Dec 15 2006
Brazil Trip Diary: Day 2
Our trip was arranged through Open Door travel agency. Song liked them, saying they are bunch of Dutchmen who found their callings in the jungle. Nice.
We arrived on a farm: Pousada Xaraés. Wide open space.
Early morning walk: a couple of miles into the marsh land. We arrived at the beginning of the rainy season. The guide said the land was filling up fast with water.
Saw Toco Toucan for the first time: beautiful bird, but has a mean side: feed on other birds babies. The one we saw was chasing after a small bird who had to flee carrying its nest.
Islands of dense trees/vegetation. Otherwise just plain grassy land. Once walk into woods, saw monkeys and other tree dwelling mammals.
In the afternoon, horse back riding. Very relaxing. Saw Tuiuiu (see Wiki): the symbol of Pantanal. Graceful bird.
The farm is very peaceful. Has almost everything: cattles, water buffaloes, horses, chicken, etc. Beautify “flamboyan” trees. Macaw and parakees flocks the trees in front of our lodge. The chef, Bil, cooks mostly with what being produced in the farm: buffalo cheese, fruit jam, fresh juice, chicken and beef, etc.
Met and befriended the residence monkey (a howler monkey) called Chico (female name of Francsico in Portuguese). Our guide, Marcelo said she fled to the farm from a nearby forest fire four years ago.
Met a couple from Canada. The guy is a jaguar freak: dying to see one. The lady is from Brazil. Both told us many disturbing stories about safety in big Brazilian cities: kids, gangs, cops, and the prevelant sense of insecurity.
Everybody is very friendly on the farm. Never met the owners–two young guys from Portugal but now settled down in a house 300 yards away from our lodge. When the plain is flooded, Marcelo said, they sometimes visited the lodge by canoes.