The Pantanol

This vast natural paradise (the size of Texas!) is Brazil's major ecological attraction and offers a density of wildlife that exceeds even the the Amazon.

During the rainy season from October to March (yes, I was in the thick of it!), the Rio Praguai and other lesser rivers flood much of this low lying region creating patches of dry land where animals congregate. The waters rise as much as 3 metres above low water levels. This limits human habitation and provides a perfect feeding ground for wildlife.

I have aways wanted to visit the Pantanol (what do you expect with 650 bird species to offer!) so was very excited to spend 5 nights in the heart of it. I stayed in a simple lodge built on stilts to combat the annual flooding. Ally was a bit swamped out from Argentina and decided to rather relax on Isla del Mel) off the coast of Curitiba while I battled the mosquitos.

Altogether the Pantanol supports 650 bird species and 80 mammals including jaguars, ocelots, pumas, maned wolves, deers, ant eaters, armodillos, monkeys, tapirs and capybaras. I saw many bird species but mammal sightings were a little more limited due to the lushness of the vegetation at this time of the year.

The Jabiru stalk is one of the largest stalks in the world and is the official symbol of the Pantanol. It is a very impressive bird with a wing span of 3.5 metres.

I really like this photo I took of Monk Parrots in the early morning. They seemed to be having a lot of fun on the branch, all talking at the same time over breakfast. Reminds of me of some other families I have met!

The main mode of transport in the Pantanol as you would expect is by boat. We did a wonderful day trip along a course of rivers - including the beautiful and abundant "Red River" that gets its gorgeous colours from its rich iron content and provides beautiful reflections against the clouds.

Boats and water always seem to bring out the fun in people. Here we are having lots of it. Thanks to Yasuhiko for his fast trigger finger! The other guy in the photo is Greg, a fellow Cape Townian who I met on the trip. Needless to say, we got on famously! SAFA's always know how to have fun.

Another great way of exploring the shallower areas in on horse back. We did some great excursions along water logged paths and saw many birds this way. I also got to experience the thrill of galloping through water - totally exhilerating. Once of the guys in our group is a Canadian farmer who lives on a horse, so the pace was very fast, much to my great delight.

We also went walking through the jungle and had to cross several alligator infested rivers as we moved from island to island. Thanksfully the alligators here do not seem to eat humans, probably as they have so much else to eat.

Marcello was an awesome guide. He is an Indian who was born and grew up in the jungle. He speaks 6 languages and has the eyes of a hawk which came in very useful for spotting wildlife. We were very lucky to get him (he is famous in these parts as the best guide) and to spend time with him and hear his stories and share his vast knowledge. He was tremedous fun too. Amazingly, he seemed to speak fluent monkey language too and watching him howl with the Howler Monkeys is a memory I will never forget.

A great highlight of the Pantanol was the people I got to meet. Our all guy group (Frank from Germany, Greg from Cape Town and James from Canada) were a lot of fun and we all shared the same passion for the wildlife and the outdoors. Frank enjoys photography as much as me so it was great to share tips.

We experienced a couple of impressive downpours, including one while we were on horseback (refreshingly cool). I loved the dramatic clouds.

We went fishing the one day and James the Canadian, caught some Pirhanas. Scary looking, but they don't eat you unless you are dripping blood from a nasty wound. In which case, they would strip you in less than 3 minutes. Needless to say, when we swam we were careful not to cut our feet!

I keep learning cool new camera techniques. Here I discovered the amazing power of my super macro function. You can get your camera so close that you have to be very careful not to knock the poor little critters with your lens. I love modern technology.

The mosquitos were merciless. I was bitten on every inch of my body just about and it got a little much at times - there was just no reprieve! But I certainly did not suffer as much as Marloes and Harold (a great couple from Holland). They went rubber tubing on the first day without mosquito repellant and paid a heavy price. Like the troopers they are, they kept there sense of humour and their backs were much sought after for photos!

The sunsets over the swamp were as beautiful as any we have seen on this trip - and we have been blessed to see a lot of them. Funny how you can never get "sunsetted out", no matter how many you see. Could be the fact that they all look completely different.

Birds

New birds seen

• Bare-faced Ibis
• Jabiru
• Turkey vulture
• Black-collared Hawk
• Solitary Eagle
• Chaco chachalaca
• Common Piping-Guan
• Bare-faced curassow
• Hyacinth Macaw
• Black-hooded Parakeet
• Reddish-bellied Parakeet
• Swallow-tailed Hummingbird
• Ringed Kingfisher
• Green Kingfisher
• Rufous-tailed Jacamar
• Black and white Monjita
• Bananaquit
• Puna Yellowfinch

Letter to Marcello (Pantanol Guide - 04 March 2006)

Hi Marcello

What can I say?  It was awesome and you are awesome!  The best guide ever.  Period.

Here are some reasons why I think so.

• Your fantastic knowledge of the wildlife of the Pantanol.  You showed us so much and told us so many interesting things.
• Your unbelievable ability to spot even the smallest birds and animals from far away.  You can see better than any hawk.  You helped me see 20 new species of birds.
• Blue Macaw and Toco Toucan!!  I wanted to see them - you found them.
• Your passion for the jungle.  It is in your eyes - it is everywhere in you.  It inspires me.
• Your amazing energy.  You always liven people up - no matter how tired they are.
• The incredible way you talk to Howler monkeys.  Awesome!  Its like Dr Dolittle but better!
• Your great sense of humour and fun - you made us laugh so many times.
• The way you let us know about your culture and the peoples of the Pantanol.
• Your knife!  That's one big mother!
• Your ability to make the horses go.  So much fun!
• Opening up and telling us about your life.
• Your great singing voice.  U2 rocks!
• Great volleyball!!

You are amazing and we will never forget our time here.  

Bye for now my friend

Graeme

Iguazu Falls

As an African, I am very proud that the Victoria Falls cracked the nod as one of the official "7 Wonders of the Natural World" (the only waterfall in the list). But having visited both Iguazu Falls and Victoria Falls, I am certain that there must have been some very serious contention between the judges (whoever they were...) as to which falls made the final list. The stupendous roar of Iguazu's 275 different waterfalls crashing 80 metres into the Rio Iguacu is truly spetacular.

The falls are situated on the border between Brazil and Argentina and we visited them on both sides to see them properly. Brazil gives the grand overview and Argentina the closer look. I had already seen the falls on a business trip to Brazil in 2003 but I was thrilled to get a chance to see them again and show them to Ally.

Some photos of the falls on the Argentinian side...

The falls on the Brazilian side...

The most awesome part ofthe falls is the semi circular Garganta del Diablo (Devil's Throat), a deafening and dampening part of the experience, approached by a series of catwalks across the river. There's no doubt that it's spectacular - there's only one question: Where's the bungi jump?

Despite development pressures, the 55,000 hectare park is a natural wonderland of subtropical rainforests with over 2000 identified plant species, countless insects, 400 bird species and many mammals and reptiles. Here is a collage of some of the critters (some cute, some creepy) I managed to catch on camera.

Ok, so these racoons are officially the cutest furry animals I have ever seen (apart, perhaps, from Sally.) They are very social and gregarious - two racoons will disappear into the tree to shake fruit off the branches for their little friends below. Occasionally, with all the shaking, a large branch will fall down to, as I discovered to my cost while photographing. My poor head still has a bump...

This squirrel was also mighty pretty. Check out that blue right eye! No photoshopping there, I assure you.

I went on a 6 km hike through the forest to a clearing with a waterfall. The water cascaded down onto a shiny rock that looked very much like an inviting chair. I couldn't resist - much to the initial amazement (then amusement) of some other hikers.

Here taking a dip close to a somewhat more powerful cascades. I didn't have the courage to duck my hair under this one.

Iguassu Bird Park

A fun place to see a fascinating variety of captive, colourful birds up close. Of course, I couldn't add any of them to my list of new species. That would be cheating!

This parrot took an instant liking to my hat. It nibbled the little button right off the top. No worries though - With the heat increasing exponentially as we move north, I need all the ventilation I can get.

These hummingbirds proved rather tricky to photograph. They're tiny and only hover for a short while before flittering off in unpredictable directions. I have seen a number of them in the wild recently (much to my delight) but not been able to positively identify any yet (much to my frustration) due to them all looking too similar and moving too fast. Hopefully it will be a bit easier in the Amazon.

What a beautiful lizard. They chill out all day and have such an enlightened, happy and peaceful look in their eyes, you'd think they had discovered the meaning of the universe.

Talking of the universe, I really like this analogy of time (on one of the exhibits at Iguazu.) Condensing the age of the earth into just one year provides an amazing perspective. I developed this thought a bit in a previous blog post.

Here are some videos . The power of the water was awe inspiring.

New birds seen in Iguazu

• Red-rumped Cacique
• Squirrel Cuckoo
• Crested Caracara
• Plush-crested Jay
• Amazon Kingfisher
• Great Kiskadee
• Rufous-collared Sparrow
• Great Dusky Swift
• Rufous-bellied Thrush
• Toco Toucan
• Black Vulture
• Black-throated Mango

Provincial Esteros del Iberia

Aquatic plants and grasses, including "floating islands", dominate this wetland reserve that covers 13000 square kilometers in north central Corrientes, Argentina.

Twitching vigorously. That´s what I was doing most of the time here as birds were abundant almost beyond belief. I saw close to 40 new species. We also saw capybara, swamp deer, howler monkeys, otters and caimans (crocodiles).

Capybaras are the largest rodents in the world. They look like giant guineapigs. It is the rodent equivilent of a hippopotamus. Cattle Tyrants perch on their backs and much ticks all day long. Tasty.

Caimans are also abundant in the reserve. They aren´t big enough to eat people but could certainly take off a limb or two - so we were encvouraged not to dangle our feet from the boat.

I wouldn´t want to be a juicy fly with one of these in the vicinity. Easily the biggest frog I have ever seen. It would provide a month of meals for a gastronome except I suspect they are poisonous. When my knuckle brushed against one (curiosity can be a killer), it felt like I had touched a stinging nettle.

We never did hear the Howler Monkeys howl. They were far too busy lazing around in the trees, doing nothing. The alpha male did come to check me out but from the disdain on his face, obviously did not think I was much of a threat, and he wandered on.

Most of the reserve consists of rivers, reeds and lakes so the best way to explore it is by boat. I was lucky to find a guide who was a guru on birds who also took me on some walks into the reeds. As you walk, you can feel the ground sponging beneath you and you realise that you are walking on a huge island of floating grass. Happily we didn´t fall through - much to the disappointment of the caimans.

The sunsets were gorgeous. We appreciated the early mornings and evenings as a refreshing reprieve from the very hot and muggy days. We were expecting to do battle with swarms of mosquitos but were suprised (and delighted) at how few there were. Probably thanks to my many feathered friends, not to mention the giant frogs.

We also explored part of the park on horse back. Where else can you rent horses and a guide for $ 3,50 an hour? We enjoyed it tremendously but sure felt it the next day. Our guide was a fun and chatty guy so we got to practise our Spanish. We are finally getting to grips with the language, just as we head off into Portuguese speaking lands. That´s life!

Cloudy reflections

You know you are in swamp lands when...

...you share your shower with a baby frog.


New birds seen

• Olivaceous cormorant
• White-necked Heron
• Maguari Stork
• Southern Screamer
• Brazilian Duck
• Snail kite
• Rufous-sided crake
• Giant Wood-Rail
• Limpkin
• Yellow-billed tern
• Spot-winged pigeon
• Picui Ground Dove
• Smooth-billed Ani
• Guira cuckoo
• Band-winged Nightjar
• Green-barred Woodpecker
• Field Flcker
• Narrow-billed woodcreeper
• Yellow-chinned Spinetail
• Sooty Tyrannulet
• Pied water tyrant
• White headed Marsh-Tyrant
• Cattle Tyrant
• Brown-crested Flycatcher
• Masked gnatcatcher
• Tropical Parula
• Greenwinged Saltator
• Yellow-billed Cardinal
• Redcrested finch
• Rusty-collared seedeater
• Great Pampa-Finch
• Shiny cowbird
• Bay-winged cowbird
• Golden-winged cacique
• Unicoloured Blackbird
• Epaulet Oriole
• Troupial
• Scarlet-headed Blackbird

Excerpt from Ally's dairy

We arrived in the small village which is inside the park and found a lovely hostel. R60 for the night for a luxury room with bathroom including shampoo and conditioner. It is the bargain of our trip so far.

The next morning we went out early by boat to see the birds. The air was thick with them and they were not worried about us as all. G was twicthing merrily as every bird he saw was new. His admin manager (me) could hardly keep up with ticking them off.

It was so hot during the day that all we did was sleep but we had a horse ride to look forward to that evening. The horses were just right for me. I could get on them by myself from the ground and they were sturdy and happy to listen to you when you wanted to direct them. We tried to communicate with our guide who was so patient with us but I would have loved to have had a real conversation with him – he was so nice. He quickly cottoned on that G was looking at all the birds so at least there was a subject in common. It was a very poor town. He pointed out the one house in the village with satellite TV and also a tiny tradtional house made from mud and grass which housed 8 people. I actually could think of nothing worse than living in a two roomed place with 7 other family members and it is 35C in the shade! We are blessed. Needless to say there are no stables for the horses as the lowest tempreture it gets is 20C. We did a bit of a gallop on the horses which was fun but I was bowed legged when I got off – and I certainly walked funny the nexy day!

We went to the only restaurant in town. Well it was really a room in someone´s house which was subdivided with the (very tiny) supermarket and we could watch the family TV from our table. They had three items on the menu - crumbed veal, pizza and meat pasty. The veal was great and we arranged to come back for the special the next day. We ended going four nights in a row - it became our local spot.

When we walked home we saw thousands of bugs in the road and looked up and realised that they wre being killed by the light. No wonder there are so many birds around with the easy pickings off the road.

At the hostel where we stayed, there was a little girl who had so many pets. Dogs, a little puppy (whose eyes had no even opened), a baby capybara and a pony. Just amazing to be surrounded by all these animals. I loved the puppy. It made that special crooning noise that only a very small puppy makes. I wanted to take it home.

Thinking about the village it gives the expression a one horse town a new meaning. The population ratio must be, to every 1 person, something like:

• 10000 mozi`s (renewed daily)
• 1000 frogs (they turn up everywhere – even your shower)
• 500 crocs (they look so menacing)
• 4 horses
• 3 dogs (and boy, do they bark)
• 2 cows
  

All in all a great place

On our last evening we went out in the boat. The birds were singing, the water lapping, the sky was changing to a deep pink and slowly sinking and then our guides cell phone went. He went a deep pink himself and I think if the water could have swollowed him he would have gladly gone. You just can`t get away from it all, no matter how hard one tries. But this place was magic.

So onward to Igauza Falls.

The mother of all bus journeys

We have just arrived back in Buenos Airies (and the land of fast internet!) after a marathon 44 hour bus trip from Southern Argentina (El Calafete). The trip actually wasn't too bad apart from my feet and ankles swelling up to twice their usual size. We got to watch some movies dubbed into Spanish, slept a lot, read a bit and gazed out of the window. Hence the collage. I loved Patagonia. Vast landscapes, big skies, amazing mountains, fantastic hiking.

Route 3 from the bus

Ally's Account

Our 44 hour trip from El Chalten to Buenos Aires was express – and they mean express. There was a 20 min stop for lunch and that was all. By 9pm I was worried that I would not get my dinner. I couldn`t believe the young kids and how well behaved they were. For 12 hours they had sat on their parents laps – some as old as 6 – so quiet with no cries for food or entertainment. Unlike me. We did actually get a light meal so I was happy.

Our first part of the trip was uneventful but then we had to change buses and I realised I had left my pillow on the bus. I shed a tear as my pillow is such a comfort to me. It even goes on hikes to both Witels and Torres. But then I brightened as I realised that both buses would be going in the same direction. I was delighted to find my pillow safe and sound, being used as some else`s back rest.

For 2000km the scenery does not change. Just flat and bone dry with very low scrub due to the icy wind and lack of rain. It was so flat we could see the sun set and the moon rise at the same time. I had never seen that before. I would love to have been able to sit outside and smell the air and watch the colours change.

I did get a fright that night. It was our second night on the bus and when I looked at G`s feet they had swollen to twice their normal size. You couldn`t see his ankles and his toes were like pork sausages. I realised it was because he had been sitting too long. So now I have solved the mystery of Big Foot. He was just some guy who rode a bus too long in the Himalayas and then had to walk home through the snow.

When kids get bored (Ally)

During our trip from El Chalten to El Calafate, we stopped at a country shop in the middle of no-where for a pit stop and coffee. Two local young girls, looking for a laugh, started hunting a hen and her brood of chicks with stones - trying to aim and hit them as the little chicks scrambled to take cover in the sparce foliage.

Their excited giggles and the terrified clucks of the mom hen brought out the hunter´s instinct in the local german shephard, who then also went after a chick. He was a better hunter than the girls and managed to eat one – just in time to be seen by the master of the house, who went mad. The dog ended up being chained and the girls left to their own devices. All this happened while buying a cup of coffee.

So there we were enjoying the sunshine and caffeine (we had been up since 4 am) when the girls, evidently bored and undisciplined, started hunting the fluffy chicks yet again. With rocks in hand and about to throw they turned around with very surprised expressions when simultanously 5 foreign adults (us and our travelling companions) screamed NO!! They then slunk away, waiting, no doubt, for us to leave. There is after all nothing to do. No TV or other kids for 100s of miles.