Beware of Caiman and Capybaras

Work has been so busy since I returned from Brazil. Hence, no recent blog post about the trip. And it was a long trip and I took hundreds of pictures so reviewing the photos has been an arduous task. But now I am back to the blog.

Day 2 was an introduction to Caimans and Capybaras. Our wake-up call was at 5:00am, in time to see the sun rise and the birds awaken. Our guide drove us just a mile from our pousada to see birds that hang out in the bushes. Yes, we could have walked there but we had a lot of gear. Here are some pictures from the early morning birding adventure.

The misty morning

Southern Crested Caracara

Great Kiskadee

Tapeti - Brazilian Rabbit

After birding for over one hour, we headed back to the pousada for breakfast. The first thing I went for was the coffee. Brazilian coffee is deliciously strong. They serve it with warm milk. I have to start doing this at home. And the breakfast food was fresh as it was at dinner. They served eggs, fresh fruit, freshly squeezed juices, cheese. bread and my favorite cheese balls.

After breakfast, we took a walk along the river - more birding. We had to cut the walk short because we were scheduled for a boat ride. It was perfect because it was warming up and a trip on the river would be refreshing. We were greeted by a sleeping caiman - the first of many.

The pre-boat hike over rickety bridges

Orange-backed Troupial

Blue Crowned Trojan

Wood Stork

Watch out for the hungry caimans!

Jabiru

Our first Capybara and Iguana

Striated Heron

Giant Otter

Potoo

Black-collared Hawk

Birding can stir up the appetite and we got back in time for lunch. Lunch comprised of salad, bread, cheese, a variety of fruits and vegetables, beans and rice. Perfect. Then came the after lunch rest time. I call it a siesta - in Portugese it is sesta. After our sesta, we met up with our guide at 2:00pm to drive the remainder of the way to Porto Jofre. More dirt, more bridges, more birds, more cabybaras and more caiman.

Along the way, we get held up by cowboys herding their cattle. Cattle farming is a huge industry in Brazil. But I was surprised how skinny the cattle were. Our guide said that they are healthy.

Parrots, parrots and more parrots

More lizards

Great Horned Owl - Very exciting!!!!

Capybaras and Caracaras in the road. Below is a bird on a Capybara.

We got to Porto Jofre at dark. We had to check into the hotel. The first thing the hotel manager told us was not to walk to the bridge at night. Why? Because the jaguars are roaming. We listened to his advice.

We had about 30 minutes to rest before dinner. Again dinner was served buffet style and was very similar to the meal at the prior pousada. The difference was this one served catfish every night. Who knew that catfish could be so tasty. Every night it was prepared differently - baked, fried, sauteed. And the hotel served the Brazilian drink, Caipirinha. It is delicious. It is very simple - lime, sugar, cachaça and ice. A perfect way to end a day.