Stay in the South Pantanal (Summary)

Our flight at 5:50 am was also canceled due to fog. They offered us another flight in the late afternoon, hoping that the weather would improve by then. We were driven back to our hotel. From there, we watched the departures. Indeed, flights resumed around noon and we could go to the airport with peace of mind. Daniela had tears in her eyes when our plane actually stood at the gate. Since it is nearly impossible to get direct flights in Brazil, we always have a layover. So we had two flights ahead of us. How should I express myself now when describing these two flights? In short, I thought we were going to crash :-(! The turbulence on both flights was a nightmare and I was close to tears. Luckily, we landed safely in Campo Grande. We were completely exhausted and went straight to our hotel to sleep.

The next morning, we wanted to start the day with a nice warm shower, as the temperatures were still low. However, that didn't happen because only cold water was available if you wanted more than three drops of water. Well, then we'll warm up with a nice hot drink at breakfast instead. We stood outside our hotel and had a cup of coffee when suddenly two yellow-blue Hyacinth Macaws flew over us. Unbelievable, I almost spit out my coffee. Experiencing animals in their natural habitat is AMAZING. The two of them landed on a palm frond and made a loud noise. I thought it was soooooo great.

A short time later, we were picked up by a minivan heading to the South Pantanal. Maybe a quick explanation about the Pantanal. It is an area where supposedly 600 different bird species as well as jaguars live. The drive lasted a whopping four hours. During the drive, we saw so many animals. It was fantastic. Toucans, macaws, or other colorful birds were flying around again and again. At a lake, several caimans were sunbathing and we could easily approach them. The area was also very diverse and interesting. We couldn't identify anything familiar - it was a mix of savannah-like trees combined with palms and reeds. Then again, grassland, sandy sections, and some mountain ranges. I couldn't take my eyes off the window :-). In the afternoon, we finally reached our lodge. Already during the welcome, we could see numerous macaws and other colorful birds in the area of the lodge. We were impressed. The first thing on the agenda was piranha fishing. They were baited with raw beef. A guide caught a piranha. Its teeth looked quite scary. The fish was served to us for dinner in the evening. Daniela found it very delicious.

When dusk fell, we took a boat ride along the river. Hoping to see a jaguar on the riverbank. When the sun had completely set, the guide searched the shore with a huge spotlight. Daniela's dive flashlight also came in handy and did a good job. We could constantly see the orange eyes of the caimans in the water. They looked like little devils. We also spotted a capybara and a huge iguana, as well as countless fireflies dancing on the shore. When we returned from the boat tour, I was so cold that my teeth were chattering. I ran to the room and just wanted to take a hot shower. Well, guess what? Only icy cold water came out of the showerhead. I already felt frostbitten. Luckily, there was a powerful hairdryer. I warmed myself up with it for at least 30 minutes. Daniela resorted to more radical means and downed a large tequila - with success: afterwards, she was warm as toast ;-) For the night, she set the air conditioning to 30 degrees to warm up, and I put on (almost) everything the suitcase had to offer. I went to bed wearing thick socks and a hat.

The next morning, we went on a jeep safari with a 1 1/2-hour jungle walk. Despite the good weather, we didn't see too many animals. But that wasn't a problem at all. The group was in a good mood and the guide continually shared interesting facts about the animals we discovered. The jungle walk wasn't a problem for me either because there were no spiders or snakes there. At least we didn't spot any. But then suddenly, a wild boar family appeared in front of us. They look completely different from the wild boars in Germany. According to the guide, they are very dangerous. They also made a lot of noise, which made me feel uneasy. Fortunately, they ran into the undergrowth and left us alone. After that, we encountered a path with thorny bushes. We kept getting stuck and it hurt like hell. The guide had tried to clear the way with his machete, but he didn't succeed very well. Two Dutch girls were wearing thin exercise pants, and their legs were covered in red blotches. Ouch.

When we arrived back at the lodge, we had a delicious lunch. Afterward, we could warm up in the sun for a while (we had frozen a bit during the jeep ride) and then it was already time for us to return. Due to the airport closure in Foz do Iguazu, we had lost two days in the Pantanal.

On the way back to Campo Grande, we repeatedly saw an ostrich on the side of the road and other amazing animals. The Pantanal is an impressive area. For me, it was indescribable to see the macaws flying freely in nature. However, we both expected that there might be places (lakes, larger water holes, special breeding grounds, etc.) where several animals would come together - but we had to search for each of them individually ;-) Let's see how it will be in the Amazon region...

Now, in our hotel in Campo Grande, we can finally enjoy the long-awaited hot shower... and we still have to remove some thorns from our skin :-(!

Greetings from the two of us :-) :-)