Pantanal .. Riding Horses

...Gandolf The Grey-the name of the horse that is-P says my name is same same but different!-Gando The Grey!...
...riding horses looking for Anacondas and Big Cats but no luck...did see lots of other wildlife though...
...one in the red is Ida , the one in white is Martin-both from Sweden-they were with us for our stay in Pantanal-they were on vacation travelling South America for 3 months... we named Ida's horse Ida Y Veulta means Return in Spanish...never got round to naming Martin's horse...

...our guide Lewis for our Pantanal stay...
...P had a lazy horse who never obeyed any of her commands-we think Vedanta trained this horse in how not to obey P's commands-we simply named this horse THE LAZY ARSE!
...very enjoyable riding horses and we had a great time and we think we will ride more horses from now on...

Pantanal...Boat Safari

...early morning boat safari on Rio Grande,river is infested with 20 species of Piranha fish and alligators...
..big birds are very common and Pantanal visit is on every bird watchers list...

...Allis living side by side with biggest rats in the world called Capybaras...
...Allis warming up on river-side...
...big birds hunting fish...
...getting ready for trekking with our guide Lewis...take my word when I say we were surrounded by Allis...
...meet Giant Otters of South America ...there were 3 in this family and they were hunting Piranah for breakfast and we were there at the right time as they caught Piranhas and surfaced to munch on them...
...our boat was 10 feet away and we could hear bones crunching as this Giant Otter munched on a large Piranha...real awesome sight we all will never forget...
...one otter was feeding on a huge crab but he was hiding behind the bush but you could hear bones being crunched...
...blood thirsty alien ?...as we watched ,one of the otter then started screaming at us very loudly and got very agitated as we were camped in his territory , so we left them in peace to finish thier breakfast...even our guide Lewis was moved by what he saw...



...biggest Rat in the world...early morning feeding...

Pantanal...Trekking and Jeep Safari

...Jeep Safari...
...this is what 12 months round the world does to you...
...ran low on drinking water while trekking the jungle of Pantanal-so our guide Lewis cracks open one of the vines and we all had fresh water provided by nature...
...huge birds are very common in Pantanal and it's a bird lovers paradise...

...Toco Toucan of Pantanal...elusive bird and comes out to play early morning and evening...
...Howler Monkeys of Pantanal...they P on you if get too close under the tree...
...king of the gang...black howler monkey...


...elusive big cat pup hiding in the tree...
...there are over 35 million alligators in Brazil and 10 million of them are in Pantanal...here they are in your face where ever you go...simply spectacular in numbers...actual name is Jacares...

...rodent family...it's the biggest Rat in the world known as Capybaras,very common in Pantanal,great swimmer and eats grass...

Brazil side Iguazu Falls

...during rainy season these falls are even bigger...Brazilian side offers a more panoramic views of the 275 separate falls...
...Graganta Do Diablo falls ...very spectacular...
...V said why don't someone turn the tap off and stop all the water wastage...she is only 7...bless her little heart...
... another viewing point...


...more viewing points...
... yet more viewing points...

...the beauty of the falls is rather spoilt on both sides by building too many cat-walks and just too many view-points...

...I've been lucky to have seen Niagra,Victoria and now Iguazu falls and I think Victoria falls are still the best for sheer volume of water that falls down,the noise created,the mist , pure wilderness and the wild Zambezi river with many Hippos and crocodiles and the fact that it in Africa,pure magic...

Argentina Iguazu Falls from land...

...the Iguazu Falls(IF) are equally divide between Brazil and Argentina-there are total of 275 separate waterfalls -this one named Passeio Inferiores(PI)...
...Argentine side of the IF provides a closer more intimate experience and a great variety of perspectives...IF are 18km from a town called Puerto Iguazu-our hostel here was Hostel Inn and it was one beautiful place and met many like minded travellers and it had swimming pool-a real luxury for Vedanta!...



...view from top of PI...
...other smaller falls...
...views of other falls...check out the catwalks...there are 4km of catwalks and it gives you views from every angle and are very well built and organised...the IF are some 3km long
...another great falls-the falls very to the left far are in BRAZIL...the IF park is some 2100 sq km on both sides and are real rainforets and mostly inaccessible-it contains all sorts of butterflies,lizards,parrots,hummingbirds,spiders,toucans,monkeys,jaguars,alligators(muslim!),armadillos,pumas,panthers etc etc etc--one sign read- IF YOU MEET A BIG CAT LIKE JAGUAR,PUMA OR PANTHER-REMAIN CALM-TRY TO APPEAR BIGGER THAN YOU ARE -I mean come on remain CALM! get real! and say WHAT? here kitty !kitty! kitty! as if(muslim!) she is going sit on your lap and give you a quick cuddle! I mean we are talking about BIG CATS not a pussy you see in Coronation Street, f..k that! I say find a tree and get on top of it if you still can or get behind a fat block or if it's really that bad then you have 30 seconds to mumble goodbye to your loved ones while the BIG CAT munches on your private parts! oouch!...I say put up a sign which reads-IF YOU MEET A BIG CAT YOU ARE F....D!
...these were trully grand falls -Garganta Do Diablo(GDD)...

...simply stunning as serene river suddenly turns violent as 13,000 cu meters of water per second(V says that's lot of water dad!) plunge 90m in 14 falls around a horseshoe-shaped canyon.Its a hypnotizing, multisensory experience to see the roaring falls,huge rainbow arcs,drenching mist and,in the distance,parrots and hawks cruising over the deep,green forest.Many swifts(type of bird),which drop like rocks into the misty abyss,catch insects in mid-air,shoot back up and dart to perch back on the cliffs behind the falls..swifts can be seen in the pictures...


... P touches the rainbow...the other side is Brazil...
...one branch of Igauzu river...the other side is Brazil...the falls are only at 50% capacity and so are even bigger during rainy season which had just begun...we were very lucky to have 2 sunny days here because on the day we were moving on it was torrential rain...


...view point and getting drenched with mist...


...P enjoying the dramatic views...



...theses birds was quite common and real friendly around the falls...

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...a picture taken when we went to PARAGUAY for a quick look around and yes it was as bad and as black and dull as this picture....

Argentina side Iguazu Falls by boat...

...speed boat on Iguazu river to see the Iguazu falls and riding white rapids at the same time...

...amazing way to see the falls and there are hundreds of falls...saw our first Alligator(Muslim!) here and then we would come face to face with hundreds and hundreds more later on in Pantanal region...

...captain took the boat right under couple of falls and we all had amazing massaging showers...special water proof bags were provided to store away money and cameras...

...riding the white rapids and seeing the falls ...

...mad captain on my asking took us all more than once under that fall on his left-why did he listen to me!...superb experience though...