A Trip to the Pantanal, in Brazil

Imagine a region almost twice the size of England;unique in the world.
imagine it as an African savannah, at the height of theBut... you should also understand the nature of
summer, and as an infinite water lake, with no signs ofPantanal, and the reason why it is largely unknown...
human presence and very few signs of vegetable life,Pantanal doesn't have any shopping malls or air
most of the year.conditioning. It's a place of mud, most of the year. It's
Imagine a place with 650 species of birds, 260 speciesnot necessary to face a high discomfort to visit it, but
of fish (such as the catfish, weighing up to 260some discomfort is unavoidable.
pounds), an unknown number of species of butterflies,The Pantanal is a place with too much water and mud,
and caimans, anacondas, capybaras (the largestand plenty of mosquitoes (insect repellent - lots of it -
rodent in the world), agoutis (other rodent), tapirs,is indispensable) where trips may be difficult, and may
peccaries, jaguars, pumas, giant anteaters, ocelots,have to be made on horseback, or special trucks and
giant otters, armadillos, several species of monkeys,jeeps, or by boat.
including the capuchins, and dozens of other unusualPantanal is a place for those who love nature and are
species of animals.ready to make some sacrifices to see it at its best. If
This world is not fiction. It exists, it shelters the hugestyou are a bird and nature lover, and if you like
concentration of animal life in America. It is called theadventure travel, you will love the Pantanal.
Pantanal, and is located in Brazil, 1,000 miles from SaoAvoid the rainy season (from December to March). It's
Paulo.not the ideal period to travel, unless you just want to
By its own right, Pantanal ranks very highly in thehave only a very partial view of Pantanal. It's much
adventure tourism business. The concentration ofbetter to visit the Pantanal in the dry season (July to
animal life - especially big birds: macaws, parrots,September).
toucans, egrets, crakes, eagles, owls, oropendulas... - is