Pantanal, Brazil

Pantanal, Brazil - slideshow

The Pantanal is the largest wetland in the world of any kind. It is an area estimated at 54,000 to 75,000 square miles. It is hard to imagine how large that is, but for sure, it encompasses a few small European countries. Most of it is located in Brazil, but Bolivia and Paraguay also share portions of it.

The area is so rich of wild life, that we started our safari when Elton, the farm driver, picked us up from the road where the van from Bonito left us. It was forty minutes of dirty road brimming with uncommon birds, reptile, and bigger animals on the trees, road and mashes. We saw tuiuius (the Pantanal traditional bird) on purple Ipe (traditional Brazilian tree), a green Iguana crossing the road, yacare caiman galore, capyvara, local deer, and birds I cannot name. Elton stopped every time he saw something, at times having no choice but to wait until a reptile crossed the road before we could. Karina, Marcos, and I were delighted. The couple is from Sao Paulo. We hooked up in Bonito and did everything together at Fazenda Santa Clara, in the heart of the Pantanal.

Johnny was our fearless guide, a little bossy too, but the promises written on the brochure of the three days, two night package I bought while in Bonito, exceeded my expectations. We fished piranhas, walked among yacare caiman, went boat riding on one of the Rio Paraquay tributaries and horseback riding. Fazenda Santa Clara, where we stayed, also offered delicious meals and the pet birds, like the tucano who showed up every morning for his papaya or banana, wild pigs that tried to get into our rooms and the beautiful araras that flew up to our tables, were always a delightful attraction. Not to mention the constant yakking of the maritacas. And we actually did fish the piranhas and ate them. The meat bait worked great and the river is so full of them that all we had to do is practically throw the line in and pull it out with a prize. We released the small ones and kept the medium size ones. I was a little scared to release a piranha but Johnny was firm in not helping me. He just told me to hold them in the middle, stick my indicator and thumb under their head and yank the hook out of their indecently big mouse with equally indecently sharp set of teeth. But they were perfect after cooked, slightly rolled into cornmeal for crunchiness. They quickly vanished as appetizers just before lunch, with little cups of “cachaca” and beer.

The Pantanal is a huge basin that receives water from the Planalto highlands and slowly releases it through the Paraguay river and tributaries. During the rainy season, the water rises from two to five yards. This makes it very fertile, like the Nile, but unfortunately, 99% of it is privately owned and used for agriculture and ranching. It is about 2,500 “fazendas”, ranches, with 8 million cattle, certainly more than Mato Grosso do Sul's population. Although the meat is superb, this creates erosion and sedimentation, endangering the flood plains and the ecosystem of the region.

One day, during our already delicious dinner, the manager brought us a plate full of yacare meat. Another excuse to have a shot of “cachaca” with local herbs, cinnamon and honey, the most delicious spirit I've tasted, followed by a beer. Yacare meat is a cross between chicken and fish and it goes really well with beer. Johnny told us there are over 20 million yacare caiman at the Pantanal. However, the meat we ate is farmed.

The Pantanal is home of over 1000 bird species, 400 fish, 300 mammalian, 480 reptiles and 9000 different subspecies of invertebrates. My body can testify to the existence of at least a dozen of the latter. But a few itchy bites were worth all that I saw and experienced at the Pantanal. I need to say that not all photos posted are mine. Three days is just not enough to catch all birds and other animals of the Pantanal in their perfect poses. Johnny contributed with quite a few of them, maybe the best ones. I loved being at the Pantanal and I hope I can return some day. Thanks for the great experience, Johnny.