We have wanted to come to the Pantanal for years. Decades, actually. Probably the biggest inhibitor is the considerable expense of visiting here. But we feel it’s time to bite the budgetary bullet.
The Brazilian Pantanal is a unique wetland, one of the world’s great ecosystems, brimming with flora and fauna.
Like many places, it has suffered grievously from the changing climate. After years of severe drought, it was ravaged this year by extensive wildfires. (More info here.) This takes a sad toll on the abundant wildlife.
We arrive from Porto Alegre (via São Paulo) at Campo Grande airport. We like these tropical airports where everything is al fresco, including disembarkation from the aircraft.
Campo Grande isn’t on many people’s list of must-see cities, but has its attractions. One is the aquarium in the Campo Grande Biopark.
It claims to be the largest freshwater aquarium in the world.
Brazil used to have public telephone booths known as ‘orelhões‘ or ‘big ears’. Like most telephone booths worldwide, they are nearly extinct. We find one – minus its phone – in the shape of a hyacinth macaw.
Did we mention that our hotel has an enormous dog named Thor? He spends most of the day trying to cool off on the tiled floor.
We visit the Dom Bosco Museum, which has artifacts from what used to be the local indigenous people.
The most fascinating is this collection of funeral masks. The description says they are rare because the ritual is no longer used by the people involved, and that they used to be burned after use.
An interesting cultural note: Campo Grande was at one time the home of a coterie of Japanese immigrants. As a result, soba noodles are a local specialty.
Another local delicacy is pastry filled with alligator meat. (More accurately, caiman meat.) We try one at the mercado municipal.
The adventure begins. We wake up at five AM for the grueling five-hour 4X4 drive to our fazenda. On the way, we are blocked by a sea of the regional cattle.
These are wrangled by the local cowboys known as Pantaleiros. They aren’t quite as fancy as the Gauchos in Rio Grande do Sul.
On the drive in, we see a giant anteater far off in a field. They look as if they’re wearing very comfy pajamas.
After hours of bouncing around like dice in a cup, we arrive at Fazenda Barranco Alto. We first heard about this place from a very interesting and well-traveled Hungarian woman we met while visiting Bhutan in 2019. She had nothing but good things to say about it.
Sight or Insight of the Day
This is going to be a short one.
A few days ago, the people of the United States of America inexplicably voted for Donald Trump to be their President.
May God have mercy on our souls.