Kathleen
Brazil, Miranda (Fazeda Bahai Grande)
May 8, 2014
Fazenda means farm in Portuguese and in the Pantenal, farm means cattle. During the rainy season, much of the land is flooded and there is much less area for grazing cattle. Awhile back, after tourists had become intersted in the area for its abundant wildlife and bird species, some of the farms started taking in tourists to supplement their income. This farm was no exception. It is a working cattle farm but with a lovely mini-resort built in. We arrived on a 20-km dirt road from the small city of Miranda and were happy to park our car and leave it for the next three days. We had a wonderful, English speaking guide who was married to a local girl the next farm over and he shared both his knowledge of the local wildlife and where to find it and some of his experiences growning up and working in Brazil, which was extremely interesting. The “safari” schedule was pretty relaxed and we would do a couple of 2 to 3 hour activities per day, spending the rest of the time lounging in our hammock, sitting by the pool, or having a cool drink on the veranda. They cooked us three Brazilian meals per day and though there was not a short supply of meat, there was always salads available as well as interesting and delicious sides (two of my favorites were grilled bananas with cheese and baked zucchini with whole cooked eggs on top).
This was probably the most relaxing and enjoyable part of our trip so far. It was simply gorgeous out on the farm and although we did do a couple of nature walks and some fishing, it was pretty easy. There were an amazing number of birds hanging around the bungalows, even a pet parrot who slept right outside our bedroom door. We were able to spot caiman, capybara, giant anteaters, lots of cows and goats and we even cought some catfish!
We were sad to leave the farm and our new friend behind, but looking forward to Brasilia, the beach and Rio!
