Marrua Hotel Bonito

... to be given to me and then going to pack the bags for tomorrow,. Bus leaves at 6am, need to leave here around 5h30 - Yeehaa.<br><br><br> <br> <br><br><br>Bon maintenant je la fait en francais rapido express histoire que tout le monde s´y retrouve.<br><br>Jeudi 5 Novembre<br><br>Visite de Bonito express - la ville n' est pas très grande. L' air est tres humide, premier déluge vers 12h. Merci le poncho ...

... On the way out the guide showed us a plant that is suppose to great for hangovers so we thought we should grab some just in case...<br><br>We went for dinner and drinks with Tanya, Glyn and Dan from Australia and we later ended up at Bonitos only nightclub where I went a bit silly on the local cocktail ´´Caipirinhas´´ and Dan just went silly. <br><br>We dont have any photos of the river tour as we dont have a waterproof camera. You can rent them there for BRL$60 for 200 photos.

... Campo Grande you can take a bus to Bonito (you can also ask the hostel if they offer transportation).<br><br>Best Place to stay (low budget):<br><br> Albergue da Juventude &#8211; HI Hostel. More information at http://www.ajbonito.com.br/ <br>You should book in advance, especially if travelling in high season (school holidays and public holidays). The hostel is well located in the city, the installations are okay and it is a good place to meet ...

We arrived in Bonito just in time. We found the only place in the town with Sky TV, turned on the TV and saw Roger Federer against Andy... Roddick. Damn. Great final though. At least Federer was in it. It would have sucked to have got up at 4am and taken a 5 hour drive to see a Roddick vs Haas final. <br>We stayed at a cool family run hotel. The family look after local orphaned children for a few days a week and we had fun playing with them when we were in the hotel. The ...

... buses. I think we paid about 80 Real each (more than 20 quid) for our 3 journeys in a mini bus. Ouch. <br><br>Anyway the place which offered the snorkling was a pretty farm with lots of land, who must do very well out of these excursions because the place was ...

A couple hours west of Mineros is Parque National das Emas. It is named for the Rea, a large osterage-like bird that is abundant in the area. We stayed for about a week to volunteer and learn about the project. We met some nice people and made a few new friends. We were able to explore the park quite a bit and although we didn´t see a lot of animals, we saw lots of tracks. Including those of jaguar, ocelot, giant anteater, maned wolf, and giant armadillo!

We arrived in Mineiros at 7 pm but were out of money and unsure how to get the the research station. So far it has been difficult to get money out of ATMs in brazil. We had to take a taxi to 3 banks before I was successful. Then we stayed in a cheap hotel. Today we have to catch another bus in the afternoon the Emas national park.

One of the most 'exciting' parts of the trip, there in the wilds of the Pantanal! Watch the video first for an explanation! Then see the photos. If your pc won't play the AVI video file, I wrote the story on the last picture. Quite the memory!!! -Cody

The Pantanal is one the world's greatest wetlands and in many ways is better for wildlife-viewing than the Amazon (where the rainforest is too thick to spot animals easily). It was a highlight of my entire trip! I saw heaps. A big part of it was our group, from Switzerland, Holland and myself--and of course our local guide, who was very good. I have omitted ONE story here, which I will send separetly tomorrow, chances are. Quite the thrill!

After the Pantanal, Rita (our truck) was having serious problems with her back axle (or her suspension, or something!). So, we had a quick change of plans: whilst Pete sorted out the truck, Carlos would take us and his family to some table top mountains just north of Cuiaba, for a couple of days. But first we had a night at Carlos´s place in Cuiaba. The local university was having this big fiesta so ...