Campo Grande to Bonito

We started the next morning very early. Our guide and driver (mostly driver) was Theo, shown below.

We left the hotel at 6:00 AM, so we could get to the hotel for lunch.  But before we could start, we had to get a tire fixed at his fiend's Borracharia:

Theo and his car in the Borracharia

"Borracharia" is a good example of a "False Friend" between Spanish and Portuguese. "Borracho" in Spanish means "drunk" so I assumed that a "Borracharia" would be a bar. But that is not the case. It is a tire shop, as you can clearly see.

I had to get out to show off my travel outfit:


I think I look snappy.

I may do this in its own post, but both Doreen and I were very torn about what clothes to bring. We spent a lot of time researching and looking at expedition clothing, and ended up with all "tech" (ie, non-natural) fibers. They feel great, they "whisk" away water, and they are easy to clean. We bought several shirts, pairs of underwear and socks, and miscellanea mostly from REI and Whole Earth Provision Company. As I am writing this after we are home, I can say it all performed very well. And it was very lightweight.

The trip was long, but it was pretty cool. We saw rheas, just running around in fields, Red Legged Seriemas, Southern Screamers, Caracaras, and road kill that I won't describe but that belongs on Wild Kingdom.

The hotel, Hotel Cabanas, Bonito, was something else. Every room was its own cabana (as per the name) and it was situated between two forks of the Rio Formosa.

There were plenty of walks to enjoy:


Views to take in:




and Howler monkeys to chat with.


That night we ate at another meat place in town (Pantanal Grill) which wasn't as delicious as the place in Campo Grande, but wasn't too bad.

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