really feel puzzled when my camera will not work, etc. etc. I feel as if my brain is on holiday and just NOT working as fast as I need it to. I hope it is just sleep deprivation and not old age creeping in already, perish the thought....

This morning we had another lovely boat ride, with more paddling (much quieter and serene) but though we were due to start at 5am, our boat man had forgotten all about it and Roberto had to wake him up... so we started 45mns late. I was NOT impressed when I had to be up at 4:30am regardless. We only spotted a couple of giant otters (but they were shyer and did not interact with us) and a rare heron with a beautiful coat, though I could not possibly remember the name.

We had breakfast after that, I managed to picture some toco toucans on the lodge ground (nothing too spectacular as far as shots go, a bit too high up) and then we headed off for a fairly boring drive back. I did take photos of the road signs though as they are rather cool... I mean, nowhere else in the world would you have ´ Slow down, ant eaters may cross the road´... or ´slow down, a family of capybara may cross the road´ (with drawings to go with it). So, this was a must !

I have taken very few shots of me so far, but I did take one by the Pentanal gate that says ´Transpantaneira Road Park. The Pentanal begins right here´ as it is a very famous sign featured in all the main nature books here.

Roberto didn´t seem too crushed letting me go... which confirmed to me that he had no major interest in me but was just trying his luck (boys will be boys, again)... I grabbed a few postcards and boarded my plane (30mns late), grabbed a lovely Guarana juice (tastes like a sparkling apple drink but it is yellow and made from fruits of the Amazon. I have never seen this drink on sale anywhere else in South America, stranglely enough). Flying over the Pentanal I still felt amazed that something SO barren from the air could hold SO many treasures down below in such overwhelming numbers... For instance, I had seen 5 tiger herons in Peru in 3 days and 1 in Costa Rica in 2 weeks... here I saw about 75 in 4 days and about 10 in the first hour. You just cannot keep track of the numbers... quite something.

I am now in Bonito, after a BORING 4 hour drive to get here where there was very little to see (oh, I did spot 4 rheas -like ostriches- and a dead porcupine on the side of the road !) but endless fields... I even dozed off half way through as the excitement could not keep me awake ! But having seen the brochures here, it should be fabulous. My driver only spoke Portuguese so we exchanged very few words (I had to get by in Spanish, the closest thing that they can understand... French they can read easily but not hear easily, and it is the same for us... I can read Portuguese quite easily but am unable to grasp it verbally). I was even told that there are many giant ant eaters a few miles away from here and I may see quite a few on the way back to my hotel after my snorkelling trip.... fingers crossed !!!

Roberto had mentioned that Bonito is too touristy and that there is a spot nr Cuiaba called Nobres that offered exactly the same kind of thrill (crystal clear rivers for snorkelling, turquoise lakes in caves).... but I refused to change my plans. It would have been too much hassle. It´s not as if an extra 2 days together was going to change my life around ! :)

Righeeo, gotta dash, my driver is coming back to pick me up in 5mns, and I have yet to have dinner (a bufftet I am told, thank GOD ! I shall therefore avoid rice and beans at all costs). To be continued....

Giant ant-eater spotted !

Another greeting from this great sanctuary... no jaguar sightings so far but a few hours after I sent my last post my guide and I went for another afternoon drive and on our way back, at dusk, he managed to spot (I still do not know HOW) a giant ant eater in the distance... He dropped the car where we were (on this endless dirt track), swang the door open and said ´Let´s go´... I grabbed his binoculars, left my camera behind (I knew the light was already too dim for it to work properly) and we chased after it as fast as we could. He was about 400 meters away and we got as close to 20 meters. I was worried about scaring him but Roberto explained that ant eaters are almost blind and mainly get by with smell. Unfortunately, the wind was in his favour... i.e. going from where we were to where it was. When it is the other way round he said you can be just 2 meters away and it would have no idea. I was able to get a pretty decent sighting with the binoculars but because he was eating termites and would go behind some bushes and mounts I often saw just the head or just the huge bushy tail (as big as its whole body). But I was thrilled nevertheless because they are SO rare. My guide had seen plenty of jaguars around here but had not seen a giant ant-eater for 5 months so he was excited too ! They are beautiful creatures and as the dry season is the season of cubs and all sorts of babies I wish I could have seen him with his young (they carry them on their back, which looks so cute - I have seen pictures in the books here) but I guess I shouldn´t complain, hey ? This has been a MAJOR thrill, as spotting a giant and a lesser ant eater was in my top 5.

The Pantanal area where we are currently is not as packed with birdlife as when I was around Sta Teresa lodge. We have moved into a drier area where you are more likely to see mammals and though there are plenty of birds around (esp. birds of prey, more than I have ever seen in my entire life I believe) it is not as spectacular as the entrance when you are totally surrounded by all sorts of birds and water fowls. There are 615 species of birds here and the toco toucans is one of the most beautiful. It is the largest of all toucans and has this incredible 19cm long bill. You can spot them a mile off because of the way they fly - 3 flaps and a glide. You just count the number of flaps from a distance if you are not sure what bird it is, and this soon tells you.

Caimans though, remain just as prevalent here and today we passed what our guide called ´the Copacabana beach for caimans´. There must have been about 150 lined up by the shore of a pond. I even took a photo of me sitting in front of the line up... not too close but Roberto wanted to prove to me that they are more afraid of us than we are of them and soon endeavoured to get close enough to grab one by the tail ! And sure enough, the moment he managed to grab one, all the others headed straight for the pond... not one of them thought of turning round and snapping his hand off. Most remarkable ! I said ´ Is this what Brazilian guys are supposed to do to impress the girls here or what ? In Europe you bring them flowers and here you bring them a baby caiman ?. It seemed a bit mad... but he proved the point all right.

When we go on night safaris (in the car) we each hold a very powerful torch and try to scan the bushes looking for 2 pair of red eyes that would stare right back at us... and be at the right height and right width (too close together and they will be caimans, not jaguars). I tell you, whenever we drive on the cranky wooden bridges (very very cranky, I am always afraid a plank will give them and we will end up in the caiman infested ponds, and they have 1 bridge for every km here). When we sweep the beam of the torchs all across the ponds it is amazing how many red eyes glow in the dark... if you didn´t know they were caimans you could almost think it is very romantic as they look like floating candles ! I am not kidding.. it is almost a magical experience. As if you saw lots of fireflies dancing in the night...

Last night we even saw a margay´s eyes (we could tell by the body movement - stalking) that it was a big cat but I confess I never saw the shape and could not have told which one it was. So I cannot really say I really saw one - which was SO disappointing. We even spotted a tapir running across some dry land (our 3rd in 2 days - though again, the 2nd I never saw, Roberto swore it was right in front of us, in the bushes -we were sitting in the boat at the time- but I just could not see it at all, too well camouflaged). No wonder people may be within meters of a jaguar and not see them... I remain convinced many have seen us, to console myself.

We also saw 2 beautiful foxes, pecarries, a little deer, capucchin and howler monkeys. About 10 mammals in 2 days and Roberto assures me that most people only see that in a whole week. So I guess I am not doing too bad though I am still greedy for more...

We have been on 2 more walking safaris since I last wrote (trying to look for porcupines asleep in tree tops, but so far, no good) and though you know that there are plenty of big cats roaming around you feel no sense of fear. Roberto added though that if a cat wanted to get you, they are so silent that they would be at your throat before you have even heard them coming but they genuinely cannot be bothered. I am not sure why... the theory in India (with the tigers) was that some animals can inherit a gene that tells them to be wary of whatever could cause the extinction of the species... maybe it is something like that ? We wonder off we no weapon at all, just my camera and tripod and we would be dead meat in no time if they wanted to.

But I have travelled often enough by now to know that whatever fear we have is usually movie made ! Most of it is irrational because most animals are not agressive... crocs though, would be. Talking of reptiles, Roberto was telling me that crocs have no tongue so they have to communicate with a swollen belly or tail to make moans and groans. They almost sound like orang-otangs if you didn´t know better.

There are almost no mossies here which is remarkable considering we are on a wetland. It is because it is the drier part of the year (which means Iguacu will not look as spectacular in August as when I last saw it in April - end of the rainy season, oh well). And there is NO malaria, bliss !

I am not sure I would come back here though. It is pretty awesome in some ways but the landscape is very bleak. Most of the road tracks are bordered with bushy trees, in a very unorderely way and caked with dust... and it just does not allow for decent shots. I miss the intense green of the Amazon or other tropical rainforest. I mean, even the forests in England look better than this ! It really is nothing to write home about in that sense. No pretty trees. I know, I know, you cannot have it all. Chill Sylvie, chill ...

We got back from our last night drive at 10:30pm and I was starting to be seriously sleepy. He wanted to drive off again at 4am but I said I would not be able to cope with such sleep deprivation. I pushed it back till 5am ... Roberto said that most people who come to the Pentanal are completely shattered as they cannot keep up with the mad schedule but this is not a ´relaxing´ holiday by any stretch of the imagination !

There is no electricity at night, they switch off the generator from 10:30pm till 6am so if you get up at 4:30am you just cannot wear make up because it is impossible to do whilst holding a torch in one hand. So, I go without. We are all so dopey so early in the morning, I truly do not think that anyone cares... the very next day he hinted that he had some interests in me that were more than professional... as usual by now, I took it all with a big pinch of salt and remained very cynical :)

Another evening we went on a forest walk and were due to be picked up by a guy who lives in the farm next door but Roberto didn´t realise that the forest was surrounded by a 10m wide river bed that had not quite dried up yet. He assured me it would be easier to cross it regardless than walk a further mile trying to find a bridge as it was getting dark pretty quickly.... and endeavoured to show me how ´easy´ it was by walking thigh deep into black mud, surrounded by water weeds that could have hidden God knows what underneath... I told him I just could not do it (esp. as I had done all my hand washing earlier on and was wearing my freshly cleaned trousers and nice beige shoes). He said he could carry me on his back but I refused too... another recipe for disaster, you could see it coming a mile off. We managed to find a short cut 500m up stream and walk over some reeds that sustained my weight but boy... BIG sigh of relief. But it shows you never know what each day holds here.

And then, when you eventually get to bed you have to be careful not to move too much because they are so tiny that if you move too much in your sleep you would end up on the floor... On this note, I shall love and leave you and head for bed ! Up at 6am again tomorrow...

Pentanal - or ``Sylvie in Wonderland´

Well, it was pretty eventful getting here but it has been really worth it - already. I arrived at LHR much too early (I had warned me that 3 hours would be sufficient but in view of the recent troubles I didn´t want to risk it so allowed 5). The airport was almost empty which stunned me... I guess everybody was looking for ways of avoiding Heathrow by then. The only thing that bugged me was not to be allowed to carry toothpaste in my hand luggage and Air France did not give us any toothpaste or hand cream in their goodie bags either, nor in the toilets. So being 40 hours without cleaning my teeth was horrid when I usually clean them every 4 hours... especially as I had a few sugary drinks to give me energy and perk me up. I was seated next to a lady who should have flown over the night before but had missed her connection as her London-Paris flight had been 2 hours late the day before. Made me realise how very lucky I was to have a narrow escape. I could not have coped wasting a whole day in Paris when there is SO much to do and see in Brazil. My 1st flight was 40mns late but they made up the time in mid air and we only landed 10mns late. We were immediately whisked off by car to our boarding planes and I was actually the last one to get on that 2nd flight. I even managed to grab the last aisle seat, thank God as I hate being stuck in the middle... when people recline the seat in the front, you cannot breathe.

The flight was fairly smooth but too hot to sleep much. Movies were boring but I didn´t care as I really wanted to sleep as much as I could. I landed at Sao Paulo 10mns early and had to wait not 3 hours as planned, but 5 for my 3rd connection as the plane was late coming in. But as I changed time zone, it seemed I had only lost 1 hour. It is now -5 hours from GMT. Once at the airport I managed to get some Brazilian Reals (their currency) out of a cash point and got my card back ok, phew.

I also got all my luggage back ok which was amazing considering that 20,000 pieces of hand luggage had gone astray in the recent crisis. So, was I glad to see my suitcase turn up... believe you me. When I flew from Sao Paulo to Cuiaba (heart of the Pentanal) I was shocked by how very barren it looked from the air. A far cry from the endless sea of green that is the Amazon. This was SO brown and with so very few trees that I was truly puzzled as to how this area could be known as one of the world´s greatest wildlife sanctuary. The only green bits were around the brown river that had many twists and turns... hardly anywhere else. So I was expecting a lot less when I landed... fearing I´d be very disappointed...

My driver/guide/naturalist was waiting for me and was super helpful. He is just the right balance, doesn´t talk too much but has a keen eye for spotting birds and can think one step ahead of me as to what I might need next. He also understands light and photography, another must!

We stopped to have lunch before driving off into the wilderness and though I wasn´t very hungry because we had had snacks on the plane I think it gave me a bit more energy. Though I had been warned in my books not to eat peeled fruits, salads, cheese and God knows what else, I ignored all the rules, and had a thoroughly enjoyable meal. My favourite was some kind of haloumi cheese grilled on a stick, with hot potatoes... it was just divine. And the fruit juices were also yummy. I have no idea what they were but I find nature has got so many treats in store when it comes to flavours and tastes... so I can never resist them.

My guide, Roberto, also explained that though the landscape looked a bit bleak, it would all change when we get to the Pentanal. That it is a very flat area (not very scenic as such, not a great place for landscape for instance) but that it is packed with bird life in particular and that I would see know as soon as we entered the promised land.

And he was right... the moment he said ´we are entering the Pentanal now´ it was if an invisble barrier had lifted. I am not kidding you if I say that within 1 MINUTE we had spotted 25 different species of birds... without even TRYING to. This was just awesome. I got out of the car and I just did not know where to look. You would have needed 10 pair of eyes. There were birds on your left, right, centre (later on a frog even dropped from a tree onto our windscreen! hitch-hiking?)... I cannot even tell you what the birds were, I had seen a great many of them before but it was as if 80% of what I had discovered in the last decade of my world travels was summarised right here in ONE moment in ONE tiny space (200 m2 maybe). The sheer DIVERSITY and DENSITY of this place is truly beyond compare. You just have to see it to believe it. Countless ibis, storks (and other BIG birds), egrets, herons, kingfishers, etc. some hyacinth macaws (vivid blue with yellow circle around their eyes and a long tail), some toucans... Another 30mns and another 30kms went by and we had seen yet another 50 birds or so... I mean, 50 different species of birds. My guide said that this was peak season for migrations because the waters have receded and so it is a bit clearer which makes it easier for the birds to fish efficiently. There were also more caimans than I had never since in my whole life... not just dozens of them, but hundreds. They would sunbathe in packs on the river banks and you could see 50 at a time... if you had a phobia of crocs you would have a hard time because they are absolutely everywhere. In most countries of the world, you tend to mistake dead trunks for crocs, but here it is the opposite. There are far more caimans than dead tree trunks ! At dusk 3 caimans even crossed the road right in front of us. My driver said that last week he saw an anaconda that way, he was about 7 meters long and looked like a dead trunk across the road. He also saw 5 jaguars in one day along that same road... though the tourists he was with only saw 1 because they were chatting and by the time they focused their attention, it was too late. Jaguars are incredibly silent and fast. You blink and you miss them. But we could still enjoy walking safaris because they never attack humans unless we threaten their young. What amazes me is that you can stop the car anywhere, get off and stare at the marshland for 1 minute and you will notice about 30 birds that you could not see from the car, even driving at 20mph. What also seems surreal here is that you can see SO much right by the side of the road... even though it is very dusty in the dry season and as a bird, I personally would not want to be there, but they do. And you slow down and scroll the window down and most don´t even bat an eyelid because they are SO used to tourists. I guess that because there are millions of birds here, you could be anywhere and you would see as many.

There are mammals too and on our first drive we saw quite a few capybaras. They are the largest rodents in the world and could look like a big dark brown rabbit but with small ears and higher legs. They are very cute, especially the little ones and are the jaguar´s favourite food. Actually, my guide was telling me that humans don´t really eat capybara meat because, as they are vegetarians feeding on plants and roots their meat actually tastes like medicine !!! Jaguars will also kill calves (from cows) on farmland, but only do so train their young on the art of killing. They will not actually eat the calf. This, understandably, annoys the farmers greatly and it is when they are likely to shoot. As in Costa Rica though, the government does have a policy in place that says ´spare the jaguar, forget the cow, we will give you money for the loss instead´ but unfortunately because there is so much paperwork involved and it is so complicated to prove you actually owned the dead cow, some farmers feel that prevention is better than cure. Sad.

When we got to our lodge it was just getting dark but we didn´t see any of the nocturnal animals (so far). I had a luke warm shower (and had to be very quick because it got very cold) to try and keep me awake and though we were supposed to do a night drive till 11pm, we agreed it was best if I went to bed at 8pm since I had to be up again at 5am for the morning drive...

20 August. So, here I was, up again at the crack of dawn... and we boarded a boat that took us upstream to an area where giant otters live. It was about 1h away and though it wasn´t particularly cold it soon felt a lot colder when we were on the water, going at some speed. The sun didn´t seem to rise early enough and to be warm enough even. We saw a young tapir swim across the river almost right in front of us, which was wonderful timing... and when we got the otter´s den, we saw only one but she was really cheeky and even tried to leap in the boat to grab our fish. She had the usual white mark under her neck with several spots (her fingerprint). She would ´sit up´ in the water and eat her fish quite vigorously, you could hear all the fishbones crack. A caiman soon made a move and tried to get some free snacks from us too but, because HE didn´t look cute, we thoroughly ignored him. I was also astounded by the number of birds that stand just inches away from caimans´ jaws when I would never dare but my guide said it is because birds know that the caimans´ stomach are full of fish during the dry season. Later on, they have to be more wary as they will even eat other caimans or their own offspring if they feel hungry ! Can you picture that ? I mean, here you are, hungry... open the cupboard, find you have no more food or tins and you spot your child standing next to you, looking at you innocently and expecting your parental protection when you suddenly see them as food... and think ´oh, my kid will do just fine´. I don´t think so... yuk. Jaguars are supposed to be quite common here and we did see some fresh pawprint this morning on the road but no real thing yet. Roberto was telling me that now cat skin is no longer fashionable, they are hardly hunted, it is just the farmers who give them a hard time.

Righteeo, I am now going to wash my hair whilst it is daylight, as we only have hot water here that is generated by a solar system. They also had to switch on the generator for me to access the internet (via satelite). I truly am in the middle of nowhere but it is such an immense priviledge to be here. It does merit all the superlatives that the Pentanal is often associated with. Anyone who is a bird lover should come here.... and indeed, to spot wildlife it is SO much easier than the Amazon. Tonight we have a long safari planned by night, and hope to spot some of the other bigger cats too. And giant ant-eaters.... Looking at the wildlife books at the library here there are so many mammals I had not even heard of before... we truly live on a planet that has got countless secrets to reveal if we are willing to look for them long and hard... and far ! :)More later... thinking of you all...

PS - so far I have not taken any decent shot though as it is so hard to know which film speed to use and 100ASA is ok mid-day (when the animals are sleeping) but too dim at dawn and dusk... so I am not sure that technically this will be a great success. This is when I realise that digital cameras are far superior !

PS - not feeling too jet-lagged yet but a bit dopey right now... cokes do help! I know they are bad for you but they help me quite a bit... hum.

PS3 - as this internet access is costing me $15 per hour I will leave it 2-3 days till I have more to say ... unless I can see a jaguar, of course... as I would be too excited to wait 2 days!

The Jewels of Brazil
The Pantanal, Bonito and Iguaçu Falls
August 18 – 28, 2006

As you can see from the title, the next venture will now be BRAZIL ! I've had to forget Madagascar for this year due to the chik epidemic on the East Coast, though I am assured they are working on a vaccine, so I'm putting this on hold till next year... (as I don't fancy crippling pain for months on end... ).

So with the money saved I'll able to afford two BIG trips instead, the first one to Brazil to explore the Pantanal (as I heard so many guides rave about it last time I went to Brazil in 2003) and the 2nd one will be to Australia for 3 weeks in November (more details will follow nearer the time though all our flights are already booked – I'll be going back with Janet :)

August is one of the most expensive times to go to the Pantanal but it's the dry season so it'll be easier to spot the animals around the water holes AND it will be in bloom that month as it'll be early Spring over there, so the colours should be fantastic... Trying to secure decent flights was a complete nightmare as almost everything was fully booked (and some of the best hotels too)... I spent hours working on this with my NY-based travel agent... and was on the phone a few times to her to finalise everything urgently (a few seats left here & there... ).

I'll be having my private guide with me the whole time, available 24/7... She assured me that if I wanted to try and find jaguars at midnight even (they hunt by night), he'd be ready to get in the jeep ! COOL ! (though I guess I'll have to think about catching up on *some* sleep at *some* point too !!!).

Iguaçu is too amazing for words so I just HAD to go back... being so near... impossible to resist. It is probably my 3rd favourite place on earth. Definitely in my top 5 anyway ! If you still have my scanned photos from my previous trip, you'll soon remember why... if not, watch the 360C video on the link I've listed further down...

You know me, I need to be visually blown away on a regular basis... so I couldn't wait till Nov to do something mega... I did go to Southern Italy (24 June - 2 July) BUT it was not quite the same as being in a place where I can (hopefully) see jaguars and the giant ant-eaters (the only place left in the world where you have good chances of seeing them as they are now extinct in Costa Rica). The lesser ant eaters also look rather cuddly so I hope to see a few of them too !

1 in 4 guests have been able to spot jaguars in the Pantanal as they are so used to tourists... so, I will HOPE for the best... This will be my 4th attempt at seeing them in the wild... may it be 4th time lucky !

Bonito, I came across the pix on the internet by chance and it looked stunning and since I love snorkelling and am such a water baby, I felt it was well worth a stop-over as they say it's a 'must see'.... and I've never snorkelled in a river before. And it is one of the purest in the world.

I'm attaching my full itinerary below, because, as you'll soon realise, it's pretty packed (no surprises since I always live it up that way) so I may not have email access for ages, or no time to email at all (assuming there is email access in the middle of no-where) ! But at least, if you're interested, you'll be able to have a rough idea of what I'll be up to on a daily basis.

The itinerary will therefore be as follows: -

Day 1 – August 18
Depart London on Air France at around 8pm for my overnight flight to Sao Paulo. 45mns wait in Paris so my first flight'd better be on time otherwise it will be tight !

Day 2 – August 19
I will land in Brazil at approximately 5:55 am, and after immigration will need to connect for a TAM Airlines flight 3804 departing at 9:00 am.

As soon as I've landed (for the 3rd time), I will NOT head for a hotel to have a shower, but (because I'm mad ! :) I will begin straight away the 330km/4 hour journey to Hotel Fazenda Santa Tereza with a stop en route to have lunch (I'm banking on the fact I will have got *some* sleep on the planes !! if not, I guess I will just doze off and won't see much of *that* safari, hum).

After lunch, depart for the Pantanal, driving for about 2 hours to reach the famous Transpantaneira Road . This is one of the best wildlife viewing areas in the world (when you are lucky, I guess). Arrival at my hotel late afternoon

Here I'll be deep into the Pantanal where I'll be able to take boat safaris on the rivers to try and spot capybaras, caimans, and giant otters. With another nocturnal trip after dinner (not sure when we're supposed to catch up on our sleep, come to think of it, hum).

The following link will tell you more about what a special and unique place the Pantanal is http://www.tropicalnaturetravel.com/travel/ brazil/pantanalwe.shtml


Day 3 – August 20
Another early start, at around 6:00 am with a 3-hour boat ride on the river Pixaim where two colonies of giant otters live. Back at the hotel for breakfast then onto the Transpantaneira again, heading for the Jaguar Ecological Reserve.

The lodge is located within the Jaguar Ecological Reserve and hosts the largest concentration of Hyacinth Macaws in the state. The lodge is in the richest habitat of the Pantanal. More hikes and safari-vehicle drives in the afternoon to look for all the beautiful cats there (margays, ocelots, jaguars and jaguarandis to name a few, plus anteaters, tapirs, maned wolves, etc). With yet another nocturnal drive after dinner to try our luck again (as most cats hunt by night anyway but I know I won't be able to take decent shots then). Overnight at the Jaguar Ecological Reserve.

Day 4 – August 21
Another FULL day AND night for more of the same, exploring this incredibly rich area on foot and by vehicle. There will be several areas of different types of forest alongside lakes, seasonally flooded fields and rivers so I hope to take some neat landscape shots too. Overnight at the JER Lodge.

Day 5 – August 22
Up at the crack of dawn again, starting the day with a 3-hour hike in a private ecological reserve. Return for lunch and then hitting the road again to drive back north, back to Fazenda Santa Tereza. Arrival planned late in the afternoon. Check-in and dinner followed by another evening trip to spot nocturnal animals. Overnight at Fazenda Santa Tereza.

Day 6 – August 23
After breakfast, checkout and head for another photo-safari along the spectacular Transpantaneira Park Rd - on the way back to Cuiabá. Chances are there will be the opportunity to see an immense abundance of wildlife in this area - but the return trip must be done as quickly as possible in order for me to catch my 12-noon flight to Campo Grande!

After arrival in Campo Grande an English-speaking guide will pick me up for the transfer to Bonito, which will take approximately 3.5 to 4 hours. I will leave the Pantanal behind and travel through the National Park of Serra da Bodoquena .

Arrival scheduled around late afternoon and check-in at Pousada Olho d'Agua. It will have a specially illuminated pool for night swims but it might be quite cool at night. We'll see. I also may be low on energy by then !!!

Day 7 – August 24
After breakfast my guide will pick me up for a visit to the Sucuri River. After a 45-minute boat ride along the crystal clear river, one can descend in to the river and start the snorkeling tour. All along the 750-meter (818 yards) long trip one can observe the rich sub aquatic flora and fauna, which is, I am told, "truly an unforgettable experience."

After lunch we will depart for Gruta do Lago Azul ("The Cave with the Blue Lake"). The trail starts with a 5 mins walk to the cave and then, after descending a trail of 350 meters (1,148 feet), I should see the lake with the famous crystal clear water. The depth of lake is approximately 120 meters (394 feet) and during the day when the sunbeams hit the lake, the water will have an intense blue color (but the most magical time is December so I'm not sure I'll be as thoroughly impressed in August).

After the tour I will be driven back to my hotel and have the rest of the day at leisure. Overnight at the Pousada Olha d'Agua.

You can look up pictures from the Bonito excursions on this link:

http://www.tropicalnaturetravel.com/travel/ brazil/bonito.shtml


Day 8 – August 25
After breakfast (God knows what time that will be !) my guide/driver will take me to visit the Buraco das Araras (Macaw's Hole). It is a very special ecosystem made up by a forest and a lake complete with micro algae and fish. There should be many red-and-green macaws there.

After that, I will start my half-day snorkeling tour to the Rio da Prata and on arrival walk 1.6 miles along the interpretative trail in the forest (and will hopefully see a few wild animals such as the mutum, the udu, the nail-monkey, the cutia and the queixada – whatever they might be !!!).

Once at the snorkeling spot, I should enjoy a snorkel/dive in some of "the most transparent fresh-water river in the world", rich in aquatic fauna and flora. Lunch will follow and then back to my hotel to pick up my luggage and transfer to Campo Grande airport which is approximately 4 hrs /330 km or 205 miles away to catch my 6:30 pm TAM flight to Iguaçu. This flight stops once and changes planes before arriving in Iguaçu at 12:40 am. Oh joy !

On arrival a rep will take me to my hotel… I guess I won't be asleep before 2am and will need to be up again for my hike around Iguacu for 7am. I shall confess to feeling shattered just typing all this up…. And starting to seriously wonder if I may have over-done it, slightly. HUM.

Day 9 – August 26
After breakfast I will begin my tour of Iguaçu Fall from Argentina. Once there we will hike through the 55,500 hectares reserve until we get to a different, more complete view of the falls, than what can be seen from the Brazilian side, as lower and upper walkways permit a closer look at the waterfalls .

Hopefully the adrenaline will start pumping to keep me awake !!! Check this out: -
http://www.destination360.com/south-america/ brazil/iguassu-falls.php

After the tour, back to my hotel where I will have time to grab some lunch before heading for the tour of the Brazilian site. Then back to my hotel again to sleep (I guess I'll have little energy left for emails by then). Overnight at the Hotel del Ray.

Day 10 – August 27
Morning at leisure to catch up on my sleep, or on my emails or to go to the bird sanctuary again (I did this in 2003, it was beautiful). It will all depend on how much energy and TIME I have left basically as I will have to check out on time for my 12:30pm transfer to the airport to catch my 1:55 pm TAM flight to Sao Paulo !!! "No rest for the wicked", boy….

Upon arrival I will be met by a rep who will help me find the KLM ticket counter and check-in for my 6:35pm KLM departure home, via Amsterdam.

Make that another 3 flights in a row and a London arrival time scheduled for 1:50pm… into T4, so it means I won't be home for another 2 hours after that as I usually use public transport (cabs in London being unaffordable) so it will be a bus, tube and bus/walk. Plus it can take up to an hour to go through passport control and retrieve one's luggage, on top too.

Righteeo, I'm exhausted ! and I haven't left YET…. I'll have to trust God to carry me when I start to flag ! And if I don't flag, then I'll award myself the well-earned title of 'Wonder Woman'… :)