Day 4 - Piuval

4:30am start in search of a Giant Anteater which has been sighted recently - Ricardo spotted it from about 500 yards out in near darkness - David then checked the wind direction and explained the route we needed to take on foot to get into position - it was a wide arc, across open tussocky grassland, but few fences and few ditches, so we set off - travelling light (camera and beanbag only) and within a few minutes were within shooting range. Soggy bum, sodden trousers and a lot of sweat made me a perfect mosquito target, but nothing could have dampened my spirits stalking that gentle giant (although David tells us they can be quite vicious too if provoked) - it was magical. We got very close, for a very long time, lots of moving and I really need to reduce the time it takes me to get from stalking to crouched and shooting as it was a constant battle to stay downwind - I really didn't realise they move so much or so quickly! Awesome creature.
The stalk ended after an hour when the group found ourselves separated by a wire fencing, three on one side and 3 on the other - we think the "Ant bear" heard the fence twanging and trotted off into the undergrowth. Totally amazing experience.

sunset on a Samsung S4!

We returned for some breakfast and dry clothes and then ventured out again to some water pools with a wooden bridge where we found a Ferruginous Pygmy Owl (or was it a "Little Owl"?) which just wouldn't play ball and a very pretty woodpecker. Then back to the lodge for a lesson in auto-focusing - even more confused!!! and very frustrated as every single one of my little owls is slightly soft - Grrrrrrrr.
Lunch gave me some time to calm down and practise around the lodge on the fence posts whilst David and Ricardo returned to the pools to set up/build bird hides for us all to spend tomorrow morning in. When they returned, we took a frustrating drive down the Transpantaneira to the gate where all bird life seemed to be on the left hand side of the van - when I was sat on the right - Black collared hawks, Rufescent Tiger Heron, Kingfishers etc.

floating water hyacinth

We pulled up at another bridge over water pools and spent the dusk hour shooting water hyacinths in bloom
and playing abouth with auto HDR function in my K-5, that was until a massive storm arrived - impressive fork lightning and a mass of dark clouds rolled in towards us - then came the wind... with surprising speed too... it took David's camera and tripod down with such force it broke the lens away from the body - and then whipped up enough road dust to fill the void ten times over. The camera was wounded, possibly fatally. Not a good situation to be in - needless to say the drive back was a little tense. We were worried too about the hides and whether or not they would still be there in the morning. Rain lashed the windscreen as we drove back in silence, no-one really knowing what to say.
When we arrived back at the lodge, thankfully the staff were waiting to dash out from reception with umbrellas to get us and our gear back into the dry.
Dinner was a similar affair to last night except now we had something to celebrate... David had managed to repair his camera - all was working again. Phew. This led to a number of beers, and then a few more. Time to get to know the group a bit better and have a good laugh along the way.

Day 3 - and we're off!

Wow what a first day - so many things I had forgotten about this place, and am so so pleased I decided to return. We set off after breakfast in search of an electrical store as most peoples power adapters did not work (Brazil have recently changed all of theirs to standardise on a new recessed kind which makes life a lot harder for everyone). Found some and moved on to a dead-rat-infested supermarket for supplies (gin, wine and corn to fill beanbags) - we were all done by 8am and set off on the Transpantaneira heading south into the wetlands. The temperature very quickly reached sweaty heights and water was coming out of us quicker than we could replenish it, but we saw plenty of birds and the landscape fell away as we left the high pantanal and dropped into the lowlands. We had reached our first lodge, Pousada Piuval, by half eleven in time for a quick unpack before lunch. Rice, beans and Paco fish with salad - gorgeous - the food is even better than I remember - if that's possible.

The view from the "classroom" at Pousada Piuval

David gave our first theory lesson (2 hours) during which I managed to get completely confused about auto-focusing, but thankfully my "standard" settings are the ones I should be sticking with anyway, so no need to panic just yet - it may become an issue when tracking birds flying overhead, but until then all will stay as is. Some free time afforded me a quick swim in the pool before meeting up for a local vehicle safari at 330pm. This turned into our first real attempt at shooting from beanbags on the trip and also a major feast for the mozzies. I racked up 17 bites in an hour, with DEET on and one of them was even through my trousers! (although I was on my stomach crawling through the dirt, near water, stalking a gorgeous Bittern at the time).  Got some good shots I think, not only of the Bittern, but a pair of very rare hyacinth macaws at their nest, a perched Savannah hawk, a Cocoi Heron and even a half decent redbrock deer. Saw my first Coati and had a thoroughly enjoyable, but quite painful, afternoon, my right arm is already starting to swell up quite badly. 430am start tomorrow so need to clean down cards and charge everything ready for hunting a giant anteater which has been seen not far from here with a baby on board... fingers crossed! 

Day 2 - Cuiaba

Woke at 4am when some new arrivals decided it considerate to drag their suitcases along a dimpled marble corridor outside everyone's rooms...Grrrrr. Woke again at 6am as the sun did and decided it wasn't worth trying to sleep anymore - way too excited. The hotel is massive, clean and very friendly indeed - breakfast also wasn't bad, basic, but not bad at all - plenty of fruit and cakes etc, and I forgot how breads were always sweet and never savoury here - which was a shock when I loaded a roll up with cheese and ham! the day was pretty leisurely actually - met the group, all seem my kind of people and we get along ok. Everyone has been on at least one of David's tours before, so we all have a fair idea of what to expect. Leanne myself and David nipped out for beers whilst the others settled in and got cleaned up from their journey. Ricardo turned up just before dinner having literally driven out of the Pantanal from another tour with a hideous group apparently - but so nice to see him again. Dinner was an outside affair which was lovely - still 25 degrees at night and the mossies were bearable all evening. Bed by 10pm ready for breakfast at 630am! The tour starts tomorrow.

Long journey - but made it :-)

It's days like today (facing 11h35 on a single flight) that I'm so glad I don't watch movies or go to the cinema as I was able to enjoy all the new releases back to back - "BA Wednesday" whilst being fed and watered and plied with Red wine - can't be bad. The second "how to train your dragon" was a gem though - made me remember the very poor (and painful) attempt I made to fly as a kid many years ago - the episode involved only the one wing (on account of the time it took to make the first and my severe lack of patience), a substantial hay barn and 100% pure belief - thank heavens for fathers is all I can say.
"Tammy" made me laugh... and cry...embarassingly, but "Rio" and "Rio 2" easily killed the last 4 hours before hitting the heat of Sao Paulo airport. The first queue was to get my passport stamped and although it took almost an hour to get through it was actually remarkably bearable. Of course by the time I eventually passed through, my luggage was pretty lonely chugging it's way around the baggage belt. Then I hiked from terminal 3 to terminal 1 to check-in again for the domestic flight which was also relatively painless (just very very hot and sticky). No phone signal anywhere, but plenty of wifi, so I was able to get WhatsApps and realised David was still awake and intending to meet me at Cuiaba airport to be sure I made it to my hotel ok - perfect. All was fine - the next flight was only 2h20mins and I slept most of it - woken only when my seat started vibrating and I realised it was the bloke next to me farting! nice. Landed on time, with all luggage and David to greet me - made friends with the hotel shuttlebus driver who got me checked in and carried my things to my room - shattered. A long journey, but the adventure starts here.

Half way through journey...

At Sao Paulo airport waiting for next flight to board. Feels like midnight to me but only 8pm here... still a long way to go, but thankfully me and my luggage are still together.