24 hours in Rio de Janeiro

Footprint Travel Guides provide independent information for travellers and as you may know, BRAZIL NATURE TOURS - BNT is featured and recommended in their Brazil guidebook.

They have recently created a digital guide to help people make the most of their first 24 hours in Rio de Janeiro.

These new guides are free and contains information on visas; climate; currency etc; how best to get around; What to do on your first night; five must-see sights and finally where to go next!

Here is a link to the guide download page;
http://www.footprinttravelguides.com/footprint/free-24-hours-in-pdfs 

Mating jaguars

We have received some unique photos of jaguars mating, taken by our client Kelvin Brown, who travelled with us to the Jaguar Ecological Reserve in the northern Pantanal last October. 

The Pantanal is probably the best place in the world to see jaguars, but to see two together is very unusual, and to see them mating is even more unusual.
Kelvin’s story: "On our holiday to the Brazilian Pantanal, nature treated us to a rare spectacle. During a boat safari down the fast flowing Cuiaba River, our guide Eduardo, owner of the Jaguar Ecological Reserve where we stayed, spotted a beautiful female Jaguar on the riverbank. She was quite active and there seemed to be a lot of growling going on. Then another Jaguar came into view, a male. Eduardo told us these were probably a breeding pair and to our surprise, the female laid down on the bank facing us in full view and the male immediately responded. Our pictures tell the rest of the story. We felt very privileged to have witnessed such a rarity. Nature truly is a wonderful thing, every now and then allowing us to glimpse something really special."

Some picture of this unique scene:

Oncilla kitten at the Embiara Lodge

In recent months the Embiara Lodge has had some good sightings of a female oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus). We are very pleased to announce that this oncilla now has a kitten which is old enough to walk around with her on some of her daytime outings. Below camera trap photo shows the oncilla kitten in the foreground, with her mother ambling along in the background. The photo was taken at 08:30am on the road leading to the lodge's runway.

Source: embiara.com

Feedback Henk & Magda Schagen

Itinerary: Rio de Janeiro, MY Tucano Amazon Cruise & Cristalino Jungle Lodge

We thought we would just like to thank you for all the fantastic arrangements you made for us.

Everything worked like clockwork. There was always somebody at the airports waiting for us to take us to the hotel.

The hotels were just fine. The Golden Tulip in Rio was close to the Copacabana, and we even went for a swim. 

The Tropical hotel in Manaus was really interesting. It is HUGE. I have never seen such long passages! It reminded us a bit of

the hotel in ‘The Shining’ (the scariest film we ever saw). We enjoyed our stay there.

Of course the trip on the Tucano was amazing. The food was great and so was the guide. Only 9 passengers. We also saw pink and grey dolphins.

The stay at the Christalino lodge was excellent as well. We saw a large snake catching and swallowing a large lizard, right next to our bungalow.

The guide and the food was top-class.

So we had a great time.

Thanks again for everything.

Alles van die beste,

Groete,

Henk and Magda

Feedback Judith Densky & Justin Coopersmith

Itinerary: Amazon Ecopark Lodge, Jaguar Ecological Reserve & Araras Eco Lodge

I want to thank you for all the work you did for our trip to Brazil. The program worked pretty much as planned and Justin and I had a fabulous time.He may never duplicate those experiences anywhere again.

 

It was VERY hot on most days even in the dry season and the pools at Amazon Eco Lodge and Araras Lodge were a god send. But despite the heat, we just went out on the trails and on the boats, and horses, and saw the most wonderful array of animals, insects, sea otters and dolphins ( tho no pinks ones on the Negra river), and birds birds birds galore. The Amazon and Pantanel regions were better than I expected and we were lucky enough to see a

 

1- handsome male Jaguar at 3:45 PM on Aug 12 sitting alone on the edge of the Rio San Lorenzo near a shady bush, proudly gazing at us in our small boats watching him with fascinations. We arrived first as Tito spotted him and within 15 minutes the other guides brought their boats behind us to see this glorious animal. He seemed the real lord of the realm in his complete comfort and dominance as the king of the Pantanel. He looked at us with cool disinterest after a nap or a filling meal and shortly later he walked along the rivers edge and then disappeared into the bush.

 

2- giant anteater walking under the wooden foot bridge leading from the Araras Lodge to the 30 meter platform we climbed to see the sunset. As we walked the wooden walkway, Tito, our very excellent guide, heard a rustling and we were in awe as the ant eater came out to the bushes, crossed under the walkway we were on !! (he didn't hear us), and continued fanning his head out to sniff for ants and termites. It all took about 30 seconds but was a memory of a lifetime. We later saw a small ant eater on one of the truck rides. 

 

3- an Anaconda snake of about 3 meters (10 Ft) which was discovered in an old decrepit house an old farmer was occupying right on the TransPantanel Hwy who brought it out of the house and was going to set it loose in the river. Before he did, Justin and I watched the man hold the snake and let Justin touch it and feel it curling around his arm, before he released it. We watched him hold it as it climbed up onto a tree trunk but he pulled it down to remove it from his area. He was pretty relaxed handling it as he has probably found them before.

 

4-sea otters with little pups swimming on the San Lorenzo river and frolicking on the shore as they sunned and rolled over in the sand to scratch themselves

 

5- 3 Timor in the bush viewed during a evening flood lighted truck ride we took to spot animals along the property at the Araras Lodge.

 

6- A Mongoose with a hurt rear right leg who haltingly ran across the front lawn at the Amazon Eco Lodge the last morning at 6:30 AM after Justin missed the boat for the tree top sunrise walk near the monkey preserve where we saw Howler and red faced monkeys the day before.

 

7- Quati families in several places as well as so many Capybaras and Caiman and flocks of Egrets in all the lakes along the highway.

 

8- Lot's of Piranha fish that Justin caught in the first boat ride in the Amazon and later at the dock of the hotel/restaurant we stopped at for lunch at on the way to the Araras Lodge.. Justin caught about 34 fish, mostly Piranhas, until the last one bit his finger while he was throwing it back for releasing. He has a scar for life and a great memory and story to tell his friends. later he fished again on the river at the Araras Lodge the day we trucked over to their local river nd used a Brazilian fiberglass canoe which Justin and Tito paddled for 1 and 1/2 hours till our barbecue lunch was ready. We saw a tribe of marmoset monkeys in the trees above the cooking area who came down to get our leftovers, he fished again a the small pond near our loge with one of the guides and later with Tito as night fell. He couldn't stop fishing!! best catch he ever got.

 

We never saw a pink dolphins. But did see gray ones on the River Negra as we took the boat back along it to Manaus from Amazon Eco lodge to see the meeting of the rivers Amazon and Negra just beyond Manaus..

 

All in all it was one of the most memorable trips ever.

 

Thanks you and we hope to revisit the region again sometime

 

Best Regards,

 

Judy Densky

Feedback Mary Schaefer & Ernst John Schaefer

Itinerary: South Pantanal - Fazenda Baia das Pedras

we are safely back at home and I just want to tell you that the trip to the Pantanal was quite spectacular! We had a great time, saw so many things and learned a great deal. Rita is unbelievable, her knowledge of her fazenda and the wildlife and her enthusiasm! Rafael was a great guide, very solicitous and fun to be with. Food at the fazenda was wonderful, accommodations were very comfortable and all in all, both my husband and I were thrilled that we went. Many thanks for setting it all up for us and many thanks as well for your amazing efficiency and speedy communication around all my questions! We will certainly recommend you should we have any friends who are looking for a BNT-type trip. Thanks. Mary

Feedback Connie Chiang

Itinerary: South Pantanal - Pousada Aguape

Just wanted to say that we had a great time at Pousada Aguape with Rodrigo.  He was excellent, and provided a highlight to all of us during the safari.  If I take a holiday with Brazil Nature Tours again, I will definitely ask for Rodrigo to be the guide.  I will also recommend him and BNT to my friends when they visit Brazil.

Thank you very much,

Connie

Feedback Patrick Duchene & Family

Itinerary: Rio de Janeiro - North Pantanal - Chapada dos Veadeiros - Salvador & Praia do Forte

We spent very nice holidays in Brazil. I confirm you that Santos is an excellent guide especially for wildlife photo in Pantanal. The ecotent in chapada are located at 10km by dirty road from the village which could be a problem, our guide Ronaldo was excellent too. The weather at Baya was not so nice, they were a lot of wind. The stay at Rio was wonderful and the guide Marcia was excellent too. Thank you again for your assistance to organize that trip. You are very serious and I will recommend you.

Best regards

Patrick

Feedback Linda Doolittle - Friendship Force Houston

Itinerary: Itanhaem - Blumeneau - Foz do Iguassu & Pantanal

I do not have the words to express how pleased I am with how well everything went on our trip.  Everything was flawless.  We were met on time, all reservations in place.  Good guides.  We were especially pleased with Jose Paes at Foz do Igazu (his card says Guia Profissional).  Our entire group was most pleased and impressed!

You will forever have my highest recommendation.  Our international organization makes a lot of trips to Brazil and I have already given your contact info along with my recommendation to the international office in Atlanta, Georgia.

 

Linda Doolittle

Friendship Force Houston

Feedback Maarten Overkamp & Eleonora Bol (incl. pics)

Ik wil je bedanken voor het perfect regelen van onze Pantanal reis.
Alles is gegaan zoals we wilden en de gids was perfect. We hebben enorm genoten
van deze reis (en ook de jaguar uitgebreid kunnen spotten). Complimenten
dus.

Met vriendelijke groet,
Maarten

Feedback Jenny & Andre Demblon

Itinerary: Pousada Pouso Alegre & Jaguar Ecological Reserve 8 days/7 nights

Andre and I have returned from our trip to Brazil and the Pantanol and would like to thank you very much. It was a really well organised trip and everything was absolutely perfect, we had a wonderful guide and driver and the hospitality was incredible, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and will highly recommend your services to anyone else we know who may want to visit such an extrodinary place. We have some lovely photographs to keep and remind us of what a special place the pantanol is and how fortunate we are to have been able to visit it, our thanx to our hosts who made it all the more special. I loved both lodges equally and if I ever have the time again would love to go back and visit.

Thank you again

Kind regards

Jenny and Andre Demblon

Feedback Charlie & Peg Chace

Itinerary: Brasilia - Manaus - Amazon River Cruise on MY Tucano

Peg and I were totally satisfied with our recent tour.  We were well cared for at every location and all plans went smoothly. 

Our driver in Brazilia was very proud of the fact that he served as interpreter for President Obama just one week before we arrived.  He did a fine job of escorting us, although at first he took us to the Royal Tulip, which was quickly corrected.  By the dress of the people in the lobby, we knew that we didn't belong there.  The city tour was generally good.  We visited one chapel and one cathedral that were both beautiful.  We could have done without the long drive past endless entrances to various embassies. 

The rooms at the Tropical Manaus were very good.  We quickly realized that there one pays for the overall features; pools, activities, zoo, security, resturants and shops.  We never looked at any rooms other then the luxury rooms you booked for us, but based on our experience, I would recomment that you use the lu\xury rooms for anyone staying more then one night. 

The cruise was a complete thrill.  We had 13 passangers.  Guides told us that over 15 gets crowded, and we believe that, due to the size of the dining room and competition for hot water during the 1/2 hour/day that it is offered.  We did several trips/day either hiking in the forest or in canoes.  Each trip had new experiences.  I shot over 600 pictures. 

Thank you for recommending this tour.  It will be a cherished memory. 

We would be pleased to recommend this excursion to anyone. 

Charlie and Peg Chace

Feedback Lincoln & Patricia Widmer

Itinerary: 5 days/4 nights Bonito with overnights at the Wetiga Hotel

Just a short note to follow-up our delightful trip to Brazil.
For all of us, the Bonito visit turned out well beyond our "wildest"
expectations when it comes to natural diversity and beauty.
Our guide, Mr. Ulli Brauer make us feel at home in Bonito with his
personal attention to details and his in-depth knowledge and love of
nature.
We would highly recommend his guiding service to anyone serious in
understanding the regional ecology of this region.
Although the rooms at Wetiga Hotel were comfortable, it was our
impression that most outdoor facilities were not functioning during our
visit and that staff were unhappy with their work. Overall, the hotel
stay was not good value for the money and we cannot recommend the place.

Thanks you for attention and support in organizing this enjoyable
holiday for us.
Best regards,
Lincoln Widmer

Where jaguars still roam......

Last week BNT went on an expedition trip to the remote Taiama Ecological Station to investigate the sustainable eco tourism potential of this remote area in the North Pantanal. The Taiama Ecological Station covers a protected area of 14.300 of untouched wilderness and mainly contains the Taiama island, located in the middle of the Paraguay river. The nearest town is Caceres at about 110 km and can be reached by speed boat in about 3,5 hrs (full speed). Taiama is a region where man still respects and fears the mighty jaguar, encountered in high concentration. The best time to observe these felines is during the dry season (May – October), though it was the wet season during our visit and the water level was really high, it was still quiet ‘easy’ to observe them in their natural habitat. During our (short) 02 night stay we were able to encounter 02 jaguars on the Paraguay river bank. At about 1 hour (by boat) before entering the reserve Fazenda Desvalvados is located, an 18^th century jerky beef industry/community, that is being transformed into tastefull eco tourism retreat, maintaining the historical buildings, directly located at the Paraguay river. With the Fazenda Descalvados operating in the near future, and the known increasing eco tourism interest for jaguar (and bird) observation, we are certain that this amazing region will be soon on the top of each eco tourist’ wish list.

Amazon's teeming wildlife

Amateur photographer and wildlife addict, Zoltan Palmai, has once again been on a trip with us. This time he went to the southern edge of the mighty Amazon rain forest and stayed at the Cristalino Jungle Lodge, offering one the best wildlife viewing in the Brazilian Amazon.
Please click on below spider monkey image to go to his online photo album to check out some of the pictures taken throughout his trip last January.

The fortunate clients......

Our clients Dennis Schroeder & Gerry Ashnley went with us on a trip to the North Pantanal (Jaguar Ecological Reserve & Pouso Alegre) in combination with southern Amazon (Cristalino Jungle Lodge) last July/August. Throughout their trip they were able to get some great images and were fortunate to observe a jaguar sitting on the Cuiaba river bank during one of the outings.
Below you will find a selection of their pics:

Jaguar (Panthera onca)

Toco Toucan (Ramphastos toco)

Chestnut Eared Aracari (Pteroglossus castanotis) 

Hyacinth Macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus)

Pantanal sceneries

Breathtaking Pantanal sceneries at Fazenda Barranco Alto: