Entries about kingfisher

We go out in the boat with Gui again at first light to see what nature has to offer us today.

Great Black Hawk

Amazon Kingfisher

Tapir
With great excitement, Gui points out a tapir swimming along the bank.

We follow him as he continues along the shoreline until he eventually exits the water and disappears into the jungle.

My animal wish list for this trip is now complete: jaguar, giant river otter, capybara, agouti, armadillo, anteater, and tapir. I am a very happy bunny!

Pale Vented Pigeon

Long Nosed Bats

A very shy otter

Southern Rough Winged Swallow

Black Fronted Nunbird

White Bellied Parrot

Blue and yellow Macaw

Red Throated Piping Guan

Anhinga drying its wings

Beach
I never expected to see beautiful sandy beaches here in the Amazon - these have become exposed as a result of the dropping water level. The lodge arranges excursions to the beach for swimming and canoeing – having seen numerous caiman and the teeth of the otters, and knowing that there are piranhas in the river, I think I will give it a miss.

Cocoi Heron

Blue Grey Tanager

Southern Lapwing

Osprey

Pied Lapwing

Muscovy Ducks

Neotropic Cormorants

Another dragonfly lands briefly on the boat

Yellow Billed Tern

Black Caracara

Blue and Yellow Macaws

Greater Yellow Headed Vulture

White Throated Mango
The captain pulls up at a shrub on a small island, with a labyrinth of criss-crossing branches. I can see no sign of life. Gui uses his laser pointer to draw our eyes to a small green patch, well hidden inside the bush. A beautiful hummingbird on her nest.

“How on earth did you manage to spot that?” I ask Gui. He explains that he went out with a scientist last week, who had a heat-spotting device that helped them locate nests such as this.

Southern Rough Wing Swallow

Swallow Wing Puffbird

Striated Heron

Back to the lodge.

Gui has arranged for me to get a taxi (the luggage truck) back to the room again, while David takes the long route via the shop which is near the restaurant. I ran out of deodorant this morning, so am looking to replace it. The shop does not keep any in stock but Gui arranges for someone in town to nip out and buy one for me, and they will send it with this afternoon's boat carrying new guests.

My diarrhoea has returned with a vengeance (it has never really gone, but has been manageable until now), so instead of going to lunch, I take some Ciprofloxacin and go to bed for the afternoon.

Dinner
Feeling considerably better, I decide to brave some food this evening. Dinner is served as a buffet tonight, much to my disappointment. At least it means no-one will notice if I don't eat much.

The guava souffle for dessert is incredibly light and very nice indeed

While we are sitting at the table eating our dinner, the waiter comes over and plonks a deodorant in front of me. Great!

I message Gui to let him know it has arrived.

Goodnight from Cristalino and thank you to Undiscovered Destinations for arranging this trip.

The room finally cooled enough for me to put the covers on at 01:00. The alarm is set for 05:00, but I am awake from 03:00 anyway.

Boat Safari
Like Araras, the activities here at Cristalino revolve mostly around trekking, but because of my bad knee, Gui has arranged boat safaris instead.

It is still dark when we go out at 07:00, so not good for photography.

Amazon Kingfisher

The sun soon comes up, though, giving me more light to work with.

Red Throated Piping Guan

Green Kingfisher

Great Black Hawk

The guests that are staying here at Cristalino Lodge are mostly a combination of families looking for adventure, and avid bird watchers. Not sure where we fit into that.

Long Nosed Bats
With clever camouflage, these bats attach themselves to the bark of a tree, hiding from the Bat Falcon.

This caiman is also very well camouflaged amongst the logs and rocks in the river.

Sunbittern

White Winged Swallow
I spend ages trying to make this little chap fly, but he is not very cooperative, and when he finally does take off, I am not ready with my camera.

I follow him to his next perch.

After hanging around for ages, I yet again miss him taking off. I give up for now.

Until I see a couple of a rock, that is!

Green Ibis

White Banded Swallow

Swallow Winged Puffbird

We are now at the beginning of the dry season here in the Southern Amazon, so the level of the river is slowly going down. You can see just how much lower the water is already.

These rocks are completely submerged in the rainy season.

It certainly makes for challenging navigation and heightens my admiration for our skilled captain.

Blue and Yellow Macaws

Rufescent Tiger Heron

Spectacled Caiman

Anhinga

Scarlet Macaws

Capped Heron

Plumbeous Kite

We spend most of our time motoring gently along the shady side of the river. David and I agree how incredibly privileged we are to be here, doing this.

Amazon Taricaya Turtle

Green Ibis

A dragonfly lands on the boat, and I try – not altogether successfully – to capture it before it flies off.

Neotropic River Otters
We see a couple of otters mating.

It looks like this one is in the throes of passion.

Rapids
Where the water level has gone down, and rocks have become exposed, a number of rapids have developed.

Look at how that water glistens in the sun!

The moving water attracts birds and is fun to navigate – for us. Again I admire the captain and his experience and knowledge as he steers us safely up the river.

Capped Heron

Southern Rough Winged Swallow

Back to Cristalino Lodge
We return to the lodge mid-morning, where Gui has arranged for me to have a ride back to the room in the electric luggage buggy in order to save my knee. I sit on the flatbed at the back, while David joins the driver in the front.

We chill in the room and later on the patio before lunch

An unusual rocking chair

Lunch
This oppressive 38 °C heat is making me feel lethargic, and I struggle to muster up the energy to walk to the restaurant for lunch.

Cristalino Cream of Tartar: with tomatoes, red onions and green herbal oil, plantains, Dijon mustard, capers, and ginger. Served with banana chips.

Very refreshing, quite sweet, tastes predominately of banana

Regional spaghetti dish with cured beef, tomatoes, and orange sauce

Very nice

Banana Crumble

Yum! Must try this at home!

We opt out of taking an excursion this afternoon due to the heat, my knee, and David's sore throat; instead, we snooze for the afternoon before I drag myself to dinner. It doesn't feel any cooler after the sun has gone down. This heat is really getting to me.

Dinner
We start with a drink, while we wait for the food to arrive.

Passion Fruit Caipirinha

David's beer even has its own small ice bucket

Courgette hash with a poached egg - dry and tasteless

Cristalino salad: seasonal leaves, pickled red onion with mustard seeds, cherry tomato confit, cucumbers, pickled palm heart, olives, red cabbage, served with savoury granola. The dish is overly salty (which is saying something as I love a bit of food with my salt), the crunchy topping is nice though

Savoury Granola

Tucupi risotto and smoked catfish: rice, tucupi (cassava broth), jambu (paracress), Grana Padano cheese, and catfish smoked in cashew and blackberry leaves.

Brazil nut mousse - I am not at all keen on this dish

And so to bed. Thank you to Undiscovered Destinations for arranging this trip for us.

We are leaving Araras at 07:30 this morning, but I am awake from 03:45. As soon as it is light, I do some last-minute bird watching.

Plumbeous Ibis

Chaco Chachalaca

Packed and ready to go

Our new-found German friends, Tina, Kristian, and their four children are moving on to the same lodge as us today, too, and we joke at breakfast about who will get to the airport first to put the towels down to reserve the seats.

We win.

Cuiabá Airport
We do have a couple of advantages, however, one being that we are on a private tour so that we can don't have to wait for other people, and not travel in a 12-seater minibus, which means we spend less time loading and unloading luggage as there is only us.

The other advantage is that Roberto arranges special assistance for me once we arrive at the airport, which includes priority check-in as well as boarding, and special seats on the plane (the first three rows are dedicated 'disabled' seats, with extra legroom)

The city of Cuiabá from the air

Alta Floresta
At the small airport (which only gets two flights a day, apparently) there are two vehicles waiting to take guests to Cristalino Lodge: a small truck for us and the luggage, and a minibus for all the others.

The first part of the road is on tarmac, but that soon turns into a gravel track, as we pass farms and logging stations. If we thought the Transpantaneira road was bad, that is nothing compared to this. We bounce all over the place each time the truck hits a pothole – which is often – and the driver seems to spend his time apologising. He doesn't speak much English but has a great sense of humour, and we laugh a lot on the one-hour journey.

Cashews
At a gate across the road, he stops to poach some cashew fruits from a tree by the side of the road. He justifies it by explaining that the farm and land belong to Cristalino Lodge. Cashews always fascinate me the way the nut hangs at the bottom of the fruit.

The fruit itself is also very pleasant to eat, so we take a couple of them with us.

Boat Trip
When we arrive at the docking area (a fancy name for where the end of the road goes into the river), there is an army of helpers on hand to get the luggage from the truck into the waiting boats.

Here we meet our guide, Gui, for the first time. He is to be with us for the next four days.

The journey along the river to Cristalino Lodge takes around half an hour, and we do some bird watching along the way.

Amazon Kingfisher

Green Ibis

Swallow Wing Puffbird

Amazon Taricaya Turtle and Dyas Julia Butterflies

White Winged Swallows

Gui explains that the dark colour of the water comes from minerals washed out of the forest, and contains decomposing leaves and other vegetable matter. The good news is that the mosquitoes do not like this water, so they stay away.

Cristalino Lodge
This eco-lodge gets rave reviews on every site I have looked at on the internet, with National Geographic Traveller selecting it as one of the 25 best eco-lodges in the world; and another sire describing it as “the best lodge in the Brazilian Amazon for wildlife enthusiasts”. I have high hopes for this place!

The landing stage also features a sunbathing and swimming platform, with loungers and umbrellas (and apparently a cozy firepit in the evening).

To get to the lodge there are 30 wooden steps, but before that, I have to get out of the boat.

I try to step up onto the raised part at the front, but my knee will not let me. I attempt to swing my leg over the side and straight onto the boardwalk. I fail again. Finally, I sit down on the front, but I am still not able to get my legs up.
The aforementioned army of helpers step in and literally lift me up and out of the boat. I am impressed they manage it, but by this stage, I am feeling pretty stressed and panicky.

I manage the steps, and the trail through the jungle to the restaurant, which is up a few more wooden steps. The public areas of the hotel are all on a raised platform: the inside and outside dining areas, the bar, the lounge, the shop, toilets, conference room, and patio. It oozes luxury.

Gui

We are given a welcome drink, made from a fruit called cocoazu. I have not heard of it before, and I have to admit it is a little too bitter for me.

As we missed lunch while travelling (it is now mid-afternoon), they serve us a small wrap, some fruit salad, and a delicious cake.

Gui is very laid back and nothing seems to be a rush here. We saunter back down the wooden steps along the path from the restaurant to the crossroads of paths where we came up from the jetty.

As we turn into the jungle and the track that leads to our room, we come across Mr and Mrs Bare Faced Curassow, reinforcing my high expectations of seeing a lot of birds here.

Our Room
Having upgraded to a Junior Suite, we find that our room is almost the furthest away from the restaurant and the jetty. But at least it is private, set in its own clearing in the forest.

The inside is large, bright, and airy. There is an overhead fan, but no air conditioning.

The welcome pack contains two complimentary metal water bottles that can be refilled at the bar for free, a box of chocolate-covered Brazil nuts, and some postcards.

There is a separate dressing room, toilet, and shower, with an additional shower outside.

Once we have settled in, we try out the outdoor shower. To say it is refreshing would be a gross understatement – the water is absolutely freezing.

Dinner
We joke that walking to the restaurant for dinner is about as far as it is to walk to our local Tesco supermarket. “Fancy Tesco for dinner this evening?”

As everything is cooked to order here at Cristalino, they brought us the menus when we arrived for us to choose what we would like to have for dinner this evening. After seven nights of buffet food, it is such a pleasant change to be served at the table.

We are greeted on arrival at the restaurant by the customer relations manager, Gabriel, who is very pleasant, very knowledgable, and has a great memory, but he does talk too much, lingering at the table while we are eating.

Sun-dried meat croquettes with pepper aioli and a hot sauce. Crunchy outside, with a soft centre. Very nice.

The main course is extremely slow to arrive, but when it finally turns up after around 40 minutes or so, it is worth the wait.

Grilled tenderloin medallion steak

The caramel nut pie is only just OK. It has a slightly unpleasant gritty texture and definitely needs more caramel!

With no AC, the room feels very hot as we go to bed, so I lay on top of the sheets without anything on and put the ceiling fan on full.

Goodnight from the Amazon. Thank you Undiscovered Destinations for arranging this trip for us.

Another early start this morning: up at 04:15 for a 05:00 safari.

We stop at the statue of São Francisco, the protector of ecology, to photograph the sunrise, before continuing to Ponte 3, our favourite bridge (I never thought I'd end up with a favourite bridge on the Transpantaneira).

Bridge # 3
There are way more birds flying this morning than yesterday, and in greater quantities.

Most birds roost near water at night, as the sun heats the water during the day, which helps keep the birds warm during the night. In the morning they fly off in search of food.

It is mesmerising to watch.

Flash Gun
After the problems I had with low light necessitating high ISO (= noisy/grainy images) yesterday, I brought my Speedlight with me this morning, plus my Better Beamer.

Ringed Kingfisher

The Better Beamer is basically a fresnel lens on a frame. Its main purpose is to extend the range of the flash, although it will also reduce the possibility of the lens hood casting a shadow.

Green Kingfisher

Caiman

I am impressed that it seems to work all the way across the other side of the pond!

As well as into the sky above.

Large Billed Tern

Black Vulture

Black Bellied Whistling Ducks

Orange Winged Parrots

After a while, I abandon the flash.

Caiman

Wood Stork

Jabiru

Black Skimmers
I love watching the way these birds fish by skimming the water with their beaks open. The lower mandible is larger than the top one, allowing them to more easily hook up some breakfast.

This one's got a fish!

Large Billed Terns having a bit of a domestic

Yellow Billed Cardinal with a colouration issue

This is what he is supposed to look like:

Southern Caracara

Black Capped Night Heron

Maguari Stork

Peach Fronted Parakeet

Unicoloured Blackbird

Striated Heron

Great Egret

Reluctantly we move on from the pond at Bridge # 3, and slowly make our way back towards the lodge.

Maguari Stork

Savanna Hawk

Southern Lapwing coming in to land

Black Stilt

Wood Stork

Wattled Jacana

Monk Parakeets

Roseate Spoonbill

Rufous Cachalote

Bared Faced Ibis

We see a Southern Caracara have a wrestling match with a stick.

Guira Cuckoo

Lesser Yellow Headed Vulture

Black Vulture

Snail Kite

Breakfast
By the time we get back to the hotel, we are too late for the breakfast buffet, but the lodge has laid our usual table in the shade of a tree on the patio, and they bring us a number of different dishes.

It seems the chachalaca have got to the butter, however, before we can.

Caught red-handed - or is that red-beaked - with a large knob of butter in his mouth.

I bet the butter does melt in his mouth, though!

This is the most we've eaten for any breakfast so far. Disclaimer: we didn't eat everything served! We do feel obliged to eat more than we normally do, however, as they've brought us all this food.

Chill time
Mid-afternoon we spend some time in the pool cooling down. We are the only ones around, so have the pool to ourselves. I guess everyone else has gone out for a strenuous walk or horse-riding.

This is not a sign you really want to see right next to the pool

Afternoon safari
At 16:00 we set off for our very last safari in the Pantanal, as tomorrow we are moving on to pastures new.

The first thing we spot is another armadillo.

Agouti
He is a long way away, there is lots of dust in the air, and I am shooting into the sun, so unfortunately I don't get any good pictures of the agouti.

A Crab-Eating Fox rushes past us.

Blue Crowned Parakeets

Yellow Collared Macaws

Collared Anteaters
Leaving the best until last, Roberto slams on the brakes and reverses the car back a few yards before jumping out with his binoculars. Soon he beckons us over: he has seen an anteater in a tree.

Wow!

Not just one, but there is another one in a nearby tree, which is quite surprising, as they are normally solitary creatures.

Once the sun's gone down, leaving the anteaters in very low light, we reluctantly return to the lodge for a shower, dinner and packing before bed.

Goodnight and goodbye from Araras. Thank you to Undiscovered Destinations for arranging this trip for us.

Another slightly later start this morning: up at 05:30, breakfast at 06:30, leave at 07:00 for a wee walk around the hotel grounds to check out what's about.

Red Breasted Cardinal

Little Woodpecker, hiding

Roseate Spoonbill and Wood Stork

One in, one out!

Wattled Jacana

We see Mr & Mrs Hornero, and this is their somewhat unusual nest.

Greater Kiskadee

Ringed Kingfisher

Chopi Blackbirds

The grounds are surrounded by ponds covered in vegetation, amongst which caimans hide, waiting for an unsuspecting breakfast.

We hear several loud grunts and look around expecting to see wild boar or something similar. “It's the mating call of the caiman” explains Roberto.

Monk Parakeets

Black Collared Hawk
The hawk has caught something, although at first, I cannot make out what it is.

On closer inspection, I can see it's a fish, and he is having quite the feast!

Cattle Tyrant - it is the first time we have seen that red crest on the top of its head

Yellow Rumped Cacique

Rufous Bellied Thrush

Rufous Cachalote. That is one very ambitious nest builder!

Boat Billed Heron

She is feeding her young

Black Vulture

Thrush Like Wren

The property owns a lot of land surrounding the lodge, and several boardwalks lead out across the marshland into the jungle beyond. There is also an observation tower, but neither of us feels up to climbing it.

On one of the boardwalks, we see a couple of spoonbills. I suggest Roberto walks onto the bridge so that I can catch the moment they fly away.

Unfortunately, they both fly in the opposite direction from what I wanted them to do.

A caiman looks as if he is heading to the swimming pool.

Another is making a beeline for David.

This one makes me laugh - I don't think the camouflage is working!

They are awfully close to the hotel in my opinion.

Roberto assures me that no attacks on guests have been recorded. “They are more afraid of you than you are of them”

Amazon Kingfisher

Savanna Hawk

Purple Gallinule, hiding

Black Capped Donacobius

Plumbeous Ibis

South American Ground Lizard

This place really is a birdwatcher's paradise. On a three-hour walk, during which we strayed no more than a few hundred metres from the lodgings, we have seen 34 different bird species, 22 of which are new to us on this trip.

Very satisfied, we return to the room for a few hours in the air conditioning before lunch. David is feeling only slightly better from his throat infection, and I still have the runs, so it is nice to chill for a bit.

Lunch
We make sure we go down to the restaurant as soon as the food is ready when they ring the bell at 11:30. I dislike buffets, and I dislike buffets that have been left out for an hour or two even more.

Chicken stew, rice, and beans

Caramelised payaya - very nice!

We have it on good authority that the large tree in the courtyard of the lodge attracts macaws most afternoons, so after a post-lunch siesta, I wander out there to see if I can spot any.

Hyacinth Macaw

This is the largest parrot in the world, and I hear them before I see them. They are loud, very active, and quite humorous to watch.

They are not so easy to photograph, however, and for the best part of an hour, they play hide and seek with me.

I swear they are laughing at me.

Mind you, chasing them around the tree with a walking stick in one hand and a chair in the other must have looked quite amusing. My balance is pretty awful (David would say I am 'unstable'), hence the chair for when I want to look straight upwards holding a long lens up to my face.

Jeep Safari
Here at Araras, a number of activities are included in the package, such as trekking, climbing the observation tower, horseriding and canoeing. Obviously, I am unable to partake in any of those, so Roberto is taking us out on a Jeep Safari this afternoon.

The safari vehicles are converted pick-ups, where the tiered seating on the back can be removed if the Jeep is needed for something else, like transporting luggage.

David sits on the back, while I sit inside the back seat – I choose the back rather than the front, as I then have unobstructed views out both sides.

Ringed Kingfisher

Whistling Heron

Thrush-Like Wren

Purpleish Jay

Black Collared Hawk

Southern Lapwing

Orange Backed Troupial

Great Black Hawk

Green Ibis Eating a Frog

Grey Necked Wood-Rail

Marsh Deer

Before dinner, a group of guests have gathered around the camp fire, singing songs and playing the guitar.

After the meal, David and I wander down to the boardwalk for some light painting.

I also try my hand at some more astrophotography. I do think that I need heaps more practice!

Goodnight from Araras, and thank you to Undiscovered Destinations for arranging this trip.

We have a later start this morning: breakfast at 05:30, leave at 06:30. David is still feeling pretty rough, so again decides to stay behind when Roberto and I go off.

Having already seen eight jaguars (including the one at dinner the first night), we head to a different location this morning.

The scene may look idyllic, but the water is dirty and certainly not good for swimming as there are a number of dangers lurking under the surface: caiman, piranha, and sweet-water stingray to mention a few.

Capybara
These giant guinea pigs are the world's largest rodents, at twice the size of the beaver.

The most interesting thing about capybara is that they are known to eat their poo in the mornings.

I am disappointed that we don't see them do this (I think). We do see one of the youngsters drinking, however.

Pied Lapwing

Amazon Kingfisher

Wood Stork

Great Egret

Roseate Spoonbill

Black Crowned Night Heron

Rufescent Tiger Heron

Greater Ani trying to hide

Black Howler Monkeys
Today we see the male – which is actually black – as well as the golden-coloured female we saw yesterday.

One of the females has a baby on her back!

Golden Tegu Lizard

Green Iguana

More Capybara

Caiman
There are caimans everywhere!

This guy is a real giant of a grandaddy!

I didn't realise until today, that caiman (and crocodiles) have no tongue as such. Well, technically they do, but the tongue is held in place at the roof of the mouth by a membrane. Because caimans spend so much time underwater, the tongue helps keep the throat closed, protecting the animal's airway. Unlike other species, the tongue plays no part in feeding.

This poor guy is missing the tip of his tail – he could have had an encounter with a jaguar, or possibly even one of his own. Caimans have been known to turn to cannibalism.

More Capybara

Jabiru

Nesting Site
We arrive in an area where almost every tree has a birds' nest. It is a beautiful, peaceful place with lots of tall trees offering shade, and we are the only people here, so I ask if we can just hang around for a while.

Jabiru on her nest

I try to photograph some of the numerous birds flying above the canopies, without a great deal of success.

Large Billed Tern

Lesser Yellow Hooded Vulture

Southern Caracara

Neotropic Cormorant

I have a bit more luck with the perched birds.

Anhinga

Cocoi Heron

Lesser Kiskadee

Southern Caracara

Cormorant and Anhinga

The Anhinga is not happy

She has more than her hands full with feeding her young. I am amazed at how far down her throat the youngster sticks his head!

His brother tries to muscle in on the action.

Enough is enough!

We move on to see what else nature has to offer us today.

More Capybara

Southern Screamer

Jabiru

Black Collared Hawk

Bare Faced Ibis

Black Crowned Night Heron

Green Iguana

Cocoi Heron

Another Jabiru - this large bird is the symbol of Pantanal

We return to the lodge for another buffet lunch.

Goodbye from Porto Jofre for now. Thank you Undiscovered Destinations for arranging this trip.

I had a dreadful night: my shoulder, back, wrist, knee, pelvis, and ankle were all hurting at some stage, and my stomach felt very unsettled (I still have the runs); while David spent the night coughing and blowing his nose. I finally give in and get up just after 04:00.

David decides to stay in bed for the morning, so I go out with Roberto in a boat to see if we can find any jaguars. The Pantanal is said to have the world's highest density of these beautiful cats, and Porto Jofre is known as Jaguar Central, so I am hoping we'll get lucky.

We agreed quite early on at the planning stage that we didn't want to be in a group (too many bad experiences as a photographer on group tours), so we paid extra and upgraded to a private tour. Seeing some of the bigger boats with up to 12 people in them, I am grateful for the small four-seater boat with me, Roberto and Captain Dinio.

We leave the hotel before dawn, and the sunrise is beautiful with the early morning mist hanging over the water! It is surprisingly cold this morning with the wind from the moving boat. I am glad I listened to Roberto and put a wind-proof jacket on!

We are heading in a leisurely fashion towards an area where jaguars were spotted yesterday, stopping to photograph the birds and animals we see along the way.

Bat Falcon

Pied Lapwings making baby lapwings

Black Skimmer

Large Billed Tern

Green Iguana

All the boat captains are in touch via radio, and we get word that some guests from the hotel have seen a family of five otters, so we decide to go there to check it out.

It seems to take forever to get there, as the captain is very courteous and slows right down every time we pass fishermen in their boats. I worry that the otters will be gone by the time we get there.

Giant River Otters
The otters are still around, eating fish. They are quite large (I guess there's a hint in the name), and they have viciously sharp teeth. You can easily hear the crunching of the fish bones as they eat.

Other Wildlife

Cocoi Heron

White Winged Swallow

Wood Stork

Great Egret

Neotropic Cormorants

Amazon Kingfisher

Black Crowned Night Heron

Wattled Jacana

Anhinga drying its wings

Caiman

Southern Screamer

Brown Capuchin

Crane Hawk

Lesser Yellow Hooded Vulture

Toco Toucan

A passing boat indicates to us that they have heard of a sighting, so "hold on to your hats, it is full speed ahead!" Sod the fishermen, this is business!

Jaguar
The first hint that there is something of interest, is a boat jam!

At first, I can't spot the cat, as she is doing her best to be camouflaged (very successfully) while she stalks an unsuspecting caiman through the long grass at the riverbank.

Her camouflage skills are better than her hunting skills this morning, however, as she pounces with a menacing growl, the caiman gets away with a large splash at the last minute!

The look of dejection on her face as the caiman gets away!

The jaguar walks along the bank. We follow.

She stops. We stop.

She turns around. We turn around. We lose sight of her for a while and thinking she might have wandered over to the other side of the peninsula, we check it out. Nope. We return to the original side just as she appears out of the undergrowth.

Soon she gets fed up with sitting on a log and disappears into the undergrowth again.

Our next spotting is one of her two sub-adult cubs in a tree further down the bank.

The other one is hidden in the thicket behind the tree.

Meanwhile, mum is keeping an eye on them from the riverbank.

We're all getting roasted by the fierce sun while waiting for further action.

Mum is fidgety and heads along the edge of the river towards where her babies are.

She looks straight at us and heads for the water.

There is a strict code of conduct for boat safaris in the Pantanal, and keeping at least 25 metres away from any big cats is one of them. When it looks like she is going to swim across the river, all the boat captains move to a respectable distance.

As it turns out, she swims away from us along the bank and disappears into the jungle further along.

It's time to head back for lunch. Last night Roberto suggested we start at 06:00 this morning, and be back at the hotel between 10:00 and 10:30. It is now 12:30, and lunch is served in half an hour. David must be wondering what on earth has happened to us!

When I get back to the hotel, I find David sitting outside the room. While he is up and about, he does not look well, with his right eye swollen and watering. He tells me he is feeling slightly better and we both go off for some lunch.

Thank you to Undiscovered Destinations for arranging this trip for us.

David is really suffering this morning with his sore throat, poor thing. After a decent breakfast and a leisurely start, we meet Roberto, our guide, and Ouzito. the driver, outside the hotel at 10 o'clock. They will be taking us by road to Pantanal today. I am excited. I am very excited. Pantanal has been on my wish list for the longest time, and having had this trip cancelled twice, I can't quite believe that I am here now, so very close.

The first part of the journey is on a sealed road with a relatively smooth surface. Alongside the road, we see fields where they grow soya beans or graze Brahma cows imported from India. The odd gold mine dots the landscape, and we see birds such as vultures and rhea, plus the odd capybara.

By the time we reach Poconé, the only town of any size in this region, I have diarrhea. Thankfully we are stopping here for lunch, in a BBQ restaurant known as a Churruascaria, and they have decent toilets.

After filling our plates with salads from a buffet, a waiter comes around with various BBQ meats that he carves off as much or as little as we want. Every few minutes he brings something different: various cuts of beef, chicken, pork, sausages etc.

Transpantaneira
From Poconé it is a dirt road all the way, known as the Transpantaneira, a 150km journey through a range of landscapes - with drier grasslands in the north, while further south, closer to Porto Jofre, the landscape is wetter with more forest and swamp.

The road is unpaved, rough, and pot-holed, connected by 122 bridges in varying states of disrepair. A few have been replaced with newer concrete constructions, while some still remain old, rickety, and nerve-wracking. I am sure glad it is not me who is driving.

We drive slowly as we look out for birds and animals, stopping often when we see something worth photographing - safari Pantanal style.

Savanna Hawk

Ringed Kingfisher

Candle Tree

Red Legged Serima

Termite Mounds
During the dry season, the termites live under ground, but as soon as the rains start, they commence building their nests on top of the existing mound, thus increasing the height year by year. Some of the mounds we see are taller than a human.

Red Brocket Deer

Yellow Billed Cardinal

American Wood Stork

Roseate Spoonbill

Lesser Yellow Hooded Vulture

Plumbeous Ibis

Cocoi Heron

Rufous Hornero

White Woodpecker

Caiman

Black Collared Hawk

Great Kiskadee

Sunbittern

Green Iguana

Yellow Anaconda

Marsh Deer

Finally half way - Bridge 61!

Juvenile Rufescent Tiger Heron

Jabiru, the symbol of Pantanal

Black Crowned Night Heron

Peach Fronted Parakeet

Capped Heron

Roberto said the journey to Porto Jofre would take between three and four hours, depending on how many times we stop. We finally arrive at the end of the road and pull up at our hotel after 7½ hours.

Pousada Porto Jofre
Ouzito drives right up to our room. Roberto has arranged for our room to be in such a position that we have easy access to everything: the restaurant, the pool, the docks, the reception, and the car park with the least amount of walking. Good man. There is no check-in procedure, although our room does have our name on it.

The room is fairly basic, but more than adequate, and the AC is good, which is a definite bonus.

The hotel started life as a fishing camp on a farm, and when the owner realised that not just fishermen wanted to visit this area, it grew into the mixed-use resort it is today, with the focus split between fishing and jaguar safaris by boat.

Capybara in the grounds

While exploring the hotel and its grounds, I identify a spot that I would like to use later for astrophotography – an elevated boardwalk with a lily pond that I can hopefully get the Milky Way to reflect in.

Dinner

The restaurant

At dinner we are one of the few smaller tables: there are several large groups, including an American party at a long table next to us. Suddenly there is quite a commotion, with scraping of chairs, screeching of guests, and everybody abruptly and quickly getting up and running around.

The reason soon becomes clear: a river otter has managed to get inside the restaurant, and now all the staff and guides are trying to catch it (while the guests are trying to get away from it). After finally managing to grab it and throwing it out, Roberto goes outside to make sure the otter isn't able to get back in again.

Waving his arms, Roberto comes running back in to the restaurant, shouting in excitement: “jaguar!” “jaguar”. We think he is winding us up, but apparently not. It appears the otter was chased into the building by the big cat, and when Roberto went out, it was just outside the restaurant.

By the time we get out there, he has moved further down onto the boardwalk, and all we can see in the darkness of night is the outline of the body and the torchlight reflecting in his eyes. What excitement!

We reluctantly return to dinner. Tonight is a buffet, and while I am generally not keen on buffets, there is a very nice beef in a tasty sauce, and the strawberry cake is delicious.

Milky Way
Even though the jaguar sauntered off into the jungle earlier, we decide that maybe the boardwalk isn't the best place for astrophotography this evening. Roberto suggests going out onto the Transpantaneira where it will be darker than the hotel grounds, and I reckon I can use the road as a decent foreground. The gates are locked shut, however, so we settle for the lawns.

The problem is the trees have spotlights pointing at them. Roberto tries his best to point them away from my camera, and cover one with his hat, one with my bag, and David stands in front of the third light.

It works (with a little help from Photoshop later).

Goodnight from Porto Jofre. Thank you to Undiscovered Destinations for organising this trip.

I get up early this morning to catch the sunrise – there is a beautiful mist rising over the river.

Sensing some movement out of the corner of my eye, I spot a new bird (to me) in amongst the foliage: a Mangrove Sunbird.

Speckled Pigeon

Catching the sunrise was not the only reason I got up early today; we are off on a boat trip through the mangroves this morning.

It's a glorious sunrise.

An old boat lies moored near the lodge.

The water is very still, creating beautiful reflections.

Guinea Baboons

Just around the corner from the lodge, where our tributary meets a wider river, the trees are full of baboons. There are five different species of baboons worldwide, and the Guinea Baboons found here in The Gambia are the smallest.

These are a new (sub)species for us, and I am very excited to see and photograph them at such close quarters.

It looks like there may be more baboons here in the future.

I am so in love with their facial expressions.

African Darter drying out his wings.

Great White Egret

Green Backed Heron

Blue Breasted Kingfisher

Pied Kingfisher

Rose Ringed Parakeet

African Darter

A crocodile sunbathes on the bank of the river.

He doesn't look too friendly.

I hope he didn't hear me and is coming for his revenge!

I am very excited to see this elegant and flamboyant Violet Turaco fly over – another new one for me.

One of the birds on my wish list when I came over here, was the Western Plantain Eater. Here they are two-a-penny!

Oyster Factory

Oysters are big business around here, with the meat being eaten, and the shells burnt to make lime which is mixed with water to make house paint, and with sand to make cement. There are no wasted elements as anything left is used for chicken feed.

Oysters growing on the mangroves

Pied Crows mobbing a Harrier Hawk

Greenshank

Spur Winged Plover

Senegal Thick Knee

Common Sandpiper

Whimbrel taking off

Long Tailed Cormorant drying his wings out

And so the morning's boat trip is over, and we are back at the lodge in time for lunch.

I am absolutely fascinated by the bats in the ceiling of the restaurant.

Isn't he cute?

Look at him yawn! ♥

Today there is also a Speckled Pigeon in the rafters.

Mr Heron is back in position in amongst the mangroves as usual.

He is after the crabs, of course.

I am not sure what is happening here – it looks like the big crab is stalking the little one.

We return to the room for a little siesta, but find we are not alone.

This girl is looking down on us from the rafters.

It looks like she is raising a family.

I know every mother thinks their babies are the most beautiful in the world; but, I'm sorry, there is nothing remotely attractive about these chicks.

I drift into a light snooze, knowing that I am being looked over by the pigeon family.

After lunch we retire to the swimming pool, relaxing, reading, swimming, birdwatching. The pool area is full of at least two dozen little White Throated Bee Eater, swooping down into the water, to catch bugs on the surface, or just for a cooling dip.

They are so fast, and never dive in the same place twice, making it impossible to catch them on the camera. This is the nearest I got:

After little success using my small waterproof camera, I risk the SLR with my long lens into the pool.

I don't do much better with the 'proper' camera.

Looking rather bedraggled after his dip in the pool

A Fanti Saw Tail joins in – a new species to us, but sadly another rubbish photograph.

Swimming with dolphins is so yesteryear – to be really hip in 2019, you've got to have been swimming with bee eaters. It really is quite something to have them splashing all around us in the pool!

David in the pool

We return to our own private balcony for the rest of the afternoon.

Strange elongated fish in the river - trumpet fish?

The river is teeming with fish of all shapes and sizes.

At times there appears to be a feeding frenzy, with the surface of the water covered in ripples.

Palm Nut Vulture flying overhead

Common Redshank

Pied Kingfisher

Tourist boat – everything around here is very low key.

Black Headed Heron

Hooded Vulture

The kingfisher keeps returning, and hovering above the river for quite some time before diving in after a fish. Again and again and again he does this, providing us with endless amusement.

We watch as Angela and Keane set off for their sunset cruise.

Malin, the chef, comes to our room to ask what we would like for dinner, and stays chatting. And chatting. And chatting. He explains he is just about to embark on a hotel management course in Camberley, UK, and says he wants to come and stay with us while he is studying. I don't think he quite realises the distances involved in England, Camberley is well over two hours' drive away from us, each way, even without traffic. Not that I have any intention whatsoever to invite him to stay with us. Sorry Malin, it ain't 'appenin'.

The lights is fading now, but I stay on the balcony taking (bad quality) photographs of the birds flying around.

Abyssinian Roller

The Pied Kingfisher is still here, skimming the surface now.

Common Sandpiper

Dinner

Soon it is time to tear myself away from the birds (which I can hardly see any more anyway, in the quickly fading light), and have a shower before wandering down to the restaurant for dinner.

Tuna Salad

Cottage Pie

Chicken Curry

Chocolate Ice Cream

The ceiling above the restaurant is home to a large colony of bats. Every evening we see them flying around.

.

When we first arrived, I wondered why the dining tables were not positioned under the domed roofs - I have since come to realise that they are strategically placed to avoid any droppings.

The end of another lovely day - the stars twinkle over Mandina Lodges.

Transfer day. After a leisurely breakfast, we get picked up for the transfer to our next – and last – lodge on this trip. The journey takes the best part of an hour, with the last half on dirt tracks that the driver describes as “African Massage”.

Mandina Lodges

The modest track leading down to the lodge from the main road is not indicative of the opulence that meets us at the lodge. Linda, the manager, greets us warmly and gives us a briefing about the lodge and its surroundings. I am a little disappointed that we do not have a private guide as advertised in the brochure, but share with a single lady from the UK. I can, however, understand the desire to keep staffing levels down this late in the season, especially as this evening there are only five of us staying.

Reception area

Porters take our luggage as we are shown to the room along elevated wooden boardwalks.

The rooms are nicely spread out to allow for plenty of privacy.

There are nine rooms at Mandina, including four floating lodges, one of which we are staying in.

Our lodge is # 3

As we are in the third room from the main public area, there is just one lodge beyond ours. The gangway from the main boardwalk leading across to our room varies in steepness according to the level of the tide.

The gangplank leads to a floating terrace where there are two sunbeds, plus a covered area with a couple of chairs and a table.

Another gangplank leads across to the room itself, which is also floating on the river.

The room has a small balcony that wraps itself around on three of the four sides, offering great views up, down and across the river.

The wood panelled inside is spacious with a four poster bed in the centre of the room.

The en suite bathroom is open to the elements out the back of the room.

A preservation order forbids the owners to bury pipes under the lodges, so the toilet is fitted with a de-compostable plastic bag which takes a bit of getting used to. It is changed every day, but flushing it can be a little awkward, and the sound when you pee is rather disconcerting.

Once we have settled in, we check out the large free form swimming pool.

We're amazed to see a Pied Kingfisher nonchalantly sitting at the edge of the pool.

He dives down into the pool, not for food, but to cool down in the hot, midday sun.

Dotted around the pool are covered sunbathing areas (or rather shady areas to get away from the sun), again spaced apart for privacy.

There is also a firepit, surrounded by chairs for sharing stories and keeping cosy on those chilly winter evenings.

A large wooden deck leads down to the river, where the lodge's boats are moored.

The restaurant features large, heavy metal chairs and ornate mosaic decorations on the floor.

We saunter down to the bar area, where there is a little bit of a cooling breeze.

David is delighted to find the bar stocks cider, while I choose a non-alcoholic ginger drink with a real punch.

Fancy going all the way to West Africa to drink British cider!

My ginger punch looks like mud but tastes delicious.

The bar overlooks the mud flats around the mangroves, which are dry when we arrive, but as we stay for a while drinking and enjoying some lunchtime sandwiches, the water rises with the tide.

The mud appears to be moving, and on closer inspection we see hundreds of little Fiddler Crabs.

Odd looking Mudskippers, who appear to have legs, fins and wings, also frolic in the shallow waters.

The flowerpots attract Red Billed Firefinches.

After lunch we retire to our new home for a siesta in the midday heat.

Marakissa River Camp

Abdoulie takes us to this delightful camp for refreshments and bird watching. The camp is set on the riverside (there is a hint in the name), and features many different species. We spend a couple of delightful hours here, nipping between the covered terrace overlooking man made water pools, and the river below.

Abyssinian Roller

Yellow Billed Shrike

Beautiful Sunbird, preening

Purple Glossy Starling

Yellow Throated Leaflove

Red Cheeked Cordon Bleu

Lesser Honeyguide

Piapiac (AKA Black Magpie)

Scruffy Looking Village Weaver

Western Plantain Eater

Black Crake

Giant Kingfisher

Kingfisher Diving

While we are down at the river's edge, I spot a Pied Kingfisher in the corner of my eye, just about to dive into the water. I swing my camera around and manage to grab a quick shot as he carries his lunch away.

Having devoured the fresh snack, he comes back, sitting on a nearby branch, contemplating his next move.

Feeling hungry again, he hovers over the river, hoping to spot a fish.

Bingo! Not only did he manage to catch one (just – he is barely holding on to it by the tip of its head), but he also speared a dead leaf.

Which is now stuck on his beak.

Speckled Pigeon

Palm Nut Vulture

Western Reef Heron

African Black Kite

Great White Egret

Back up at the terrace we are joined by the two Dutch ladies we met at Brufut and Tanji. It seems that we are all doing a very similar birding circuit.

African Thrush

Blue Bellied Roller

Beautiful Sunbird

The female sunbird is nowhere near as colourful as the male

Orange Cheeked Waxbill

Red Billed Firefinch

A squirrel joins in the fun

Having had our fill of birdies this morning, we head back to the lodge, getting stuck in a very hot car as we hit a traffic jam along the way.

Lunch

It is lovely to see lots of people have come for lunch here at Tanji today – a big birding party plus a few other couples. We get a very warm welcome from our favourite waitress Awa, who throws her arms out and shouts our names as soon as she sees us. She has drastically changed her appearance from yesterday by going from long, black hair to extremely short, pillarbox red! It suits her. Mind you, she is such a pretty girl she'd look good in anything.

Butter fish in a delicious spicy sauce, served with chips.

We are watched during lunch by a troupe of the local Green Vervet Monkeys, as well as a couple of birds

Red Billed Firefinch

Grey Backed Camaroptera

After a delightful siesta, we spend the rest of the afternoon chatting to Haddy, the owner of Tanji Eco Bird Lodge, hearing all about her plans for the property as well as solving all the world's problems. As you do.

Dinner

Dinner is a low key affair again as usual, with just the two of us and staff.

Chicken Yassa

After dinner we retire to our room to let the staff go home while David and I share a few drinks on the balcony, going over the delights of the day.