Day 14 of the Pantanal of Brazil

Well before 6 am, I photographed the bright red sky across the dry, flat Pantanal. 

Petr wanted to take us back down the road where there was a tiny body of water. He expected we’d see some interesting birds at dawn there. There was a boat docked near a bridge, but it seemed it had almost nowhere to go. The water here was very limited.

Not finding anything interesting to photograph where we parked, I walked across the bridge and down the road. I took the 14-photo panorama shown below before sunrise.

I also photographed the collection of very dusty leaves at my feet. This time of year there is considerable dust in the Pantanal since none of the roads are paved.

At 6:22 am, the sun was just rising.

Not finding any interesting birds, we decided to hustle back to the lodge, hoping to get some photos of the Toucans that frequent that area early in the morning.  We made it in time, and I took another collection of Toucan photos before breakfast.

I was also able to photograph a number of other species near the lodge before breakfast.

At breakfast, Petr showed a photo of a snake that he took with his phone that morning very near where we were photographing the Toucans. This is a highly venomous pit viper, the Mato Grosso Lancehead Snake.

It was discomforting to know that these were around this lodge and in fact in places where we walked, sometimes after dark. Apparently, if you are immediately treated with anti-venom, your chances of recovery are good.  However, we were at least 3 hours from Cuiaba.

Nothing was planned for the morning, and we were going to have an early lunch so that we could get back to Cuiaba to make my late afternoon flight home. I was the only one flying out that day, but we only left the lodge an hour or two earlier than we would have otherwise. Plus nothing typically happened in the mid-day heat.

Mid-morning Fisher lead an impromptu hike for two of us back into the area where we had seen the Giant Potoo and the monkeys. We didn’t find the Potoo or the monkeys, but I was able to take some photos of a few interesting birds including the only warbler of the trip.

As we approached Cuiaba, I saw an electronic sign stating that the temperature was 40° C.  That is 104° F. 

The photo below shows a view from my plane as it approached the San Paulo airport. I have been trying hard to recall a worst airport I have been in, but I can’t.

Our plane from Cuiaba arrived on time at the San Paulo airport, and I had over 2 1/2 hours before the next plane departed.  But I just barely made the plane, boarding as they were about to close the door.  

What took so long? Our plane taxied around the airport forever and finally parked well away from any gate. Once we deplaned very slowly, we boarded buses. I was on the second or third bus which they packed very full. And then it was a long bus ride to a terminal where we had to pick up our checked bags.

After I got my bag, it was a very long confusing walk from one terminal to another. Since I was now in a new terminal, I had to go through immigration (!) and security checks. And of course, the lines, especially for immigration, were long. 

After I arrived home I found this on the web:   “If you are connecting from a domestic to an international flight, you will need to go through immigration and security checks. A 2-hour window should allow for this, but peak travel times could lead to longer wait times.”

It’s quite amazing that they put you through immigration even though you’ve been in the country for two weeks. Why????

Still, it was a great trip and a fantastic adventure.