Brazil - Part 1:
Iguazu Falls: The border crossing into Brazil was very quick and efficient. We boarded a bus in the morning which waited while we had our passport stamped on the Argentinean side. On the Brazilian side however, we had to get off the bus together with all our luggage. The Brazilian side was just as efficient and soon we were waiting outside again for another bus. During our stay, the Brazilian president was also visiting the same area. The Brazilian army was there with enough heavy artillery to flatten anything in sight! Luckily they didn’t do any target practice on gringos so we were left to explore the Iguazu Falls from the other side.
We managed to store our luggage in lockers and bought tickets for the park and quickly learned that Brazil is fairly expensive! The falls from the Brazilian side were just as amazing, if not better, than the Argentinean side. We had a panoramic view of the falls with the highlight being the “Wet Walk” – a long walkway into the spray of the water, along the foot of the falls. Standing at the end of the walkway we overlooked the water falling over the one side while getting sprayed with water from the other! To save myself and my camera, I had to make a quick escape after taking a few quick photos.
The bird sanctuary: This was located about 200m away from the Iguazu park entrance and is definitely worth a visit. The park is well looked after and home to many species of birds as well as some other animals. I lost count of the amount of birds – to name a few we saw eagles, flamingos, parrots, parakeets, rheas, guinea fowl and my favorite, the brightly coloured tucans. What made our visit even more exciting was that we could enter various cages and walk amongst the birds. I even managed to scratch a tucan’s head! We also saw anacondas, monkeys, caimans, turtles and fish. Tip: leave yourself at least two hours for a more leisurely visit than we had.
Florianopolis (Pantano do Sul): We needed some time off after many hectic weeks of travelling through South America and opted to relax in a small fishing village called Pantano do Sul. A 14 hour overnight bus ride got us into Florianopolis and after two more local buses we were “home”. We booked a double room in a very friendly family-run hostel, Estralis no Mar. Although rustic we couldn’t ask for more as included were breakfasts, hot showers, communal kitchen and best of all, our own balcony (with hammock) overlooking the sea! Night times we went to sleep to the soothing sound of crashing waves - it was exactly what we needed after more than 5 months of non-stop travel. The actual village is located on the southern tip of the island “Ilha de Santa Catarina”. It is a sleepy little town with sandy beaches and small fishing boats, and with the black urubus patrolling the beaches, it had a lot of charm. Olga, together with her two daughters, Sophia and Alicia and family friend, Felicia, couldn’t have been more helpful and friendly - this lead to a very memorable stay. 
Fishing is one of my passions and after months of “drought” it was nice to finally get my tackle out again. After some serious charades (and Google Translate) with the locals, I managed to find out that they fished for peixes espada (largeheaded hairtail nome) at night time. After some more charades I bought a few lures off the local fishing store and waited until dark, as that is when the fish come out to play. Armed with a 7ft Shimano spinning rod and reel loaded with 30lb braid, I was ready for them! Espadas have formidable sets of dentistry and it was very necessary to use steel wire traces to protect my lures! Catching them was great fun: chuck out the lure, retrieve, alternate the speed of retrieve and suddenly, BANG! Fish on! It wasn’t just the fish that got hooked, I was too as I spend most of my evenings fishing till late. Most of the locals however used illuminated floats to suspend their bait. These were made from a clear plastic with a soft plastic seal which housed a 9V battery to power the LED. The water was lit up like Christmas trees with the various colors emitted by their floats! My success rate at catching these fish was very high which resulted in us, fairly soon, getting fed up eating fresh fish every day! The espadas, although looking very mean with their big teeth, had very delicate and soft meat. The fish were easy to fillet and made for good eating.
Olga introduced me to one of the local fisherman called Cacau. He was a very friendly guy who let me join him for free one morning at 5am, when he left to retrieve his fishing nets. He had two young lads (Felipe and Patrick) helping him. To reach his boat we first had to row a boat to reach his bigger boat and from there it was about half an hour’s drive to his nets. He had two nets of about 100m each set between two buoys, near an island. Lifting them was hard word as they had to constantly pull, stop, grab fish, pull, stop, grab fish. It was very interesting seeing them at work and also the different species of fish – most I’ve never seen in my life and there sure were some odd looking ones! Back on terra firma Cacau gave me a fresh anchova – a very meaty fish which I later barbequed (together with my seemingly never ending catch of espada stored in the fridge). Delicious! On yet another occasion I managed to organize with Felipe to take me out fishing for a few hours. At first he rowed us out to a reef where we used hand lines to catch grouper and from there we threw anchor in the bay where we jigged for squid. Again, we were successful and that night Gillian and I gorged ourselves on yet more fresh fish and calamari!
For most of the time though we spent our time lazing in the hammocks, reading, eating, swimming and using the free internet to upload photos and Skyping family. Twice Olga cooked for us and it was nice to sample local Brazilian cuisine like feijada (beans with pork), rice and “meal”. For Christmas she cooked a meal of gammon, flavored rice and salad. Nice! Other than eating lots of food, the most exercise we did during our stay was walking along the beach and a hike over the mountain. It was a nice although slippery hike through a forest and we were rewarded with large crashing waves, a warm lagoon and a long sandy beach. We saw many urubus patrolling the beach as well as small ghost crabs scurrying away into their holes. The water in the lagoon was nice for swimming in and it was only because of strong winds and dark clouds in the distance that we decided to hike back. 
One thing I came to know about Brazilians is that they like to wear their clothes either very tight or very small, especially bikinis. This same ‘rule” also applies to some very big people wearing very small swimming costumes! Not always a good look but with strength in numbers I could only smile. Although expensive, we enjoyed Brazil so far - the people are kind and friendly, the weather is hot (if wet at times) and we still had quite a few days left to enjoy it! We were however restricted to only picking certain places as it is such a massive country and travelling for hours on a bus equates to only a tiny distance on a map. At least we were well rested to tackle the next part of our next trip. 
Bonito: We really wanted to spend new years with friends so planned to meet up again with the Tucan group. To do so we had to take two flights (Florianopolis – San Paolo – Campo Grande) and a shuttle bus service to Bonito. We arrived before the Tucan group and set up our tent in a campsite called Camping Rio Formosa. They had a very long journey so we went for dinner in town when it started getting dark. Bonito is a cute little town with many pricey restaurants and souvenir shops. There are two very large statues of fish in their main square and all the telephone booths are made in the shape of animals. Surprising though was the lack of gringos, with Bonito seeming more like a holiday destination for Brazilians – many of whom, as a pastime, drive up and down the road in a cheap car with an expensive stereo pumping out deafening tunes. All of this wearing sunglasses at night, beers in hands, elbows out the windows, trying to look very cool. I can’t dish out too much abuse though as it somehow reminds me, back in the day, of someone I know very well…
After our meal of chicken, rice and beans we took a taxi back to the campsite. Seeing the Tucan tents was a great sight and soon enough we were reunited with our friends. Adrian almost took me down by running and jumping in my arms and it was nice seeing all the old faces again. I dished out all of my cold beers to the boys and we sat up talking till late. We built good relationships over the two months we spent with them and I didn’t realize how much I missed the group – all the banter and friendly faces! The only downfall was that Scoota wasn’t there to join us. Recalling Adrian: “I heard a loud “clunk” and the next thing, I saw two large black truck wheels flying past me at head height!” All seven bolts sheared off causing the two wheels on one side to break free! That was the end of the trip for Scoota who then had to make his way back to Cusco. Eddie, our Scouse friend, was again Scoota’s replacement, driving Trevor – the same truck that we started our trip with, which had also broken down previously!
Bonito is well known for snorkeling, diving and caving but it is a very expensive place, especially in peak season when the hordes of Brazilians descend on the town. Luckily one of the good snorkelling spots was a stream only a few minutes’ walk from our campsite which was free. We spent a fair bit of time snorkeling in the streams and watching the trout-like fish swimming around. At one spot there was a big log in the water where small fish would nibble on us if we stayed still enough! Other than that we didn’t do much other than lazing around, chatting, reading and playing cards. Poor Adrian lost his wedding ring which I tried to help him locate in the river but unfortunately to not avail. For dinner we chipped in some money and ate with the group – shepherd’s pie one evening and bangers & mash the next. It sure was nice to be back with the group again.
Yarniff fever: This was a fever that struck down most of the Tucan group. We were however responsible for it having taught the group this new Israeli card game. We learned it from Will, our Aussie friend whom we met on the Navimag Ferry, and pretty soon most of the Tucan group were addicted to it! It is a competitive and fun game where you have to be very alert and where you can “dunbah” someone. That happens when you have better cards than the person who shouted Yarniff, resulting in them getting penalty points. With all the banter in the group it wasn’t surprising that so many competitive card players had to settle the score with their “Nemesis”.
Pantanal: From Bonito we hitched a lift with the Tucan group into the Pantanal. It was about a 5hr drive with some caiman spotting along the way. It was the first time most of us had seem them in the wild and it was interesting seeing a local man slapping the water to lure them out. It was very hot and sticky and after a few photos we set off again to the camp where we were met with our guide, Alex. Most of the area is usually covered in water although it was all dry when we were there as it hadn’t rained anywhere near as much as usual. We walked along the wooden walkways raised high above the ground for a buffet lunch. I was amazed by the amount of wildlife we saw just walking along to the lunch hall! If there is one thing that is very common in the Pantanal it would be teeth. There are lots of it attached to various animals including caiman, jaguars and piranhas and it sure is something that most of us desperately try to avoid! I even had a pet parakeet trying to bite my toes when it landed on me while I was innocently minding my own business lying in a hammock!
Boat cruise: With a belly very full of buffet lunch, we set off on a boat cruise. Alex guided our boat against the current of the brown water and very soon pointed out some capybaras lazing on the river bank. They are the largest rodents in the world and can weigh up to 60 kgs. I found them very funny looking animals with their blunt noses and fat bums. We saw much more wildlife such as tiger herons, kingfishers, red-headed cardinals, caimans and ospreys. Alex stopped our boat on a sandbank where we all went for a swim in the river which was, yes, inhabited by piranhas! Luckily they don’t attack humans, (unlike in the movies!), so we all boarded the boat with our limbs intact! The cruise back on the boat was a very wet one as it suddenly started raining very hard. Big fat drops hammered down on us and it was good planning on our part that we’d thought to bring our waterproof dry-bag to protect our cameras!
The Hammock Ranch: Armed with ludicrous amounts of alcohol for new years and some clothes, we set off for a ranch where we were going to stay for the next three nights. After bumping along a dirt road for 30km we were shown to a large dorm, lined with rows of hammocks. I was pretty excited as I’ve never actually slept in a hammock before. Going to the toilet was especially interesting as it was inhabited by geckos, birds and small frogs that ran along the walls! There were also two small lakes next to the ranch, both infested with caimans and piranhas! At night time, going to the toilet, we had to dodge large toads and tarantulas, so we were all pretty excited (boys) / scared (girls!).
The hike: On our first morning on the ranch Alex took us on a hike. The landscape ranged from open grassland to dense forest with lots of birds and animals. Along the way he pointed out some jaguar tracks and also painted us with the juice of a wild apple. Apparently the old locals used it to paint themselves blue when they had a party. At first I didn’t see anything but as the day went on my skin slowly turned blue and stayed blue for about 5 days! We were lucky to see some pekari pigs, howler monkeys, caimans and lots of birdlife.
Piranha fishing: Because I had my own fishing rod Eddie suggested that I try to catch some piranhas in the lake next to the ranch. Alex gave us a sheep’s heart which I cut into cubes. I attached the raw meat to a hook which was protected by a wire trace and soon had the most exciting fishing experience in my entire life. Luckily the resident caimans don’t attack humans so I could stand and fish, although slightly nervous, for piranhas fairly close to them. The caimans were attracted by the splash of my bait hitting the water and I had to constantly keep an eye on them. The exciting part was yet to come. When I finally managed to hook a piranha the caimans went crazy! About twenty of them crashed through the water chasing after the piranha and I had to literally drag the piranha over the surface of the water to get it safely back to me. A few times a Caiman would stop about a meter away from me before slowly retreating! I managed to land about 5 piranhas, which I returned, in a saga of splashing water and snapping teeth. I can honestly say that it has been some of the most exciting fishing I’ve ever done in my whole life!
Horse Riding: The next morning half of our group went horse riding. It was pretty slow which perfectly fit our group after a heavy night. The only excitement came when Anna fainted! I’ve never seen anyone faint so gracefully. One moment she said “Could we please stop, I’m feeling dizzy” and the next moment she slowly slid out of the saddle! Luckily it was nothing serious and so we made our way back to camp on our temperamental horses. Mark’s horse even managed to do a kick with both hind legs while running – I’ve never seen anything like that before! All in all the Pantanal was a great place to visit. The whole place was teeming with wildlife around every corner. To name a few there were caiman, capybaras, anacondas, howler monkeys, pekari pigs, deer, jaguars, lizards, bats, anacondas, red headed cardinals, kingfishers, chakalakas, herons, storks, cuckoos, tucans, parakeets, parrots, falcons, eagles, vultures and rheas! During the night time the toilets were inhabited with black birds, very large toads, small agile frogs that ran up and down the walls and noisy geckos! It was a great experience and comes highly recommended.
Paraty: Our journey to Paraty was the longest we’ve experienced. We left the ranch at 6am and from there it took a truck, 4 buses and a taxi, adding up to 36 hours of travelling, to reach our campsite. The last bus change was in a small town called Ubatuba. I loved the name and I couldn’t help but smile every time I heard it! The Tucan group also drove long hours and they arrived just before us. We were pretty sticky and grimy after our long journey so a hot shower was first on our list after setting up the tent. Our plan to do a 3 day hike along the beach were thwarted by constant heavy rain. Luckily Max booked rooms for us in a hostel where we spent most of our time playing cards and relaxing. It kept on raining during most of our stay but fortunately cleared on the last day when our group went on a booze cruise.
Due to a dodgy sea food stew both Gillian and I had dodgy stomachs which could have ended very bad on the small boat, so she decided to stay behind. The boat served bottomless caiprinhas which fairly quickly intoxicated our group – I was on a slight different level as I chose not to drink with my iffy stomach. I also had an ear infection from snorkeling which made matters worse. Nevertheless it was fun watching the group having fun and getting their money’s worth out of the caiprinhas! Lunch was prepared on the boat and we could choose between chicken and fish which came with a nice sauce, rice, chips and salad. There were many companies doing the same thing though and I even saw a boat painted in Rasta colors and another in bright pink labeled the “Love Boat”! Although a bit cheesy it was still a nice day out (I’m sure I would have enjoyed it more if I had drunk more caiprinhas!)
Rio de Janeiro: The journey from Paraty to Rio was our last one with Tucan as the tour ended there. We played as many card games as possible to pass the time and very soon arrived in Rio. The hostel we stayed in was called “Stone of a Beach”. That night we had a farewell meal in the Mexican restaurant at the bottom where we ordered a 2.5l beer with tap. It came in a long tube with the tap at the bottom I felt like a barman pouring my own pint of beer. It was sad saying good bye to Max, Eddie and Damon as even though there were ups and downs, we’d spent a lot of time with them on the trip. Over the next few days people left in dribs and drabs and we had to say many goodbyes. Rio itself is a lovely city and I have to admit to it being my number one city in all of South America! As a city it has it all: sandy beaches with waves, mountains, museums, clubs, bars, statues and much more! There is also a constant buzz and feel-good vibe which, if I could bottle the energy, I could surely power Vegas for years! Even though it was a big city, the people were very helpful and friendly and it was just a lovely place to visit. Getting around was also easy as the public transport is very good. I cannot recommend visiting Rio enough – a brilliant and vibrant city with lots to do!
The beaches: There are two main beaches in Rio namely Copacabana and Ipanema. I’ve never seen so much flesh and so little cloth on the hordes of people that descended on the beaches. We were surprised not to see topless sunbathers, although I have to admit that the Brazilian bikinis are some of the smallest I’ve ever seen in my life! Most of the girls there were very cheeky (literally!) Just for the record, of course I didn’t lookJ. On the beach it was difficult finding a spot to sit as there were literally thousands of people of all shapes and sizes on every inch of sand! There were some really big waves with a strong rip current which made the water quite dangerous especially for many of the locals who can’t swim! Adrian saw 4 lifeguard rescues and even one helicopter rescue in one afternoon! On a really hot day the sand can be so hot that it would be almost impossible to walk on with bare feet, therefore they’ve laid out pipelines with holes to spray the sand with water! Another thing you see on the beaches is the vendors selling sunglasses, swimwear, cool drinks, beer and even prawn kebabs. 
Christ the redeemer: This is the huge iconic statue of Christ with outstretched arms overlooking Rio. To get there we had to take a bus to the bottom of the mountain and from there the cog train to the top. Most of the tickets were sold out by the time we got there but luckily we could immediately board a shuttle service for a few extra Reals. The statue was impressive as it towered over us. There was a platform in front of the statue that was absolutely jam packed with tourists. Many of whom laid on the ground to capture a picture of someone else standing with outstretched arms. After taking a quick few pictures of Christ the Redeemer and the view over the city I had to make an escape from the milling crowd. Big crowds are definitely not my thing and I would have flung a few snap-happy tourists over the edge if I had to endure any more stop-suddenly-and-stand-in-the-middle-of-the-walkway-with-outstretched-arms tourists…
Hang Gliding: We booked this trip through the Stone of a Beach hostel and although expensive it was worth every penny! A taxi picked us up and we got dropped off at the foot of the hill where we met up with our instructors. After filling in some forms we took off to the top of the mountain. The day turned out perfect for paragliding and hang gliding as we had clear sunny skies. There were five of us – Adrian, Sally, Vanessa, Gillian and myself. Gillian opted for the paragliding whereas the rest of us went for the hang gliding. The top of the mountain were bustling with entrepreneurial instructors and we had to patiently wait our turn. Vanessa, Gillian and Sally were the first to take off.
Adrian and I waited about an hour before it was our turn. We were dressed in a harness and had to do a mock run next the instructor to practice for take-off. It felt a little uncomfortable standing in the frame and I was slightly nervous just hoping I was going to do the right thing. There was no need to worry though as my instructor was very good and soon, after running down the platform, we were airborne! It was a great feeling gliding over Rio with the wind rushing through our hair. The buildings looked really small from high above as we headed to the beach. There were even a few vultures riding the thermals with us! My instructor kept taking pictures with a camera rigged on the frame and air pressured trigger. The landing was especially fun as we raced in towards the beach for a perfect drop. Gliding over Rio was definitely one of the highlights for me visiting South America!
Sugarloaf Mountain: For a beautiful view over Rio, Sugarloaf Mountain is a must. The ride up consists of a two part cable car ride. The stop-over on the first mountain had restaurants and shops and we even saw a small monkey begging for scraps of food. Many of the trees were jack-fruit which I mistook for durian fruit. The look very much the same except the durian is larger, spikier and smellier! Adrian and Sally joined us for the trip and it was to be the last time we saw them. Good ‘ol Adrian brought one of his many bottles of red wine for sunset. After taking the second cable car to the top we waited for the sunset - armed with a few cold beers (bought from the restaurant) and Gillian with a gin & tonic which came without the tonic. The sunset over Rio was spectacular – the sun dipped behind the mountains and turned the sky crimson. From where we sat we could see across Rio to the busy Copacabana beach and Christ the Redeemer looking at us looking at him. The city slowly turned its lights on as we worked our way through the bottle of red wine and we had to reluctantly leave to get the last cable car back down. 
Another highlight for me was dining at Zaza’s restaurant near our hostel. Adrian and Sally joined us for one of the best meals we’ve had in South America. The interior was decorated in warm red colors and we sat on the floor around a low table. Alongside some cocktails and wine, Gillian and I ordered a selection of spring rolls followed by pork ribs in a tamarind sauce and slow cooked lamb with ravioli in a creamy sauce. For dessert I had a sticky chocolate pudding and Gillian had a melting caramel pudding which was a perfect ending to a lovely evening. We all loved Rio. It was a great city to visit with endless things to do. It was a nice place to also say our final farewells to the Tucan group as we all went our separate ways. ------------------------------------The end-----------------------------------
Complete photos - Foz do Iguazu to Florianopolis: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=326951&id=749927742&l=ddf94b0992
Complete photos - Pantanal to Rio: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=326846&id=749927742&l=b526a72f69
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