Brazil

Anyway, enough about the bad part. The good part is that the Pantanal is an amazing place filled with beautiful creatures. We spotted more birds on the first day then I have seen in all of South America. Here is a partial list:

As well as.... hundreds of caimans (alligators), capybaras (dog-sized guinea pigs), coatis (raccoon type mammals), Giant River Otters, Howler Monkeys, Capuchin Monkeys, and Marsh Deer

You get the picture.... and my fingers hurt from typing.. There are just thousands upon thousands of birds and animals and you do not need to go far off the Transpantaneira to see them.

We did a four-day tour and found it to be very plush compared to our other tours, i.e.. we had a bathroom and it was actually in our room. Our guide was excellent and knew all the birds in English. Many birds do not even have names in Portuguese because as he said, the Brazilians do not care about the birds or the Pantanal. Unfortunately it is easy to sit in the United States or England and say, "They should do something about that." But the reality is that global warming and the depletion of the ozone are the biggest problems affecting the planet (and the Pantanal) and WE (the First World) are the cause of the problem with our gas-guzzling cars and use of air-conditioning. Brazilians argue that why should they give up developing their country just because we are complaining. Sadly, that is true. We have already destroyed our environment by developing our economy. I can only hope that the Pantanal and the Amazon Rainforest will not follow in the same footsteps. They are too beautiful and there are just too many precious, beautiful, irreplaceable animals living there.

Ok, looking forward to seeing the falls on Monday and then we head to Rio to explore the area around there. Unfortunately it is cold here. Not really cold, but wearing pants cold and I have only one badly worn pair. And, as Kate is saying, we are losing our tans!!!!!!!!!!

Four weeks left!!!!!!!!!!

June 8 - Ilha Grande, Brazil (should be called Paradise Island)

Home in a week and our last stop on the South American trail is a gorgeous island off the coast of Rio de Janeiro called Ilha Grande. The island is small with very few cars, a few dirt roads, 102 unbelievable beaches, lots of hiking paths through the tropical jungle, and 3,000 very laid-back inhabitants. So laid-back that they actually seem annoyed when you walk into a restaurant and want to order food! We will spend about 10 days here relaxing before heading back to hedonistic Rio and then New York!

The past three weeks have been crazy. We took three 24-30 hour bus rides which needless to say are arduous, mind-numbing and exhausting. Kate's parents were here for two weeks and we had such a great time. We met them in Foz de Iguacu; the magnificent waterfall located on the Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay border and spent four days exploring that area. They treated me to all their day trips and dinner every night - thank you Barbara and Richard! They then went off to visit the rainforest and Kate and I made our way to Rio on yet another 24-hour bus which involved three police stops for the bus to be thoroughly searched. They just get on and look through any bags they want without asking, a bit intimidating.

Rio is a gorgeous, if dangerous city. Ipanema and Copacabana are probably the most famous beaches in the world and justly so. The beach is gorgeous and surrounded by green mountains and is filled with local characters and barely dressed women. Even though it is technically winter here, the temperature is in the high seventies and the beach is crowded on the weekends.

We went to dinner one night with Kate's parents to the Meridian, which is a five star restaurant on the top floor with a view of Copacabana Beach and was a very posh place. I had to buy clothes to go to dinner with and felt like I was out in Manhattan and fit in with the wealthy people there until I looked down and realized that flip-flops probably gave it away that I was backpacker and not staying at the Meridian!! Anyway, the food and wine were amazing and reminiscent of Mill River Inn. Yum...... We did the requisite Christ the Redeemer tour, the famous statue on the mountain overlooking Rio. Great views!

On Sunday, Kate and I went to a soccer game at Maracana Stadium which is the biggest sporting venue in the world and holds 200,000 people. Luck was on our side because the day we went there was a final game for the state championship between two rival Rio teams, Flamengo and Vasco. The game was sold out. I did get to go to the Subway Series after all and it was better then any sporting event I have ever been to. Wild crowds chanting, fireworks exploding, giant flags waving, people hugging and screaming after every goal and just, well, organized chaos. There were no fights or arguments, just a general love for soccer, called football here. We supported Flamengo, which was good because they won with a goal in the last two minutes of the game. People went nuts. I have never seen anything like it in my life. Such passion and energy and love for the game gave me chills.