Brazil > By Canoe through the Pantanal

At night, the jungle sounds come through the open window. The mosquito net keeps the mosquitoes and other insects outside. At sunrise, nature comes to life. Birds make noise in the treetops. Today’s activities are divided into groups. There are three groups and everyone does everything in three different time slots. I start with horseback riding and canoeing. Another group does the activities in reverse order. The horses look healthy and well cared for. With the help of a mounting block, I easily climb onto the horse. Soon I notice that the animals are used to the route. It doesn’t matter much what I do; the horse follows the one in front. At a slow walking pace, I ride through the landscape. On the trees, you can see how high the water can rise during the rainy season. The dark trunk goes up more than one and a half meters. I ride the horse over sandy paths and through the trees. I struggle to move my horse out of the line to take a photo. I cannot get the horse to move faster. If the leader isn’t moving, the horse doesn’t move at all. He is clearly more in charge of me than I am of him. After about an hour, we arrive at a farm. The other group is already waiting. They have paddled the canoes here. They now mount the horses to ride back to the farm. I get into the canoe. The water in the river is low, just enough to avoid getting stuck on the bottom. Various birds sit in the trees.

Brazil - Canoeing through the wetlands of the Pantanal

Caimans watch me suspiciously from the shore, ready to dive underwater if needed. The sun shines beautifully over the water. Around eleven o’clock, I am back at the fazenda. The guide takes us into the forest. This is the area where the jaguar lives, he tells us enthusiastically. He shows us recent jaguar tracks in the sand. These are just a few days old, he says. The fox tracks are from last night, he assures us. Passionately, he explains that he is skilled at tracking jaguars. Tonight we can go with him to search for the predator. I have decided not to do this. I choose to get a good night’s sleep. The chance of seeing a jaguar is minimal. It is around lunchtime and too hot to start the next activity immediately.

Brazil - Walking in search of animals in the Pantanal

It’s 36 degrees today—too hot for me to do anything, too hot for the animals to do anything. All the animals hide in the shade. So do I. I take a refreshing dip in the pool. In the afternoon, I head out again. Because there are three groups, each group does one activity twice. One group goes canoeing back and forth, one group does the hike twice, and my group does horseback riding twice. Everyone rides the same horse again. I get on Bella Vista again. Where this morning I tried in vain to have some influence on the animal, I give up now. Bella Vista simply follows the group. The horses seem to have a hierarchy as well.

Brazil - Exploring the beautiful Pantanal area on horseback

Right from the starting point, the group walks in the same order as this morning. I walk at the back. Since we switch to the walking safari this afternoon, we follow a different route. On the sandy paths, a cloud of dust forms as we pass. The guide leads the horses through the bushes and between the trees. Sometimes I have to duck to avoid low-hanging branches. At the watchtower, I meet the hikers. They take over the horses from here. We walk back with the safari guide. At the end of the afternoon, the sun sets. The temperature drops slightly. Some small birds cautiously venture back onto the path. We don’t see many animals. The guide tells us where he has seen the jaguar and points out fresh fox tracks again. He says the fox walked here last night, excitedly. We end the safari close to the lodge. The jaguar often comes by the river, the guide explains. He shows us remains of carcasses of pigs, fish, and even a caiman—all eaten by the jaguar, he emphasizes. In the evening, Gino gives a presentation about the Pantanal nature reserve. Mattheus, an intern who speaks good English, translates the presentation for us. I see photos of the four seasons in the nature reserve. Aerial photos of the fazenda show how close the water comes during the rainy season. Then the fazenda is only accessible by boat. There are also photos of the various birds and predators in the area. The evening ends with a barbecue. All staff are present as well. They dance to Brazilian music.