Brazil – Visit the Pantanal if you can

A fast guide to how Brazilians feel, think and tick....

Yes, you might have a "déja-vu". The title shot comes from a VARIG sales catalog, which was a widely distributed sales documentation in the Nineties, produced in English, French, German and Russian. The autor of this web page wrote that catalog some years ago. He did also some PR work for EMBRATOUR, Brazils tourist entity. As owner of the copy right of both the image and the content, he delights in reciting some coined phrases about the true nature of Brazil and its habitants.

On your tour to Brazil, you may find exuberant life, culture and history whereever you go: In Rio, Salvador, Fortaleza, Natal, Recife, Maceio – just to name a few of thousand places at the atlantic shore line that make Brazil so unique.

The first and last lesson for non-Brazilian is simple:

God is a Brazilian

Deus é brasileiro – no doubt allowed. God has got to be Brazilian. How else could he have created this heavenly country with such love and devotion? A land, where nature flourishes and sparkles pace by pace in each and every color of the rainbow. Brazil 's geographical surface is a unique collection of superlatives: The longest shoreline, the wildest rivers, the largest jungles, the thickest forests, the hughest waterfalls, the biggest metropolis, the widest plains….

Brazil was richly blessed by God's creation: Animals and plants of every kind, a variety without compare on planet Earth, whales in the South, piranhas in the North, jaguars in the Amazone jungle, horses, sheep and cattle in the plains of the Pantanal.

But, what would that paradise be without beautiful women? Here again, God created a masterpiece. He is a Brazilian – to the bone.

Brazilians have their own way to interprete the history of Earth's creation. To their minds, God didn't take a nap on the Seventh Day. No, on that late afternoon he was in the right mood to accomplish his final monument of perfect landscaping. Rio de Janeiro, a cidade maravilhosa, a place where people live at the beach, a city embedded between romantic bays and exotic mountains. Rio is beyond compare.

Now, that's the human side of God's masterly works. For animals and wildlife he created the vast plain of the Pantanal in the hearth of the country – literally in the middle of South America.

Pantanal - The true Animal Kingdom

The pantanal bassin dates back to the separation of the continents. It is much older than the Andes to the West. Getting filled over million of years by natural sedimentation, the bassins bottom grew to one of Earth's biggest swamp lands. The Pantanal is 480 mile long and up to 220 miles wide and runs from North to South on each side of the Brazilian-Bolivian border. Over that length, the main river, Rio Paraguai, looses only a hundred feet of altitude. Beneath shalow layers of clay and sediments, the Pantanal plains underground is solid rock. When rainfalls trickle in form October to April, swollen rivers pouring out of the Chapada dos Guimarães north of Cuiaba and the eastern highlands fill up the northern Part, while the South is still dry, Slowly, the rivers go overboard, forming huge bays and lakes, creating rich fish ponds.

The slow raise and fall of the water level brings constant change to habitat and live. It's this smooth flow that sets the pace of life cycles for all animals and plant in the Pantanal. During high water in the north, birds are down south hunting over shallow ponds hunting for fish. When the dry season sets in, by April, they fly north to breed from June to September, when the southern part dries out. The dry season in turn, with many ponds and lakes cut off from the main flow, fish become an easy pray for predators of all kind.

The climate is always hot and seasonnaly changes from humid to dry. Over the past millions of years, thousands of organic species have adapted to the peculiar living conditions of the Pantanal.

You would find the biggest bio diversity outside of Africa and the world's largest accumulation of waterbirds: Storks, herons, flamingos, the proud magic “Tuiuiú” and the jabarus, who become as tall as a human.

The real kings and queens

of the Pantanal are the jacarés. You are in caiman's paradise – the living room of the smaller handsome Brazilian-type alligators. You literally see them all over, taking a sunbath on the river banks – they are so many and so lazy, that the locals treat them almost like house pets. It is really amazing, to see the gentle cohabitation between the animals and the pantaneiros, the local folks, most of which are of indian descent. Up and down the Rio Paraguai, indian tradition is rich – at some places they still speak a sort of guarani, like the offical language of Paraguay. The quality of harmony between Pantaneiros and all animals are a very special point to observe.

Just about 20 percent of all the inhabitants of zoos at cooler places of the northern hemisphere live and fly around the Pantanal: monkey, deers, otters, emus, Jaguar's, parrots – you name it. Think twice: Whatever lives behind bars way up north enjoys here one of the last open spaces on Earth. That's the Pantanal, the Animals Kingdom .

At the ever changing outer border of the Pantanal, the rivers and lakes seasonally turn to vast translucent-green pastures, perfect for raising cattle by the thousands. You are in the Wild West of Brazil, where country traditions are running high, with colorful boiadas (local rodeo parties), guitars, dance at the fireplace. You might eat the biggest chunk of steak you ever would dream of. If you are good with horses, so saddle up and make your day, guided by one of our vaqueros (cowboy).

Our farm FAZENDA PANTANAL is located in the South of “Nhecolândia”, the richest subregion of the Pantanal. Life on the farm is going easy. We take our guests on tours around the lakes and rivers either by horse, jeep or boat. Most of the tours are made on horsebacks. Our pantanal quarterbacks are easy to ride. And they are local breeds too, real pantaneiros to say. These horses know all the ways, walks and perils or the Pantanal, much, much better than we humans or a 4WD car will do.

Travelling the Pantanal on your own is possible, but it can quickly turn into an undesirable adventure, even in a 4-wheel drive car. You'll be better of with a guided tour in any way. We provide a whole range of tours and excursions on our Fazenda Pantanal. As we have almost all Pantanl species on the Farm, it is a question of your interest.

Let us guide you through a biosphere literally beyond compare. It is one of those places on Earth that brings us back to the early history of our planet, to nature and freedom. The vast and fertile plain of the Pantanal redefines the meaning of “outdoor”…

We, Anne-Lyse and Caspar Burn do actually two things: We have a 2'500 ha ranch in the hearth of the southern Pantanal, where we raise cattle. Fazenda Pantanal is a 30 minutes flight north of Aquidauana. Experts say, of all Pantanal sub-regions, Nhecolândia is most abundant with wildlife. And that's where our farm is. We guide our guests to the best observation places and show how the local observe the wildlife. Accomodation is "no-frills": We are a hundred miles out of civilisation. If you have the guts, you will drift on a horseback through the swamps, eye on eye with jacarés, small sized caimans. It's a place as wild as it gets - although our jacares are suposedly vegetarians... Close to Aquidauana is our home resort Chácara Anis. Our guest houses are rich with comfort. Here you get ready for the trip to the Pantanal. Or you may relax at our large swimming pool on your way back.

From here, we will take you on shorter excursions to and around Aquidauana. Raised at the end of 19th century, this traditional Brazilian pioneer's town now busts with city life. It's an area of breathtaking views and landscapes – and a history of a kind that still needs to be told. Have you ever heard of Marechal Cândido Rondon, the guerra da triplíce aliança - or of Brazilian hearthland history at all? Well, here you will.

Just three hours away is the miraculous sub-water world of Bonito. You will literally swim with the fish – eye on eye again. And if you are looking for precious minerals – it is said that Aquidauna is a paradise for diggers.

As you see, we provide outdoor activities and adventures of sorts. Have a look around and feel free to contact us. We appreciate your comments, hints and questions.

Anne-Lyse & Caspar Burn

c.burn@fazenda-pantanal.ch

Phone and Fax:0055 67 3241 8312
Mobile: 0055 67 9986 03 79

Chácara Anis
Rodoviária Cerá km 10
79200-000 Aquidauana MS


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