Brazil

Travel in state Mato Grosso do Sul and Parana

Panorama picture of Iguazú Falls from Brazil side 


We spent 16 days of our trip around Bonito and Iguaçu / Iguazu Falls.
Most of our trip was in state Mato Grosso do Sul. The majority of the time was spent in the clear freshwater rivers.
We landed in Sao Paola and continued on towards Campo Grande, where we collected our pre booked car rental, which we had for the whole 16 days. I would recommend a four wheel drive, as the roads are rough and mostly gravel. It is a great advantage to have a car at hand, it gives much needed freedom and ability for movement to exact locations we had researched. We had booked the first two nights of our trip, so we could change it accordingly following where we wanted to go. 
One of the most beautifully situated hotels was Hotel Santa Esmeralda, where we extended our stay to be 9 days in total. It's placed advantageously with the natural surroundings so close and the river Rio Fomoso in the backyard, where we could explore, swim and snorkle. The hotel is also placed reasonably close to the famous freshwater rivers in the Bonito area that we wanted to visit, such as Rio da Prata, Rio Scucuri and Rio Baía Bonita.
 We spent a good amount of time driving around the area on the gravel roads, to explore away from the main roads, where we drove from evening till night, as the animals and sounds completely transform from day to evening and night.

 

Our rented car on one of gravel roads in cerrado aerea in state Mato Grosso du Sul, Brazil
friends with Duster car

Red-and-green macaw Ara chloropterus in the wild
 
Sunset over Cerrado savanna in Mato Grosso do Sul
Push on The Soundclip icon and hear the sounds of Cerrado right after sunset


Some insects are beautiful, like this Monkey grasshopper Temnomastax borellii

Or this Darkling Beetle Strongylium bicolor

Extreme clear water river, Rio Baía Bonita (Rio Formoso)

Very Beautiful Snorkeling trip in this fantastic clear freshwater river, called Rio Baía Bonita, Bonito, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.

An extremely clear water habitat with a high diversity of fish and plant life.
One Of The Most Beautiful Rivers In The World.

New video of Golden Dorado (Salminus brasiliensis) in Crystal Clear river, Rio da Prata, Brazil


Cuyaba Dwarf Frog Physalaemus nattereri

Pale-crested Woodpecker Celeus lugubris

Azara's agouti Dasyprocta azarae with mango fruit

We saw common toucan or giant toucan Ramphastos toco on many places

After a few days we met this Giant anteater Myrmecophaga tridactyla about 20 metres from our cabin

Cute Capybaras Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris with babies right out our cabin

You must keep an eye on the camera equipment, because there are some Azara's capuchin Sapajus cay in the canopy :)

We were so lucky to see this beautiful and rare Hyacinth macaw Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus in the wild

Hyacinth macaw it is the largest flying parrot species.
It listet on IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

Snorkeling in Rio da Prata.
Some of fishes from this river:
The Piraputanga (Brycon hilarii) The Streaked prochilod (Prochilodus lineatus) The Striped Leporinus (Leporinus striatus) Jewel Tetras or Red Serpa (Hyphessobrycon eques) Largespotted Headstander (Megaleporinus macrocephalus) Dorado (Salminus brasiliensis) Formoso Pleco (Hypostomus froehlichi)

4K Video (Ultra HD) Snorkeling trip in Rio da Prata River system in Bonito, Brazil

 Serpae tetra, Red Minor tetra or the Jewel tetra (Hyphessobrycon eques) In the wild in Rio da Prata river system, near Bonito town, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
Great snorkeling trip around 3km float downstream, in Rio Olha d’Agua and Rio da Prata in Crystal clear water.

Well camouflaged potoo bird Nyctibius griseus

Plush-crested jay with little snake Cyanocorax chrysops

Black Vulture Coragyps atratus

Argentine Black-and-white Tegu Salvator merianae

Rio Sucuri Snorkeling and Boat trip

Last night on Hotel Santa Esmeralda we went out for a night walk with staff member Fabi and Anderson to se some Yacare Caimans

Cute Little Yacare Caiman or Red Caiman Caiman jacare

Gruta do Lago Azul (Blue Lake Cave) about 22km from Bonito
Best time to visit, on sunny days and early in the day


Second part in state Parana, Brazil and one day in Argentina
Most of the time was spent in Iguazu Falls, Iguaçu National Park, Brazil.
We drove down to Igazu Falls, where we spent the remaining days of our trip. This waterfall is a must see and a popular destination. I can recommend you to stay close by the waterfalls and surrounding forrest, there are quite a few hotel options who have a fair price. You can easily spend a few days in the National Park in Iguaçu Falls, in Brazil. Afterwards we spent one day in Iguazu Falls, in Argentina. This National Park is much bigger, has more waterfalls, so worth arriving early or going for two days, as there is a lot to see. We booked a driver through our hotel, as it is not allowed to bring the car rental across the borders to Argentina. We could decide the departure times ourselves as we had our own driver, and therefore a more direct route to the National Park, definitely worth considering. This was our final destination where we also delivered the car rental and flew home from.

Iguazu Falls, Iguaçu National Park, Brazil
Two picture are stitched together in the free opensource Program Hugin 

Iguazu Falls, Iguazu National Park, Brazil

Iguazu Falls from the Argentine side


Video of Devil's Throat, Parque Nacional Iguazú, Argentina

4K Video from Iguazu Falls in Brazil and Argentina (UHD)
Iguaçu falls in Brazil and Argentina from helicopter and boat. UNESCO World Heritage National Park. Foz do Iguacu or Cataratas del Iguazú is the largest waterfall system in the world

 

Se the full Brazil and Argentina gallery then pressing on filmstrip

 

 


 

 

Credits

Travel companions and friends
Peter Petsersen 
Simon Boye
Bo Rasmussen

Special thanks to
Hotel Santa Esmeralda

Music in videos

Music from https://filmmusic.io

"Ascending the Vale" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

"Floating Cities" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Music from https://filmmusic.io
"Anguish" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Music from https://filmmusic.io
"Dreamlike" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Atlantis by Frank Schröter
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/8784-atlantis
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

 Travel Brazil Nature  Animal  River  Waterfall  National Park 
Fish  Wildlife  Wild Life

 

 

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