Pantanal

(Pics: boa constrictor one of our guides wrestled from a river; my first catch (piri putanga); piranha; and Capivara, the world´s largest rodent)

Brazil is fantastic! Brazilians are playful, friendly, and have a sense of humour (traits we hadn´t often encountered up to this point). Everybody here seems to know everbody else, and call out to them with great enthusiasm as they drive past. If they happen to walk past someone they know, then a looong conversation follows (this might explain why TTC tends to waffle ; ) Road rage was the norm in Ecuador, Peru and Boliva, but here they actually wave their thanks when you give way. I know these things seem trivial, but they make such a difference to the overall feel of a country and culture. Brazilian food is really yummy too. We´ve had fresh bread for the first time in months, and the desserts are delicious if a little strange (e.g. shredded cabbage in syrup? It was some sort of vegtable anyway).

The Pantanal is the worlds largest wetland area, and is thought to be íts most dense flora and fauna ecosystem. We spotted howler monkeys, a capivara (the world´s largest rodent which looks like a giant guinea pig and tastes quite gamey), several caiman (these look like small alligators, are very shy, and quite chewy). We went fishing, and I caught my very first fish within the first five minutes! It was the biggest catch of the day, and they cooked it as part of our dinner with a couple of piranha other members of our group had caught. I should clarify that we didn´t eat capivara and caiman or catch them while we were in the Pantanal as all wildlife here is protected - we tried them later in Bonito.