Kathleen
Brazil – Bonito
May 5, 2014
Bonito is our first stop in the Pantenal, a large wetlands area in the interior of Brazil famous for cattle farming and wildlife viewing. Bonito is a partcular stopover because of the abundance of very clear rivers that flow through this area. There are limestone caves to boot, so Bonito has become a bit of an adventure capital. There is cave rappelling, snorkeling, tubing, biking, and other adventures to be bought and paid for in town, and enjoyed in the surrounding areas.
We have already booked a snorkeling tour for the next day, which is very nice. The water is uber-clear, pretty much unlike any river we have seen, and the fish are large and pretty, although there really are only one or two types to see. The tour folks drop us off with our snorkels and we float (fairly quickly) down a couple of kilometers to get picked up and taken back to camp. Luckily, they give us wet suits because the day is a bit chilly. I have rented an underwater camera so I take about 100 not very good pictures of fish and underwater flora and Steve floating in front of me, and generally have a very good time. Floating along the river, we are lucky enough to see cappucian monkeys playing in the trees, and over-all it is a great experience. Up until this point, we have seen pictures and heard talk that there are toucans in this area, but are discussing their elusiveness on the way back into town when all of a sudden, one flies in front of us, and then another, and we see no less than 10 toucans. This is the first time we have seen toucans in the wild and maybe at all and they are certainly amazing. They are colorful and the size of their beaks makes them look just as cartoonish as the guy on the fruit loops boxes – amazing!
The next day we book a waterfall tour at a local “park” (all of the parks are privately owned, so you can’t get back to see the rivers and wildlife unless you buy a tour and produce a voucher). About an hour before the tour is supposed to leave, the tour company calls are hotel to indicate there is a problem. We go back to the tour office where we can communicate in person and find out the “park” we were supposed to go to is closed. They try to sell us another tour, but we decide to borrow (rent) bikes from our hotel and strike out on our own. After an hours’ hot ride (also, my bike is way to short so it is pretty awkward and produces spasms in my back) we have found 3 potential places that we could have stopped for a swim, but none of them will let us near the water without a voucher, cash is not accepted. We reluctantly head back to town and call it good with a dip in the hotel pool.
The little town of Bonito is cute enough for a couple of days’ stay. There are sourvenir shops in abundance and plenty of places to get a bite. It is basically one street that is maybe 20 blocks long. We have a couple of good meals (we found a tilapia cooked with grilled onions and capers that was so delicious, we went back to the same place twice!), try a ciprihina (Brazil’s national drink made with sugarcane liquor and lime (tastes sort of like a margarita) and the Tabacoa (a local liquor which has a destinctly cinnaminny taste, also made from sugar cane) and head out into the wayback for our stay at Fazendia Bahaia Grande.
