Campo Grande to Pantanal, Brazil

Hi everyone, I realized there was really nothing to write about Foz except that we saw Iguazu and it was spectacular, again. I am posting pictures on Picasa in an album called Foz do Iguazu. After seeing the falls, we took an overnight bus to Campo Grande. This bus was pretty terrible compared to the coche cama, and I was sitting in front of some obnoxious kids the entire ride and couldn't sleep. Anyway, when we arrived in Campo Grande someone from the hostel met us at the bus station and took us to the hostel and fed us a nice fresh fruit breakfast. We relaxed a little bit and were able to take showers before going on a great adventure to the Pantanal. The Pantanal is Brazil's major ecological attraction, and there are several tour groups you can go on expeditions with. Josh had been researching our different choices, and we decided on one that was 3 nights and 4 days. I was honestly under the impression that we would be camping in a swamp. I envisioned stepping out of my bug infested tent into ankle-deep mud and being immediately attacked by bees and malaria-infected mosquitoes. Needless to say, I was not too excited about this expedition, but I was trying to be agreeable. Anyway, I was COMPLETELY wrong. First of well, our tour was during the dry season, so there was no mud to speak of, and we were sleeping in cabins, not tents. We left Campo Grande in a bus of about 13 people, and after a stop for lunch, we arrived about 4 hours later at a little rest stop where we transfered into a jeep type vehicle. On the bumpy ride into our camp, we saw lots of amazing wildlife, and it really felt like we were on a safari! The camp we stayed at was called Santa Clara and it was kind of on a farm, but it had a little swimming pool, two shaded areas with hammocks, a big dining area, a game room with pool and ping pong, and a few cabins. It was evening when we arrived, so we just spent the night eating dinner and hanging out. I was in a group of 10 amazing people from around the world. Everyone settled in really well and really enjoyed each others' company.

On the second day, we got up early, had breakfast, and went on a nature walk with Carlos, one of the guides. We saw lots of birds and some monkeys, but not too much else as far as wildlife goes. I think our group was too big and so we scared the animals off as we walked around, but we still had a great time. When we got back, it was really windy, so we just sat in the hammocks and chatted. The people on the expedition were so friendly and everyone had great stories and jokes to tell. We had lunch; I should mention that all the meals were prepared for us and were served buffet style, and were really tasty. Maybe too tasty... :) After lunch we walked over to a nearby lake and took two boats out to go piranha fishing!! This was one of the highlights of the trip for sure. It was also my first time fishing! It wasn't very representative of real fishing, because there are so many piranhas in there that you drop your line in and pretty much get a bite right away.... but still! I caught 5 fish. ;) We actually pulled the boats up to shore and some of the boys got out and fished from in the water, but I was a little too nervous about going in piranha infested waters. They assured us it was safe but... I saw those teeth. Haha. Anyway, after a very successful afternoon, we went back to the camp and ate fried piranha that we had caught. There were also a few catfish caught, and they made a delicious soup for us out of the fish. After dinner our group just hung out and had more bonding time til we all got tired.

Most of you will never believe what I did the next morning... guess who rode a HORSE. That's right. and just to make it even better/more unbelievable, my horse was practically a mini horse. It was ridiculous, the guide was bringing out all the horses, and when I saw the tiny one, we were joking about having Mike take it because he is super tell. Then the guide beckoned ME over there. Of course. Hahaha. When you look at the pictures, you will be able to tell how little my horse was next to the others. I'm not going to say I loved riding the horse... but it wasn't as horrible as it could have been. Although I was really scared and I kept thinking it was going to run off and do whatever it wanted. MY WORST NIGHTMARE. Anyway, it was an adventure, to say the least.

After horseback riding and lunch, we got back in the jeep and went on a sunset safari. We drove around for an hour or so, then took about an hour to explore outside of the jeep. I took TONS of photos. There were lots of birds and lots of capyburas, which is the largest rodent in South America and seriously looks like a giant guinea pig. We also saw several caymans, which are a mini crocodile. Several times we came really close to them, which was awesome and scary at the same time. But the safari was great and we saw an amazing sunset. It was freezing on the way home and we were all surprised by how cold the weather had been despite the first day being overwhelmingly hot... but I suppose it is the end of winter, even in the Pantanal.

The next day was our last, and we had breakfast and then went down to the lake and rode around in the boats for awhile. We were supposed to go swimming, but for some reason we didn't get that as an option. We decided that based on what other people had said, we had the worst guide on our expedition and didn't get to do half the things everyone else had done... but we still had a fantastic time. I feel so lucky to have met such wonderful people, and everyone was so entertaining in different ways.

After a bittersweet goodbye, it was off to the next adventure... and after a major money mishap, I finally boarded a bus for Sao Paulo with two of the girls I met at the Pantanal, while Josh and Mike continued on to Rio.

Check for pictures of my Pantanal adventures in my Picasa albums: http://picasaweb.google.com/shannon.carney

MORE TO COME!!! :)