Apr 4, 2011 - Into the Northen Pantanal/Chapada

4/4-Mon- Bandeirantes truck stop to a truck stop just outside of Cuiaba,(645 km=387 miles) Woke early and drove all day through fields and fields of Soy and corn. The land was rich and level for the most part, and the forest had been cleared years ago. As the day began to close in on us, the closer you get to the equator the more equal the day/night hours are. The road at this point seemed to be very good, with few pot holes. The large number of huge trucks on the highway were impressive, as were there size, much longer and seemed to carry...

Sep 27, 2009 - Pantanal - Brazil

Apart from a brief episode on the Planet Earth DVD series, Pete and I knew absolutely nothing about Western Brazil and the largest wetland region in the world. The journey from Potosi in Bolivia was an expedition in itself and included an overnight trip on the infamous ‘Death Train’. Arriving very much alive at the Bolivian border with Brazil we soon noticed the quality of the infrastructure on the other side of the fence. Of course this wouldn’t come for free and the second thing we noticed was that it would be difficult to keep to our...

Mar 23, 2006 - Journey into the Pantanal

I had dreamed about visiting the Pantanal ever since I first heard about this ecological gem in the central west of Brazil. The word "pantanal," which literally means "swamp," doesn't do justice the region's outstanding biodiversity (in fact, thinking of it as a swamp is about as mistaken as calling Australia a desert). In actuality, the Pantanal is a vast alluvial plain, with elements of marsh, savannah, rain forest, meadow and even caatinga (semiarid land with scrub - including cacti). Inside its 230,000 square kilometers, the Pantanal...

Jun 20, 2004 - Cuiába and Chapada

From Manaus, we flew to the city of Cuiabá, population 800,000 and the capital of Mato Grosso. It is known as the hottest city in Brazil (over 40 degrees Celsius in the summer), but is not too bad now that it is winter. Actually, the drier air made it a relief compared to the Amazon. We stayed at the EcoVerde Pousada, which is run by Joel Souza out of his family's house. Joel also organizes tours to the Pantanal (the largest wetland in the world), and is highly recommended by several guidebooks, which is why we chose to stay there. The...