When my wife and I sit down to plan our epic vacations, the first decision is always, of course, just where in the hell we’re going to go. As we have been living in Brazil but hadn’t visited much of the country, one of our obvious choices was the Amazon- which is kind of a big deal if you weren’t aware. We quickly ruled it out, however, as The middle of December is summer in Brazil and the waters of the Amazon are much lower, which results in more limited outings and less animal activity.
The Amazon also isn’t cheap, and since we had family coming from (North) America to visit over Christmas, we still wanted to do something exciting, full of nature, and showcasing the brilliant amount of biological diversity that this massive country has to offer. Macchu Pichu was ruled out as well, because, well, the political situation left us concerned… To that end, after talking to many of our more Sudamerica-traveled teacher friends, the Pantanal quickly emerged as the best option for our family.
To that end, we started to research. Our priorities involved a place that had decent amenities, Pantanal and nature-related activities, and one that left as little an ecological footprint on the Pantanal as possible. Ultimately Pousada Araras Ecolodge was the perfect option for us and our extended family. A multi-generational family plot (owned by a Slovenian-Brazilian character named Andre) the lodge supplies 100% of its own power from solar, as well as having a legitimate three-phase water treatment facility (graciously shown to us by our guide Max, the pousada’s goal was minimizing human interference on the bountiful wetlands outside their front door.
The main draw to traveling to the Pantanal is the absolutely staggering amount of life on display. From the mosquitos, boars, birds, tapirs, giant anteaters, monkeys, caimans, armadillos, lizards, and even a scorpion (that unfortunately decided to camp out in our room) the place is absolutely humming with life in a way that was new and thrilling to me and my loved ones.
The pousada was an all-inclusive sort of deal- it included three meals a day and snacks (and the food was good, locally sourced cuisine- river fish, wild boar, local eggs, etc) and the accommodations also included a guide with a variety of tours- photograph safaris, night walks, scaffolds in the jungle canopy, canoeing (but not while we were there!) and our favorite, horseback riding through the wetlands!
It was here I saw an indescribably beautiful sight- and curse myself for not having a camera at the time- but while riding horses in the afternoon’s golden light, we saw a giant anteater (tamanduá-bandeira) loping off in the tall grass. The inclination to put our boots into the horses and go off chasing the beautiful creature was only dispelled by the fact that: a. the old horses probably wouldn’t have responded anyways, and b. if they did, so would my own first-time horseriding children’s horses. So away the anteater fled. What a sight.
This is also a time to give major kudos to the guides at the Pousada- we had one assigned guide for three days of activities, and Max knew the name of every plant and animal I asked him about (which I did every 2-3 minutes, at least) em Portugues and in English. Many of the Latin names, as well. The man was a marvel of information.
Araras is a bird-lovers paradise, with some of the Pantanal’s most brilliant characters- Toco Toucans and Hyacinth Macaws- can be found nesting directly on the property. The owner, Andre, explained one night at dinner (he was always chatting us up) that the Hyacinth Macaw is incredibly picky about what trees they nest in, preferring only one type of tree— and what type of tree they eat from, also preferentially only eat fruit from a singular tree species. 30 or so years before, the pousada planted both those trees in several spots on the property, and wouldn’t you know it- if you grow it, they will come (or so James Earl Jones told me).
In addition to Macaw shelters, the pousada also planted many additional native wetland fruits that I had the pleasure of sampling while walking around the grounds- bocaiuva, laranjinha-de-pacu, pitanga, and jatoba (the appealingly-named “stinking toe”) were all distinctly unique flavors that were heretofore unknown to my palate. So even the activity of walking around the pousada grounds, eating food, and spending time with wildlife provided a tranquil yet cacophonous experience- macaws are not quiet birds, nor are the Chaco Chachalacas, whose name my boys would angrily yell out while shaking their fists whenever the birds would fly by our heads, screeching in a most unpleasant way
Another bird causing problems for all the critters of the Pantanal is the Toucan. All around the pousada, you could see and hear the drama the toucans were causing all day long- invading other, smaller birds’ nests and eating their eggs. The Toucan above (a type of araçari) was being inundated with attacks from a colony of wrens as he was gleefully noshing on their prospective family.
The two night safaris we undertook were an exercise in patience. It was here that we saw the Tapir- a rhino-sized animal and the largest land mammal in S. America- but we saw only a glimpse of this creature as he ambled off into the darkness, and this was the norm- hours of spotlight hunting from a truck in the dark, and then seeing an animal for the barest of seconds- it helped that we were followed by a curious family of Crab-eating foxes (Graxaim-do-mato) for half an hour or so. During these night-time trips we saw many wild boar, tamandua, coati, and Pampas deer- as well as the glowing eyes of many a caiman.
We stayed at the Pousada over New Year’s, and for dinner, we had a gorgeous suckling pig and Pacu- which is the amazonian river fish famous (or infamous) for looking like this:
Despite the creepy teeth, the fish is delicious. Our overall stay at the pousada (densely packed mosquitos aside) was one of peace, relaxation, and keen enjoyment of our natural surroundings. Spending a morning in the wetlands, followed by a couple of hours at the poolside bar drinking caipirinhas and then having another excursion in the afternoon… there are worse ways to spend a vacation.
I used to live with a “strangler fig” in Long Beach, CA
Amazing photos. What camera/lens setup are you using?