Brazil's remote Pantanal amazingly rich in wildlife

by Sharon

I had been flying 21 hours on four different planes. I disembarked and was greeted by a Chinese host. Imagine my surprise, because I was in Brazil, in the Pantanal, and I myself am Chinese.

I had been flying 21 hours on four different planes. The last plane was a small six-seater that landed 500 metres from the farm where I was to stay for the next two weeks. I disembarked and was greeted by a Chinese host. Imagine my surprise, because I was in Brazil, in the Pantanal, and I myself am Chinese.

Located in the upper Paraguay River basin, the Pantanal is the world's largest wetland. The area holds one of the greatest concentrations of wildlife on the planet with more than 650 bird species, 80 mammals, 50 reptiles and 250 species of fish.

I stayed at the Fazenda de Rio Negro, a secluded farm and rooming house on 7,700 hectares. The next morning, as instructed by my guide, I taped my pants to my socks with masking tape to keep out the ticks and other crawlies from my legs. I hopped on to a jeep and ventured past the farm gates into the giant marshland.

I saw animals I'd never heard of before or knew existed. All along the drive, I spotted capybaras. In groups of three or five or in larger groups of 10 near watering holes, the world's larges rodent, which looks like a giant guinea pig, was everywhere.

Two vibrant red-and-green macaws swooped overhead. We left the car and began our trail walk. Up in the trees, I saw three brown howler monkeys. The monkeys watched us, and several minutes later they threw little pellets of feces at us. "They throw their poo because they're scared ," said our guide. An hour later into the walk, plodding along about 500 metres in front of us was a solo anteater. I gaped at this mound of stiff brown straw-like hair with a bushy tail and an oddly shaped narrow head. On my trek, I also crossed paths with a tapir, a pig-like creature with a long protruding snout.

I returned to the farm and relaxed in the yard. Sipping my caipirinha, a cocktail made with limes, cachaca (a Brazilian sugar cane liquer) and sugar, I listened to the cricket noises of the Pantanal. Under the stars, the farm workers showed off their dancing skills; a fast rhythmic and hypnotic sway of the hips to a samba beat.

The next day, I took a small motor boat along the river into the region. This time instead of capybaras, caimans were everywhere along the riverbank. These small alligators lay lethargically on the shore.

The river is shallow and murky brown. We floated past a river otter trying to perch itself on a log. High up in the trees I glimpsed an enormous empty nest. A few minutes later, a jabiru stork, the tallest flying bird in South America, flew home.

Back at the farm, we played a twilight soccer game, the Brazilians versus the guests. The locals playing in their bare feet defeated the tourists 3-0.

On my last day, while I was sitting at the picnic table eating breakfast, a toco toucan flew to the nearby fruit tree. Its beak was a dazzling orange, like something out of a cartoon. I stared at the bird, dreading my long journey home. I was so taken with the animals and the lifestyle of the locals who call the Pantanal home, that I thought, well maybe the Fazenda could use another Chinese host.