Kristy & Adam - South America Adventures

Day 1
Long day of travel today. We travelled from Foz Iguacu to Campo Grande. We met everyone joining the 5 day Pantanal tour, then boarded a bus for a 3 hour ride to a small township called Miranda. We had a quick toilet break, then boarded 4X4 open top trucks for a further 4 hour ride into the centre of the jungle! It was a pretty rocky and bumpy ride, but we finally arrived around 7pm. We had dinner then sat around the camp fire for a while. It was absolutely freezing!! We slept in hammocks under the stars!

Day 2
We awoke to the sounds of lots of different birds and animals. Early start to the day. In the morning we went on a 3 hour hike. During the hike we saw lots of animals including large rodents (called Capivara) Howling Monkeys, amradillo´s, small ant eaters, wood peckers, toucans, macaws, parots, storks and lots of Crocs! (Caimans) For part of the hike we took our shoes off and walked through ankle deep water. We found an area which had a bank of crocs, we were able to get really close to them for pictures. It was so hard to believe they didn´t want to attack, but apparently they are not aggressive like the crocs we get in OZ!
After lunch we went on another 3 hour hike. This time we had to cross a lake and carry our bags above our heads as the water came up to our necks! It wasn´t too cold, quite refreshing. I crossed as quickly as I could though, knowing that there might be crocs beneath me!!!
In the evening we went for a night hike and spotted all the animals by night, all you could see were their beady eyes!

Day 3
Early start again. Boarded the 4X4 for 3 hours of 4WD and animal spotting. Saw lots of toucans, parrots, monkeys and were able to get right up close to a giant ant eater. In the afternoon we went horse riding. I think it has to be possibly the most amazing ride I´ve ever done. We took the horses overland and through the jungle, but probably the best part of the afternoon was taking them through a large lake. My horse was a bit nasty, kept bucking other horses when they got too close! I almost fell off! But survived!

Day 4
Up early to jump on some small fishing boats. We sailed down the Paraguay river for a few hours spotting many animals. We saw lots of different birds, seals, crocs and lizards. We stopped for a while to do some Pirahna fishing. Between 4 in our group we caught about 10. Was quite scary reeling them in, we were a bit worried we´d lose a toe or two! When we went back for lunch we ate them. Quite tasty
Our group left after lunch, so Adam and I went for another boat ride with our guide, then relaxed with a few drinks and watched the sunset.

Day 5
Today was our last day in the jungle. We just had a relaxing morning, then had the long trip back in the 4X4´s and bus again.