Back from Brazil

I´m back in Paraguay after a two week trip to Brazil at the end of August. I met my friend Anna and we headed up to the Pantanal (the world´s largest wetland located in Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia) for some awesome wildlife watching, pirhana fishing, and horseback riding. We met up with three other Paraguay-PCVs there. Some of the coolest things we saw were

• giant river otters



• jaibru storks



• capybaras (the world´s largest rodent)



• howler monkeys



• black and spekled caimans



• hyacinth macaws



• 5 other kinds of parrot and parkeet



• spoonbilled roseates



• toucans



• coatimundis



• armadillos



• bush deer



• white collared pecarys



• and TONS more birds

After our Pantanal adventure I bussed it down to Curitiba with Anna. We enjoyed the greenspace and city planning that the city is famous for before heading out to the coast by train the following morning. Thick fog only increased the feeling of unrevealed mystery still contained in the beautiful forests we passed through. We got to the coast and hung out in a beautiful town until we could get a boat to Ilha do Mel (Honey Island). On the island we explored the beautiful beaches as virtually the only tourists and enjoyed walks to a beautiful lighthouse, restored fort, and surfing beaches. We spent two nights on the island and then made our way back to Curitiba, from where I went back to Paraguay, and Anna took a bus to Sao Paolo to catch her flight.