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Jaguar tour - Sisser Dynesen (Denmark) |
Before I went to the Pantanal I had no idea that jaguars have no 'routine' or 'favorite spots' which they keep returning to each day.
On our last day on the river I had therefore actually given up hoping we would see a jaguar and had focused on enjoying the monkeys, the jaguar footprints, the caimans, the birds, the silence and the special treat of visiting a local family on the river bank in the middle of absolutely nowhere in Pantanal.
 | But then suddenly it was there - right in front of us! Swimming across the river towards the bank. It is one of those moments you just don't forget!
We came quite close but the jaguar didn't seem to worry - it just continued its path, got up on the river bank and dissappeared into the woods. | | Afterwards you sit back with a feeling of utterly joy - that you have managed to see the great cat but more importantly - that you have seen it in its own environment and have had the pleasure while avoiding to interfere significantly in its life. |  |  | The jaguar was definately the highlight of the trip into Pantanal but even if we had not seen a cat I would still have had the trip among the highlights on my tour around Brazil.
I think it was a combination of an amazing environment and Julinho's ability to put together a custom made trip based on our priorities - both in terms of activities and comfort requirements. |
Our trip was a 5 day tour where the first day was spent on the dirt road (and bridges) to Ponto Jofre. We then spend two days in a small boat travelling up the river and into smaller water streams looking for birds and mammals and jaguars in particular. We camped by the river bank and had a great opportunity to meet Maria and her kind family including dogs, pigs and chickens. I was sad that I had not taken a language course but with sign language and Julinho as translator communication went quite well anyway.
The following two days we stayed at a fazenda in the Northern part of the Pantanal where we saw a zillion special birds and a number of Brazilian mammals. During the day time we went horseback riding, walked and went on some river trips. One of the evenings Julinho and some of his friends ended up creating a small band with guitars, bells, candy boxes and a mixed crowd of more and less trained vocals. I think they had great fun - and so did we.
I can highly recommend Julinho as a tour guide - the man have eyes like a hawk, speaks English very well, knows a lot about the animals and the environment, pays attention to your priorities and last but not least - he is not too bad to hang out with for a week or so :-)
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