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So guys, we survived the overnight bus which was surprisingly better than expected, and now also have a 16 hour overnight train journey under our belts! Our last week in Brazil has been amazing, and included the best few days of the trip so far…
We began in Bonito, very touristy and famous for its crystal clear water, fish collection and snorkeling - needless to say it´s not been the highlight of Sarah´s trip! Jess of course lapped up the chance to swim along the rivers, going against the current, much to the disgust of the locals. Taking some time away from the fishies, we visited a stunning blue lagoon cave, which after our slightly concerning taxi journey which could easily have featured in the start of a horror film, turned out to be well worth the visit - impressive stalagmites and stalagtites, and sabretooth tiger fossils (under 90 metres of water…!) Staying true to Brazilian culture, we had a pretty memorable St Patrick´s day, felt we should do our fellow Irish travelers justice, so it was baby guiness (knock off tia maria and baileys mixture from 100% legitimate Paraguayan market) and many a bright green beverage all around! We spread the Durham influence further across the globe by teaching a hilarious game of Irish snap, even getting the security guard at the hostel involved!
From here we drove to the Pantanal (aka mosquito heaven), Brazil´s famous wetlands area which borders Bolivia, where we stayed on a local ranch - to say it was remote would be an understatement, only accessible by a 3 hour truck ride across some very dubious looking bridges! For 2 nights we got to sleep in hammocks in a barn with 30 other travelers, and spent the days on safari, wildlife walking, horseback riding (and piranha fishing!) To list a few, we managed to see families of capybara (the largest rodent in South America), the cutest dancing armadillo, some amazing birds including tucans, parrots, vultures, eagles, and storks, and not to mention (with no exaggeration) about 2000 caimen (small alligators) which we got apprehensively got within about half a metre of… As sore as we were the day after, horseback riding though the beautiful surroundings was definitely a highlight of the trip so far, closely followed by our night trek where the image of millions of stars and almost as many caimen eyes reflecting back at you is hard to describe.
All in all, Brazil has been a brilliant experience, and now to look forward to Bolivia!
- comments
Gogi Wow Jess, great blog. Such an amazing time and we can enjoy it from our armchairs!
Mumand Dad Fidler fantastic to read so proud and pleased for you both. What an amazing time you are having. Can not wait for my gap year !!!!!!!!!! muriel and Clive
Sam Fallows Hey we went to Uros and Taquile in 2002, if you get chance we were told to take sunscreen for the littlies. X