Having already made several trips to the jungle and the Amazon in recent years, we are all the more interested in the “Pantanal”, which is advertised in a very different way. It is neither jungle nor jungle, but marshland with mainly private farms that now attract ecotourists. There are also said to be a large number of jaguars here…

But the first question is, where to go in the Pantanal? The area known as the Pantanal is huge and stretches roughly halfway across the border between Bolivia and Brazil, whereas the Pantanal Motogrosso National Park of the same name is almost tiny. Although the north is said to be better for jaguars and generally a bit wilder, it is really off the beaten track for our route, tours are significantly more expensive, cheap flights are rare and we don’t really want to fly… That’s why we opt for the southern part of the area, which will allow us to travel on to our next destination, Bonito, easily later on!

But first we have to get to the starting point of our tour, Campo Grande (pronounced Grandschi), almost 1000km from Sao Paulo. To do this, we take a 15-hour overnight bus and treat ourselves to the “more expensive” sleeping option with XL seats, leg rests and more legroom It all works out pleasantly well, even if the seats don’t recline 180°, we sleep quite well, there are three half-hour stops to stretch our legs, eat something (but we’ve already made provisions with a to-go poke bowl) or change and get ready for bed. It’s all very pleasant, and we arrive in Campo Grande an hour early, rested and ready for a coffee, where a nice older gentleman – who is waiting for a few tourists – keeps us company, tells us a bit about the area and gives us tips for our onward journey!

After about 45 minutes, we are picked up by a driver from the tour and taken to the agency, where we are dropped off in a café to wait. Strengthened in this way, we pay the first half of the costs, freshen up a little and are then loaded into a van, in which we travel for the next 4 hours to our actual destination, the “Pantanal Jungle Lodge”. Here, too, we stop for a lunch snack and then spend the last 30 minutes driving into the marshland on the loading area of an off-road vehicle equipped with seats.

Despite the rainy season, you can see ponds and partially flooded roads everywhere, but of course climate change is also having an impact here and it has hardly rained “properly” in recent years, which is why everything is a little drier than we expected. But our lodge is right next to the Miranda River and that’s where you typically see the most animals. And we are not disappointed. In the lodge garden, a capybara (capybara) and dozens of birds are already waiting for us!

After checking in, we have a two-hour break to get to know our fellow travelers – two Englishwomen and a Frenchman – and then we set off on our first boat trip, which will continue into the night. Unfortunately, we don’t have any luck with jaguars, but we do catch sight of several toucans, parrots and macaws, a kingfisher, a family of capybaras and, in the dark, some caimans.

Of course, this makes us want more, but it also makes us hungry. And there is no shortage of food here, there is a full buffet three times a day, with several vegetarian and sometimes even vegan options. And during the meal, we learn more about our fellow travelers: the two Englishwomen have been traveling through South America for seven months and have been to several places in Peru and Colombia, which we have also explored in recent years. The Frenchman spent three months traveling through Brazil and is now spending another month in Bolivia. That always makes you want to go on a longer trip again…

The next few days continue like this: we go on a boat trip in the morning and see a group of otters and lots of birds. Unfortunately, we are still denied the jaguar, and it will stay that way… But our guide says he hasn’t seen one for a month Nevertheless, it’s great fun! Afterwards, we are supposed to float in the river with caimans and piranhas – but after we take our things back to the room, our guide is already gone because he didn’t want to wait that long… Of course we are a bit annoyed, but in the afternoon the mood improves again after he takes us on an additional (and free) evening boat tour. The others also go piranha fishing right by the lodge, which we refuse to do but are happy to watch – and we feed the piranhas and the two caimans cavorting around the shore (and are we supposed to swim in them???). )

The other activities are a kayak trip on the river and a hike through the marshland, connected to another range, but apart from dozens of macaws and parrots, we don’t see any other animals. We return here the next day for another horseback ride. The instruction is a little poor, and Kerstin catches a horse that is a little too lively, but survives the initial shock and it ends up being quite a fun experience…

And then it’s on to Bonito, the southernmost part of the Pantanal, where crystal-clear springs await us!!!

PS: the afternoon we leave, a French woman who arrived a day later goes on another boat trip and sees a jaguar lady with two cubs on the shore… bad luck!