Brazil Pantanal Trackers – In search of the Jaguar 2009
August 14th Hooray, hooray it’s a holi-holiday!
We left home on the 13.30 coach to Heathrow, which should have got us in by 17.30. However, snarl-ups on the M25 and elsewhere meant that we arrived decidedly later at around 19.00. Still, not to worry we had plenty of time to catch our flight at 10.05.
August 15th The queue is How long?! Cuiaba to Rio Claro Lodge Pocone
We flew with TAM Lineas – A Brazilian airline and I have to say we were both impressed by the service – well for £1000 per person flying economy you would expect good service would you not? That said, the in-flight entertainment was rather limited. We arrived on time in Sao Paolo early the next morning and had a three hour window to catch our onward connection to Cuiaba. Unfortunately with it being a domestic connection we needed to collect our bags and clear customs before proceeding to the gate. There were massive queues that seemed to snake back and forth through the airport and no help from the local authorities as we became somewhat anxious that we might miss our connection. I tried to remain calm, as Ian became increasingly panicky and we eventually got to the gate with about 10 minutes to spare.
Our connecting flight stopped at Campo Grande before Cuiaba and its eventual destination of Brasilia. The flight took about four hours, but we gained another hour as we passed through another time-zone arriving on time at 11.15. On arrival at Cuiaba it took a while for our bags to be offloaded and we were beginning to wonder if they were on their way to Brasilia. We needn’t have worried, everything arrived safely.
I was so relieved and elated to see Julio, our guide waiting for us in arrivals that I gave him a big hug! After introducing Ian (I had made all the arrangements for the trip) we were on our way. We stopped at a local supermarket to pick up some essentials for the camping part of the tour. This consisted of a bottle of rum, a slab of beer and a slab of coke (oh and some food and plenty of water).
From Cuiaba we drove directly until we reached the Transpantaneira highway at which point we slowed considerably to enjoy the wildlife that gathers in the ditches either side of the raised road. We started to see a range of birds and mammals including a variety of egrets, storks and herons. A full bird list is presented at the end, but highlights on the first day included Solitary Tinamou, Red-legged Seriema, Jabiru, Roseate Spoonbills, Plumbeous Ibis, Buff-necked Ibis, Rufus-bellied Thrush and Rufescent Tiger Herons (first sightings of these common but impressive looking birds).
Along the road we also came across our first family group of Capybaras and a family of Brown Capuchins at a roadside bar. We stopped here for a while for a rest and a drink and I spent a bit of time photographing a one-eyed capuchin amongst others. The plan was to wait here and then spotlight for crepuscular animals on the way to the Rio Claro lodge- our base for the first few nights. We headed on our way again and as it started to get dark an Agouti jumped out onto the road but just as quickly dove back into cover again. Julio then spotted something moving on the left hand side of the road, I caught a brief glimpse of the tail and back end of a greyish looking cat- a Jaguarundi! We also came across a pair of Crab-eating Foxes- but they were too distant to photograph.
We got settled into our nicely appointed lodge and it quickly became apparent that Ian and Julio had a lot in common, particularly their love of music. In the evening Julio got a jamming session together and we had a wonderful time listening to him play his acoustic guitar and occasionally joining in with a song or two.
The singing was interrupted by a call outside that sounded for all the world like a couple making love on bed with a rusty spring! Julio quickly located the culprit- a Ferruginous Pygmy Owl. Now I have seen some small owls in my time but this one was tiny! What a cutie! Sadly he flew off before I could get my camera on that occasion.
16th August- Rio Claro Lodge – In search of Giant Otters
After a good night’s sleep we were awoken before dawn to the dulcet tones of Rufus Horneros and Chacochacalacas. As the sun began to creep about the horizon I decided to have a wander around the lodge. I was able to see some spectacular new lifers including a couple of pairs of Bare-faced Curassows and three Burrowing Owls sitting on fence posts. Food is put out for the birds around the lodge. This attracts flocks of Yellow-billed Cardinals, Shiny, Bay-winged and Giant Cowbirds, Saffron Finches, Purplish Jays and the colourful Nanday Parakeets. Also in the trees were Versicoloured Emerald, Crested Oropendola, and Yellow-rumped Cacique.