Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
We boarded our night bus early evening in Foz and changed at a town called Dorados around 3am, arriving into Bonito completely exhausted around 7am. Unfortunately the poor weather had followed us from Foz and so our choices for activities were extremely limited. Normally one can visit a multitude of caves but due to the heavy rain most of these were closed. This gave me a perfect excuse to catch up on some sleep in the morning.Bonito itself is little more than a single street, populated with tour operators offering a variety of trips and activities, restaurants, bars and shops. When it rains in Bonito, not much happens. For lunch we decided to try the most exciting option, (as Ian Wright, ´Mr Globetrekker´) would say ´the local fare´. Being situated close to the Pantanal (the largest wetland in the world and our next destination), Bonito`s restaurants contain some of the more exotic yet typical Brazilian dishes. My lunch began with a very tasty Piranha soup, followed by a mixed plate of, Grilled White Lipped Peccary, Capybara, Jacare, and…….rice. Capybara is officially the worlds` largest Rodent and for those of you who are interested, it wasn`t quite the culinary feast that the White Lipped Peccary (some type of four legged animal). Jacare is Portuguese for Caiman, which is basically an alligator. Very very good. I am currently trying to establish supply routes between Bonito and Stanmore to set up a Caiman restaurant. The easiest way to describe it is a cross between fish and meat, and I would definitely recommend trying it.With the weather showing no sign of improvement we went out for a Japanese dinner (in the Brazilian Steppes, very traditional) and then frequented a venerable drinking institution called the Taboa Bar for an after dinner tipple. The owners of the bar are either very clever or just tight. Instead of decorations, they allow all travellers to simply write a message on the bare walls (which are now completely covered with amusing scrawl). Not wanting to leave until it stopped raining, we spent quite a while there, and when we finally left, somehow, what should have been a 5minute walk back to the hotel along the only street in Bontio, turned into a half an hour trek. I am still not sure how we got lost on a single street, I blame the weather, and not alcohol consumption.The next day we took a snorkelling trip down the Rio de Plata river. A tropical river teeming with an abundance of fish and wildlife a couple hours drive from Bonito. We wet suited up, and with snorkel and flippers in hand, sort of waddled for half an hour down a path that took us to the start. On route we passed various indigenous trees and spotted a couple of Copybarra´s. I wasn`t overly bothered about eating them this time, though they were really quite large. We dropped into the river one by one from a small platform. The river was actually warmer than the outside air, as it comes from a natural spring. As you enter the water, hundreds of tiny cleaner fish begin nipping at you and cleaning you. I know they were just doing what nature intended, and I probably did need a clean but after 10 minutes of standing in the water listening to the guide, and constant nipping, they were beginning to rile me. The trip would last three hours, and as the river had a slight current you would simply have to float the whole way with very limited effort expelled. The variety of fish life we saw on our journey was amazing. The colours of the countless fish were extraordinary. Furthermore, they seemed completely disinterested in us, and it was possible for us to get in touching distance. Every so often, lifting your ear out of the silent tranquillity of the river, and listening to the birds and sounds of the jungle which surrounded the river, made me feel acutely aware of how far away I was from the River Thames. The Rio de Plata is unique for being the only place in the world where you can snorkel like this, and drifting down a river flanked by mangroves and dense forest, was an awesome experience. Halfway the river opens up, where there is a sink hole and a hot spring, where you can view the sand bubbling below and swim down to touch it. Towards the end of the float, the river joins a much larger river, and the temperature suddenly drops about 20 degrees. It was a very strange sensation, alike to swimming into a brick wall, and it takes you a few minutes to adjust. Due to the heavy rainfall, this river was extremely murky, and the perfect visibility of the Rio de Plata was gone. Swimming down a jungle river, with the possibility of Caiman, Annaconda and Piranha was a little daunting, and I was glad when we finished that leg and returned to camp for a Barbeque.
- comments