Brazil - Mato Grosso and São Paulo

June 2003

In June 2003 we traveled to Brazil, first joining a birding trip offered by Victor Emanuel Nature Tours in the state of Mato Grosso, and then spending a few days in the state of São Paulo to visit with Robert's cousin Bettina Ried and her family.  The VENT trip, led by Steven Hilty and Andrew Whittaker, started in Cuiabá, and first brought us to the Pantanal, the seasonally flooded lowlands that are the drainage of the Paraguay River.  There we stayed in the family-owned Hotel Fazenda Santa Thereza along the Río Pixaim, and one night at Pousada Piuval.  We then went on to the Planalto, or Brazilian tablelands, into the drier chapada habitat and the Chapada dos Guimarães National Park, staying at the beautiful Pousada Penhasco.  "Birds of the trip" included the spectacular hyacinth macaw and the (rare) yellow-faced amazon parrot.  At the conclusion of the VENT trip, we returned to São Paulo, and braved the drive out to the suburb of Valinhos to visit the Ried family.  Following are our photos from the trip...click the thumbnails for larger photos with captions.  Enjoy!

Robert at Cuiaba airport, Mato Grosso	Liza just off the plane	At a churrascaria - to die for!	Brahmas on the Transpantaneira
Pocone town square and church (complete with fake birds)	In Pocone	In Pocone	A portal to paradise?
Shaky, the pet javelina at Fazenda Santa Thereza, Pixaim	Liza in the dining room	Rio Pixaim	Caiman on the river bank
Robert at Fazenda Santa Thereza, Pixaim	Boating and birding on the river	Water hyacinths...a big pest actually, but pretty	Jabiru - the 747 of the bird world
Birding on the Transpantaneira	VENT guides Steve Hilty and Andrew Whittaker	A legume on steroids	Pretty yellow flowers
Birding on the Transpantaneira	Sunset in the Pantanal	Sunrise, Fazenda Santa Thereza	Sunrise, Fazenda Santa Thereza
Robert at Rio Pixaim	Rio Pixaim	Forest birding	Mushrooms
Andy holding the egg of an undulated tinamou	Termite mounds	Strangler figs	Caiman near the boats
Robert at lunch	Don't try this at home!	More caiman...	Liza and Shaky
Liza and Robert with Shaky	Beautiful orchid at the Fazenda	Robert still playing with Shaky	Can you say...golly I'm tired
Birding on the Rio Pixaim	Early morning birding	Skull and wagon	Robert outside the dining room
Nice morning clouds	Robert saying farewell to Shaky	Pantanal vista	Pantanal vista
Another vista...this one with Robert	Jabiru on a nest (really)	Cattle on the Transpantaneira	A true pantaneiro
A pantaneiro with his horn	Cattle on the road!	Crossing a transpantaneira bridge	Just off the road...
Entrance to the Transpantaneira	Pousada Piuval, also in the Pantanal	Pousada Piuval	Liza finds her hammock
Robert at the pool, Pousada Piuval	Ramada	Pousada Piuval - our room was at the end on the right	Captive hyacinth macaws - very bad, and sad
Columnar cactus	Liza finds another hammock	En route to the planalto, the Brazilian tablelands	En route to the planalto, the Brazilian tablelands
Chapada dos Guimaraes National Park	Chapada dos Guimaraes National Park	Chapada dos Guimaraes National Park	Chapada dos Guimaraes National Park
...still there	Pousada Penhasco - our chalet	View from Pousada Penhasco	View from Pousada Penhasco
Watch out!	Notre Dame look-alike, Cuiaba	São Paulo traffic on the Marginal Tiete	The Ried home in Valinhos
Robert at the Rieds'	Butantan Institute - a sign for Walter Reed	Robert with Martin and Katja Ried	Vicky!
Bettina, Torsten, and Robert in Campinas	Torsten and Robert	Liza and Robert with Torsten and Bettina