Oy. This morning we had to be ready to leave at 7 am and it was a hard wake-up call for me. A bit of breakfast (coffee is awful, honey, will you please make me some?) and then we’re up in the covered truck and heading down the road. Many new birds to be seen, and some old favorites as well. Sorry, I don’t know all their names, but will share photos anyway:
and a pretty one perched on the side of a termite home:
and everyone laughs when I yell out in french “maman!”, because I’ve just sighted a family of capybara, which has the large guinea pig-like head that we saw our first evening here:
mom was very happy about that.
After a 45-minute, very bumpy ride, we arrive at another lodge, wind our way through their grounds and board a small motored launch:
We turn around and start slowly cruising down the very, very calm Clarinho river. The sky is beautiful, with just enough cloud cover to keep us from getting really hot:
Birds abound….(1) easy to see when perched on top of a tree, (2) not so easy when staring intently at the water, on a dead tree branch, waiting for a fish to scoop, (3) but seeing a successful catch is great:
However, the boat driver stages the greatest catch of all (although it’s the same for all tourists, I’m sure). He has a few piraña, and we occasionally stop, he bangs on the side of the boat, and calls out a name (for the caiman). Pretty soon he gets one coming toward the boat, while waving the piraña on the end of a bamboo pole. The live action version:
And stills of the next sucker: a hungry teenager:
Everyone was happy, so we turn around and head back. We did sight some iguanas, sunning themselves on the bushes overhanging the river:
and another in a series of big, beautiful white herons:
At last, we arrive at the dock, and it’s time to fish for piraña. We bait huge hooks on the end of bamboo poles and slap ’em right in the water. Lauren, the french teenager, was pulling them in right and left. Tiny, but either white or yellow (those are the kind that bite us). I, on the other hand, may have looked the part:
but every time the hook was set with a piece of meat and I threw it in, I felt the familiar tug of a customer. But no matter how quickly I raised my pole, all I found on the end was an empty hook! A dozen or so tries and I left the fish for the others. Tom fished amongst the lily plants and came up with a large snake-face whitefish.
After everyone had their fill of fishing, it was back in the truck and back for lunch – and I was starving! A lovely selection of rice, beans (staples at every meal), stewed beef with cassava/manioc (LOVED this one), steamed zucchini stuffed with quinoa and greens, bake yam slices, roasted chicken with herbs, some veggie that looks like a green fig, that had been stewed with onions and cocktail tomatoes, and a salad of lettuce, sliced tomatoes, avocado and hearts of palm. I ate some for you, Taylor!
Siesta time and mom and I finished watching the movie “Belle”, and then I went diligently to work on keeping YOU abreast of our goings-on. Please do the same for me/us – through comments or newsie emails, thank you very much.
BTW, I did see the big-ass spot on my lens after posting these photos. corrective measures have been taken.
The 3 o’clock bell rings for afternoon snack, then 4 o’clock and time for the afternoon activity. It’s incredibly hot and humid, and I would move it to about 5, so we could finish around dusk, when animals start to move, but as we know, I am not running the show! It’s a walk through the woods, and believe you me, it’s definitely the ooh-ooh aah-aah jungle out there.
Incredibly humid, a tangle of trees, bushes and spider webs, but onward we go. It’s only about a 2 mile walk each way, but with stops every 100 feet to check out a bird or plant, it takes a while. Here’s a typical look (trying to capture this vine/tree that starts in the left-side foreground and has grown completely braided):
We continue along, and see our first real snake! On the ground, then lifting its head and grabbing onto a vine with its midsection, then winding slowly around the entire tree and up into the canopy, it’s a beautiful pale blue and only about 2 1/2 feet long. A skinny little guy/gal, and Sacho says it’s not poisonous.
Further along, someone spots a hornet dragging its prey – a tarantula – around the trunk of a tree, then down along the path. The huge hornet has beautiful red on its wings and is not even too slowly, making its way back to a nest somewhere. Evidently it stung the spider, which numbed the spider, then grabbed onto its prey before it could come to and fight. Pretty cool stuff!
We are all seriously sweating, but make it to the tower. Up, up, little pup, until the top, and a beautiful view of the canopy.
Mom and I and the french family are seriously ready to head back, so we set off until a clearing in the shade where we can wait for the others. Our guide takes a few people along the road to see the stork that is the symbol for all of the Pantanal. When I walk to tell Sacho that mom would like the truck to come get us, I see the stork, and its a big motherfucker, let me tell you! About as tall as I am:
The truck arrives shortly, and the french family and we are so happy to climb aboard:
and we enjoy our front row seat:
until we arrive back at camp forthwith. Strip down to our skivvies, we enjoy the air until we’ve cooled down, then shower before dinner. I go on the night safari, mostly because it’s so nice and cool in the open truck. Don’t really see much, other than a large family or peccaries as we leave the pousada, but it’s enjoyable when the truck is turned off, and we enjoy the night sounds (you might not believe what frogs can sound like) and the stars.