16-17 Sept 2024
I arrange Uber pickup for the short ride from my hotel to the airport. The morning is cool but hazy. My bag is crammed and I am thinking: how can I lighten my load? Carrying an extra battery and binoculars takes up space and adds a pound or two. In the carryon world, ounces count.
FOZ airport is easy to maneuver and clearing security fast. The amount of luggage others are carrying assures me no one is going to question my small backpack. Also, while not room under the seat, Azul’s overhead compartments are roomy. A Priority Pass lounge is just past security.
All my domestic flights connect through Sào Paulo. I am getting to know the terminal. It is large, rather confusing. There is little English but monitors are accurate.
I fly Azul from FOZ Iguazu to VCP, the domestic airport some 60 miles northwest of Sào Paulo. There, I connect to my flight into Cuiabá International Airport, State of Mata Grosso. But don’t be fooled by the impressive name, it is a single runway airport. My hotel is a walk across a small parking lot.
Holy crap on a cracker – back to brutal heat
I had three days of reprieve from the intense heat of Brasil. Now, I leave those cool temperatures and re-enter the hot tropics with sweltering heat. No escape – just sweat and mop the brow.
Upon arrival, finally, I exit the airport to a mild Bakersfield day: hot with strong breezes and low humidity of 58%. Hope this continues. I walk across the street, in which cars screech to a halt for pedestrians, and arrive at Hotel Amazon. Nice hotel but definitely lacking in helpfulness.
What am I doing here?
Reminds me of the 1960s’ Larry Verne comedic song “Mr. Custer.” Except, unlike that unfortunate soldier, I know exactly what I am doing in Cuiabá.
Most people I talked with about Brazil never heard of the Pantanal. For me, Brazil has three attractions: the Amazon, Iguaçu Falls, and the Pantanal. To aid their understanding, I described the Pantanal as something akin to the Florida Everglades. This was a vast understatement. Mato Grosso, translated as “thick jungle,” is a Brazilian state 1.3X bigger than Texas! The Everglades is a pond by comparison.
A new ecosystem
Both Pantanal and Everglades ecosystems are large freshwater wetlands, dependent on large watersheds. However, the Pantanal is the world’s largest at 20 times the size of the Everglades, sprawling across Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay. The Pantanal receives direct rainfall and water from many rivers including the tributaries of the Paraguay River. During the summer rainy season (November–March), rivers overflow their banks and flood the lowlands, forming shallow lakes and innumerable swamps and marshes and leaving countless islands of higher ground.
This creates an ideal ecosystem for a huge variety of birds, mammals, and reptiles. The world’s largest crocodiles live here. So too caimans, four species of alligators, swamp turtles, giant otters, manatees, and big anacondas. Bird species are abundant. Mammals include jaguars, tapirs, wolves, capybaras, anteaters, ocelots and bunches of monkeys.
If the Pantanal was overlaid on the US it would be bigger than most states, including New York or Florida. Put the Pantanal over Europe, and it would be larger than at least nine countries, including England, Austria, or, Greece. The Pantanal comprises about 3% of the entire world’s wetlands. It remains more intact and pristine than most wetland systems found around the world.
Day 1 – Welcome to the Pantanal
Early morning, I am picked up by Tim, my guide, and driven about 90 miles south to the private reserve of Pousada Piuval. On the way, I am told what to expect: a lot of birds! Most I am unfamiliar with as I am not a serious birder. However, some of the most impressive birding anywhere on the planet exists in the Pantanal.
I remember Parque Das Aves in Iguaçu, recalling how easy it was to be up close and personal with our feathered friends. I am hoping for more of this experience, not the difficulty of sightings in the Amazon.
Why is it easier to spot wildlife in the Pantanal?
- Concentration – The Pantanal provides easy access to a variety of habitats, including rivers, wetlands, flooded pastures, forests, and dry scrub. These conditions encourage a high concentration of species in a much small area. Wildlife concentrates around the small lakes and there you will see large numbers of birds and caimans. With luck, a thirsty jaguar.
- Flatter vistas and less high, dense foliage – Binoculars are a must, but unlike the dense jungles of the Amazon, in the wetlands and scrub, animals are more often spotted on the ground. If there is any hope to spot the elusive jaguar, it would be here.
- This massive wetland has the largest concentration of crocodiles in the world, with approximately 10 million caimans. Jaguars hunt caiman, so the Pantanal has one of the highest density of jaguars anywhere the world.
- Food to sustain larger numbers – Regardless the animal, feathered or not, more food means more animals. Our winged-feathered friends love to visit, nest and hang out in the Pantanal.
Transpantaneira Highway – the paved road
Skies are a featureless smoke-gray. Weather is unusual, it seems. The smell of smoke is discernible; UV ratings are 10-11 by noon; high temperatures range around 100°with lows around 80°; humidity is high at 85% in am but then drops to below 30% during heat of the day. I’m thinking that the weather here will be more bearable than expected, maybe even pleasant.
Our 3-hour drive is south on the two-lane Transpantaneira Highway. Surrounding me are flat, bone-dry lands, some agriculture and herds of Brahma cattle, scraggly trees and little sign of water. There is lots of burned scrub; the high mounds of dirt signify gold mining enterprises. There is little traffic, which is good as double yellow lines don’t seem to impede the art of passing other cars.
The smoke is ever-present. I am told most fires are set by humans. People are angry as others are damming the rivers. Forests are burned to make way for planting soy beans. “Brasil used to produce 20% of the world’s fresh water – but no more,” according to my guide. Now I see too much trash, burned land, dry rivers and smoke-filled skies of gray. Deforestation is creating multiple problems for rural Brazilians.
We make a quick stop in Poconé, Pantanal’s capital. A quick delivery is made and we are off. Within minutes, the road disappears. Bouncing over dirt and gravel, we drive about 6 miles before entering the gates of a private ranch.
Pousada Piuval, Mato Grosso, Pantanal
We arrive at Pousada Piuval, before 10 am. The lodge sits on over 300 square miles of ranch land.
Immediately are seen grazing Brahma cattle, horses and fat and happy capybaras. A plethora of birds peck for food in the gardens and feeders. The pond behind my room is home to several medium-sized caiman.
The Pousada, or Inn, affords incredible access to nature, which makes it a popolar ecological stay. Its leisure area has a swimming pool, grass volleyball court, lake with pedal boats, observation towers, an outside BBQ bar area, and hammocks for the lazy. Several wildlife tours occur throughout the day. Being a private but open ranch, the animals come and go and I am able to experience the same while attempting to observe them.
Tours, depending on season, are conducted on foot, in large safari wagons, and on horseback. One experiences direct contact with nature and wildlife in their natural habitat. Posted signs indicate how close as guests are warned to stay in their doorways when the jaguars mosey through the grounds. Jaguars love caiman and capybaras, both plentiful here, and jaguars know what’s on the menu.
The gardens are green and lush. A preponderance of Ipê trees grow, as do mangos and mature palms. Although the Ipê is known for its yellow, pink and white flowers, it is the purple Ipê that stands out at this time of year.
Amazon gets press – Pantanal wins hearts
The Amazon always seems to get the attention, but it is the Pantanal where one will experience a diverse ecosystem and its wildlife up close and personal. This World Heritage Site is the largest floodplain in the world.
Its biodiversity is surprising, with approximately 4,700 known species of animals and plants. Here exists the opportunity to observe nature up close, making interaction with the animals an unforgettable experience. Sometimes just outside your door!
Pantanal’s Big 5
Jaguars
The jaguar is the largest feline in the Americas and the symbol of the Pantanal, known for its golden-yellow coat with black spots. As an adult, it can weigh up to 160 kilos and measure over six feet in length. The strength of the jaguar’s bite is stronger than that of any other big cat due to the arrangement of its jaw muscles. Their favorite foods are caiman who also have big teeth, and capybaras. They are good swimmers and climbers and have been known to take on an anaconda.
Giant otter
The giant otter is an agile aquatic mammal found in rivers and lakes. It feeds on fish, crustaceans, mollusks, snakes and baby caimans. It is one of the animals here that is at risk of extinction, mainly due to the loss of its natural habitat.
Tuiuiú – Jabiru
Flying and soaring, the 3-foot stork exhibits about a 10-foot wingspan and flies with its legs and neck stretched out. It builds its stick-nest at the very tops of the trees where it shares parenthood with their life-long partner. It feeds on fish, molluscs, insects, reptiles and small mammals.
Caiman
One species of Pantanal crocodilians is the caiman, very commonly found in rivers, lakes and flooded areas, and is an important predator in the ecosystem. The species lives in groups, are excellent swimmers and have a high life expectancy: between 80 and 100 years.
Capybara
The largest rodent in the world, the capybara can reach up to 100 pounds and a height of 3 feet. It is commonly found in flooded areas and near bodies of water, and is an important food source for several predators in the Pantanal.
Anaconda
I’m adding a sixth Big Guy because they are big and not to be overlooked. Anacondas, or water boas, are semiaquatic snakes. They prey on other aquatic animals, including fish, birds, and caiman. Occasionally they put the squeeze on goats and even a jaguar who might get too close to the water.
Winged-feathered friends love the Pantanal
Several safaris occur during the day. Safaris can be by trick under a tall canopy or in smaller vehicles. All vehicles must navigate rough, sandy trails. Temperatures vary from cool mornings to heat of day. But, as desert dwellers say, “it’s a dry heat.” It does make a difference! Temps here are about the same as in the Amazon but the humidity is half. The worst part of a safari involves the dust. Roads and surroundings are very dry as everyone waits for the rain to begin in mid- November.
Today, I was in time for a 10:30-12:30 drive. Another left at 3:30 and circled the ranch for 4 hours.
Darkness falls quickly. A bright red sun sets at 5:42, replaced by a red full moon. All made red by the smoke of fires.
In my two excursions, I saw far more animals and birds than in my week in the Amazon Basin. Seen up close and personal were:
- Burrowing owl kicking up the sand remodeling home
- A green and gold anaconda in the lily pads, estimated at about 12′
- Iguana about 16” running around in the road
- A Jabiru and her penthouse atop the tallest tree around. Beneath her were the several condos of parakeets who never seemed to shut up
- At least two hundred caiman along the river bank, basking in afternoon sun. Around them were hundreds of birds: black vultures, jabirus, roseate spoonbills, herons, ibis, storks, and more and more
- Two black foxes trotting down the road; later one was sniffing around the lodge’s parking lot
- A mother tapir and off spring taking a final bath before nightfall
- Several Marsh deer
- Howler Monkeys dining on tree leaves
- Large Tortoise
- Large herds of Brahma cattle with calves, a few frisky enough to chase the vehicles. The little guys are vulnerable as jaguar dinners
- Countless gray or red termite or ant mounds.
While a jaguar did appear briefly, I did not manage to see it before it slipped back into the forest. Supposedly, there are about 20 on the ranch. However, the safaris were enjoyable and interesting and much flora and fauna was observed.
I am in love with the Pantanal.
