India, part 4

Up early and in our vehicle by six. Allwyn is our driver/guide, and I believe Elizabeth is still with us. Allwyn goes back to the grassy fields where we looked for the tigress and her three cubs yesterday. I should mention that the guides pinpoint the area where a tiger might be by listening to alarm calls that spotted deer, langur monkeys, and sambar deer make if they see or smell a tiger. Allwyn stops the vehicle every so often so he and the ranger can listen for alarm calls. We have also learned to recognize the anxious cries from the animals. Particularly those made by the spotted deer.

   When no alarm calls are heard, we continue driving on various roads. Allwyn turns off on a side road where there is a dozen jeeps parked ahead of us. Some of the jeeps are situated further down the road facing the group that we join. There is a large gap of maybe thirty yards between the two clusters of vehicles. Obviously, there is a tiger somewhere. I hear and soon spot an elephant crashing through the brush in a small gorge to the right of us. The patrol guy is yelling on occasion and soon we catch a glimpse of the tiger in the undergrowth.

   Before long the elephant patrolman “herds” the tiger out of the trees and the beautiful cat amicably strolls across the road in the gap left between the safari jeeps. He disappears quickly into the forest. Well, that was cool.

   Yesterday I suspected that the elephant patrol guys weren’t really wanting to get a close look at the tiger for health reasons but were trying to force him into the open. After this encounter there is no doubt in my mind that the elephant patrol really is herding cats for the benefit of tourists! Amazing when you think about it, that a tiger can be driven by an elephant. The question for me, is it right?  Perhaps the answer is yes because they need tourists to come to the tiger reserves. It is tourist money which helps save the tigers and help the local economy. If the visitors report that they saw no tigers will tourists continue to come to the tiger reserves?

   Since we are in the back of the pack, getting a photo of the tiger without a human in it is not easy. I believe Joy and her jeep companions were in the front row, so they got a great look. No phone use allowed when in a crowd so Joy couldn’t get a photo of the young tiger. Joy’s old point and shoot camera she brought to use instead of her phone broke, I believe the first day we got to the park. This tiger turns out to be one of the cubs that are still “legally” with their mother.

    After our tiger encounter, Allwyn takes us up to see the recumbent Lord Vishnu statue situated at the base of a hill in the park. Paul and I visited this place on our last India adventure, and the site is as impressive as we remembered. The statue is sixty-five foot long and carved from a single piece of sandstone rock. This is the only place in the park where you can legally leave your vehicle, except for rest room areas. There are a set of steps that lead to the incredible Indian sculpture which is believed to date back to the tenth century. We are the only people here, so this adds to the peaceful solitude of the sacred place.

 After enjoying this extraordinary place, Allwyn begins the hunt for more tigers. We go to park by a waterhole along with other vehicles but leave after a short period of time. We drive along a road and see a couple of jeeps sitting alongside the road. The guides are pointing towards a grove of trees bordering a field of tall grass, obviously trying to show their guests where to look. Allwyn speaks with the guides, and they say there is a tigress in that area. I actually get lucky and see her for a brief moment as she walks through a gap in the trees. Paul and Elizabeth missed her quick appearance.

   There are elephants close by and since Allwyn leaves and drives back to the water hole I suspect our guide suspects what the elephant drovers are going to try and do.  We wait patiently while several other jeeps come to the pond, sit a few minutes and then leave. Soon we hear and then see an elephant in the trees on the far side of the water hole. Before long, the sister to the male tiger we saw yesterday, walks towards the water hole. For a minute we think the magnificent tigress is going to go to the water and drink, but she just walks along the pond and then retreats into the cover of the trees. We have a great vantage point for this tiger encounter plus there isn’t a huge crowd of tourists. We have a leisurely drive back to camp enjoying the deer and other wildlife along the way.

We do not eat breakfast in the park this morning but return to camp and have brunch. We enjoy omelets and other side dishes. When we finish eating, Paul and I go back to our room and finish packing. We take our luggage out and give it to a couple of guys who will take it to the transport vehicles.

   Paul and I make our way to the headquarters to await instructions from Allwyn for the next leg of our adventure. In the meantime, the staff brings out a birthday cake for Carolyn and we sing happy birthday to her. The cake was delicious!

   After we all finish eating cake, Allwyn informs us that our drive to Kanha National Park will take around five and a half hours. Yikes, although there will be incredible things to see along the road, I am not looking forward to another round of driving in India. Once Allwyn has finished talking, everyone heads down to the departure point to claim a vehicle. Paul and Joy are visiting the restroom before we leave so we three are the last to arrive in the parking area. Oh heck, there are five vehicles that hold the driver and three passengers. Our group has six couples so that means one couple must ride in different vehicles. That would be Paul and I! I am a little unhappy but there is nothing to be done about it. Paul and I have to do some trading out of our backpacks so we both have our water bottles, tablets and our seat cushions. I crawl into the backseat of the jeep and find my companions are Mike and Aimee. Our driver looks really young!

    Mike is a storyteller and I listen to some adventures that the couple have had. Okay, no way would I do some of the things they have done! After about an hour of listening to Mike, I have also been watching the traffic we are driving in. We have had some close calls which have elicited some audible gasps from me. I pull out my tablet and begin reading my book, so I don’t have to watch the road. I stop reading whenever we drive through a village and try to take pictures of the colorful life along the village streets.

    It is getting dark when we reach Kanha Jungle Lodge. I learn from Paul that they were nearly in a wreck! A car was passing a truck, and their driver had to go onto the shoulder to avoid being hit. Paul was riding with Linda and Ron. I think all of them were pretty scared and who wouldn’t be! After talking with Linda, I think the road trips and the way the people drive here, scare her as much as it scares me.

   There are staff waiting for us in the arrival area to greet us and gather our luggage. We are given our room number, and a staff member leads us to our room. The young man that accompanied us, shows us where the light/fan switches are located among some other helpful instructions. I am so tired that I tell Paul I am not going up to supper. Paul has them bring me a light meal, soup and a couple of small chunks of chicken. It is plenty. Paul doesn’t linger after eating as I would guess no one does because everyone is tired. Our room is nice, but we realize we have no air conditioning. Surprisingly, the room is comfortable with just a ceiling fan.

   We will have the same routine in Kanha as we did in Bandhavgarh. Up early, eat some porridge than off on our first game drive in Kanha. I am excited to see this new park.

India, part 5

    After a decent night’s sleep, finally, Paul and I go to the dining area where Joy as usual is already there along with a few others of our group. How early do these people get up?

   Paul and I serve ourselves porridge and seeing no juice we ask for some. The server disappears and after ten minutes or so comes back with two huge glasses of fresh squeezed orange juice. We feel terrible as we assumed the man would just go get the boxes of juice they gave us at our bush breakfasts at Bandhavgarh. I force myself to drink all of the juice after the fellow went to all that trouble, but it wasn’t easy to do.

    Paul and I again have Elizabeth in our jeep and our driver is Krishna. Krishna has a happy personality accentuated with a big smile. We also are accompanied by the managers son, Jay, of the Kanha Jungle Lodge. Our first three lodges on this trip are owned and operated by the same family who are related to the man, Kailash Sankhala, who made the push for tiger reserves staring back in 1956. I believe Jay is a great-great grandson of Kailash.

   We pick our local ranger up along the way to the entrance of the park. Soto introduces himself and he too is smiling and laughing as he climbs into the vehicle. Once we enter the park it isn’t long before our three guides hear spotted deer emitting alarm calls in the vicinity of a large grassland area. The Sambar deer that are near us are definitely on alert too but not calling.

   After sitting patiently with nothing happening, Krishna decides to check another area where we see deer running but not necessarily because they are frightened. Again, no tiger shows itself, so we head back to the large meadow area. Once we arrive, we see a huge number of jeeps lining the road. Krishna maneuvers us into a great spot where no one is blocking our view. A massive tigress is striding through the field right towards us and eventually she walks right by us! The stunning cat steps into the road and walks down the road for several yards. Krishna hurriedly turns the jeep around and we end up right behind the nonchalant tigress, following her at a comfortable distance.

    The big cat leaves the road and enters the meadow that is on the opposite side from which she came. There is beautiful light playing over her striped body. When we run into Joy later, she tells us that their jeep was the first to find the tigress. I believe she was laying down when they found her. Lucky them to see her without the traffic jam.

   We see a lot of deer and besides the Spotted and Sambar deer, there is a Swamp deer found here which is an endangered species. Kanha is one of the few places where these deer can be seen in good numbers. Swamp deer are cool to watch as they completely submerge their heads under the water to graze on whatever is growing on the bottom of the ponds.

    Krishna and Jay are knowledgeable about everything so we are enjoying listening and learning from them. Not that I will remember most of the education they are giving us! They also are good about stopping to let us enjoy all the animals we encounter. We sit and observe a Langur monkey and her baby that Krishna says is three or four days old. We watch the baby, (man they have big ears), as it plays, stares at us, and scratches his rear end, making us all laugh.

    Krishna drives us to a rest stop where our guides set the breakfast on the hood of the jeep. There is one dish that has some type of vegetable coated in batter and deep fried. There are a few fried green beans laying on top. I ask Krishna if this food is spicy, meaning the batter-coated vegetables. He replies that they aren’t quite as hot when they are deep fried. I decide to forgo them and opt for the green beans. I take a big bite and chew half of a green bean. Holy smokes literally, I wonder if flames are coming out of my mouth. My throat catches fire and soon my chest even feels hot plus my eyes are watering. I can’t remember who informed me that what I was eating was a green chili not a green bean. In my defense these chilis look just like green beans! I eat some of my sandwich and drink juice and water so eventually the burning sensation calms down. I can’t taste much; I hope my taste buds recover.

   On our drive after breakfast, Krishna was telling a few funny stories about some of his clients making us all laugh. I told him he had a new story to tell about the dumb American woman who ate a green chili because she thought it was a green bean. We are all laughing and Krishna states I told you it was hot. Which makes us all laugh harder.

    When we return to camp several of us, including Joy, take a walk that leads to the river with Dimple, Jay’s mother and the lodge manager. Dimple talks about various things including weaver ants which are amazing. Basically, the ants make their homes by “stitching” leaves at the end of a tree branch together. The river view is lovely, and, on the way, back Dimple shows us a couple of places in the fence where tigers crawl through and stroll through the grounds of the lodge, usually at night.

   We leave for our afternoon safari with Krishna, but I don’t remember if Jay is with us or who our assigned ranger is. I haven’t mentioned how dusty the roads are, so when there are a lot of jeeps driving the same road most of us have a handkerchief or mask over our nose and mouth. It is a good thing that they have laundry at the lodges for a very reasonable price, because our clothes are covered in red dust by the end of the day.

   This afternoon Krishna takes us down various roads, but we don’t see a lot of wildlife. I think it is too hot. We do have a mongoose cross the road, but he is too fast for me to get a photo. When we are heading for the gate, there is a humongous gaur lying next to some water, chewing his cud. Before we reach the park gate, Krishna gets a call from someone telling him the tigress is out in the open. Krishna races back, and I am not kidding when I say he races, to the grass field we were at this morning. The light is very dim, but we see the tigress, strolling along a fence in the distance. A good way to end the day.

   If memory serves me right, and anymore that is questionable, Joy and her group were among the first jeeps if not the first jeep to find this gorgeous tigress again.

    Tonight Dimple shows us a film featuring her great-grandfather Kailash Sankahala, that talks about his drive to save the tigers in India. Some of the film shows the brutality of the British in slaughtering tigers when India was under there rule. I couldn’t even watch some of the carnage. The film made you appreciate the determination of Mr. Sankhala which covered decades to save the Bengal tiger in India.

   Tonight we are dining outdoors where the staff has lanterns hanging everywhere. Paul attempts to take a photo of the beautiful setting but all he gets is a bright glare. A nice ending to another wonderful day.

India, part 3

   Paul and I are up at 4 a.m. We both do our stretching exercises although the throw rug on the floor doesn’t help soften the hard floor. We arrive at the main building at 5:40 to discover Joy a few others are already drinking hot beverages and eating porridge. Paul and I have a bowl of porridge which is quite good.

    Allwyn reads our names from a list plus the name of the driver we will have today. Our driver/guide is Jay. To Paul and my surprise, a woman from Colorado will be riding with us and it isn’t Joy! We learn that our safari companion today is Elizabeth who is here on her own as her husband doesn’t like to travel anymore.

    Our tour group has been delegated to zone two this morning. A local ranger is assigned to all vehicles that enter the park. Our ranger’s name is Sankari (sp).  At the entrance gate of Bandhavgarh National Park, Allwyn and the other drivers gather our passports and check in with the authorities. Once we enter the park our group of jeeps head in different directions. It makes sense because four vehicles spread out over this large zone will up the odds of finding a tiger.

   Jay speaks excellent English and he tells us what his plans are in searching for tigers and other wildlife. Early in the drive we admire the sun rays creating beautiful shafts of light through the forest trees.

   We see spotted deer, langur monkeys, and wild boar before we have driven very far but Jay doesn’t stop for photos. Jay seems intent on getting somewhere and he and Sankari are speaking to each other in Hindi. Soon they stop the jeep to show us a tiger’s pugmarks and where he laid down in the road. Our guides follow the pugmarks in one direction and then the pugmarks would show the tiger reversing and heading another direction. They try to follow the tracks eventually lose the tracks. Jay explains to us that male tigers spend a good deal of their time patrolling and scent marking their territory. They have to cover a lot of ground every day.

   Jay stops and speaks with a couple of other guides we meet on the road and they tell him where the tiger is or at least was. We drive and turn off on another road where we join a half dozen jeeps whose occupants are looking across a field of tall grass. We sit and wait about ten minutes peering through our binoculars for any sign of the tiger. Jay and Sankari spot the tiger in the grass and with a lot of patience explain to us where the tiger is. Sure enough, we catch a glimpse of the tiger who then cooperates by coming out into a patch of short grass. The big male marks his territory, strolls a bit farther and lays his scent down again before returning to the cover of the dense grass. We wait a while longer, but the tiger never shows himself again.

    The big male was too far away for any photos, but I was trembling with so much excitement my camera wouldn’t have been able to focus anyway! We learned a couple of weeks before coming to India that the government had outlawed cellphones in the National Parks. People were talking on the phones, streaming videos, and taking selfies and it was causing a lot of problems. Allwyn told those with cell phones to keep them out of sight but if no one else was around you could use them to take a photo. Paul and Joy both brought an old point and shoot camera that they had hung onto. Most of the other people in our group including me have cameras.

   We continue to a picnic area, fenced in of course, which has restrooms thank goodness. Jay and Sankari put the breakfast out on a table in a shelter. There are sandwiches, boiled eggs, and other food I don’t recognize, plus coffee and juice. Other members of our group are there, and we learn that everyone saw the tiger. Joy told us that the tears flowed upon seeing the magnificent creature. I can understand that!

   Jay tours us around zone 2 after breakfast where he educates us on the flora and fauna in the park. We see more wildlife and beautiful birds before returning to our lodge. We have time to rest before lunch which is served at 1:15. This is the best meal we have had so far which includes tasty chicken and roasted potatoes. After lunch, Paul and I walk around the attractive campgrounds, listening and looking for birds but also to get some much-needed exercise.

   Our afternoon game drive starts at 3 p.m. and it is hot, but I have my life-saving cooling necklace on, so I am fine. We see a jackal that is not healthy. By the condition of his haircoat I would guess the poor thing has mange. We also see spotted and sambar deer plus plenty of birds. Jay checks numerous water holes which have beautiful reflections from the trees around them but no tigers. Jay informs us that tigers often lay in water to cool off.

   I am exhausted when we return to camp. We shower and a short time later are escorted to an outside venue that is lit up with lanterns. The chefs are preparing barbeque for us. The wait staff serves us appetizers and drinks so by the time I finish the appetizers I am full. I still manage to find room for small portions of the main meal. Way too much food! It is a fun and beautiful setting, but we return, via escort, to our room by nine.

   We have the same schedule as yesterday morning. Everyone is riding with the people they were with yesterday, but we have different drivers. This morning our driver is Allwyn. Allwyn is definitely a multi-tasker. I don’t remember our ranger’s name. We have been assigned to zone 3 which is good as there is a female tiger who is raising three cubs in the area. Allwyn drives and drives while the ranger and he look for pugmarks in the dirt road. They find none so the tiger family must have moved on.

    I find it amazing that we are so often alone. It is so peaceful and beautiful this time of day. We see green bee-eaters, and kingfishers along with other birds. We see two healthy jackal which is reassuring. The scenery is gorgeous too.

   We eat breakfast a different rest area than yesterday and there are no covered shelters. Allwyn pulls the jeep under a tree and with the rangers help lays our breakfast out on the hood of the vehicle. Soon all of our group has arrived but one. When the rest of us have finished eating the last jeep of our group pulls up. They have been watching a leopard. Unreal! I never really thought we would have much luck seeing a leopard in this terrain. It just so happens that Jay, our driver yesterday, is the guide that found the leopard. How fortunate the two couples that were with Jay that they got to see a leopard.

    Allwyn has us load up in the jeep and we take off before the rest of our party. We haven’t driven far when all of us spot a tiger walking in the forest close to the road! The local guide saw her a split second before the rest of us, but you couldn’t miss her. Allwyn somehow knows she will cross the road, so he positions the jeep about thirty feet from the stunning tigress. Sure enough, the tigress boldly walks across the road and has no problem staring us right in the eye. Whoa. Allwyn has called the rest of the group and they soon show up. They will have to be content to see the tigress in a distance as she has covered a lot of ground and is walking among the trees.

   Allwyn drives to a water hole that is located in the direction the tigress is heading. He thinks she may be going there to drink. Other guides have the same idea and soon there are an abundance of vehicles. This is when we realize how fortunate we were to have that magnificent tigress to ourselves.

   After twenty minutes, Allwyn leaves the water hole and drives to a nearby stream. When we arrive, there are a few other jeeps lined up and looking at the tigress who is laying in the bottom of a gorge. The beautiful cat is not easy to see but by standing on the seat and peering into the bottom of the gulley we can see parts of her including her head. There is a lot of brush and grass that is hiding part of the tigress. I don’t even try to take a photo. What a wonderful morning!

    We head back to camp. At lunch there is a tasty chicken dish, plus a spinach dish that I really like but most of the rest of the food I pass on due to the spiciness. Joy is on a bland diet ordered by her doctor so the staff must fix her food separately. It is a shame because I think Joy likes spicy food or at least would like to sample the native food.

   Paul and I relax until it is time to leave on our afternoon game drive in zone 1. We park by a grassy field where a mother tigress has been seen with her three cubs that are one and a half years old. Allwyn tells us that this tigress’s two-and-a-half-year-old cubs, a female and male, refuse to leave the area and there are some problems with that because they share in the kills mom makes. That makes a lot of work for this tigress to try and feed six tigers!

   Allwyn decides there is no activity here and begins to drive around. Soon we find a group of jeeps that are watching a tiger. There are two elephant patrol men who are following the tiger. Allwyn says they are trying to see if it is okay. The tiger ends up on the road but since we are in the back of the pack we must stand on the seats to catch sight of what Allwyn tells us is one of the older cubs.

   The tiger walks into a field of grass and the jeep drivers go crazy trying to get their clients in a good position to watch the big cub. It is like a dang demolition derby! Allwyn eventually manages to separate us from the mob of jeeps, and we drive to a place where we can see the male tiger. The tall grass hides the tiger’s body, but we can see his head. There is also a Gaur in the grass and when the large bovine senses the tiger he begins snorting and walking towards the enemy. The big cat makes a wide berth around the Gaur and ends up walking into the timber. The young tiger roars a few times as it retreats into the forest. Oddly enough Allwyn had told us earlier in the day that one of his most vivid memories while guiding was of a guar charging a tiger. It almost happened again.

   Allwyn drives back to the grass field that we started at this afternoon. This is where people saw the three young cubs yesterday. At one point the three cubs begin to call for mom. Neither the cubs nor mom show themselves. Does hearing three tigers call count as seeing them??

   Making our way back to the gate there is several jeeps that have spotted a tiger. We are lucky enough to see it walking through a clear gap in the grass but there isn’t enough time for a photo. You must exit the park on time or the driver is fined.

Another thing that makes you say hmm is that Allwyn asked what we hoped to see today and Elizabeth said she would like to see three tigers. Wish granted!

   We enjoy another good meal, plenty of dishes without much spice. After supper we pack everything up, but what we will need in the morning. Tomorrow after a morning game drive, we will be driving to Khana National Park.

India, part 2

   Well, being exhausted didn’t help us sleep. I got about two hours of sleep and Paul didn’t do much better. Ugh, jet lag big time.

    We meet Joy for breakfast at eight a.m. in the hotel lobby. There is a buffet and it is huge. The variety of food they offer is amazing but there is no beef, (cows are sacred), and I didn’t see any pork products either.

   After breakfast, Paul and I check out the courtyard where there is a beautiful pool, water gardens, along with plants and trees. We make a few laps around the courtyard to get some exercise.

   At ten a.m. we are picked up by a driver whose name is Aman. Joy booked a tour for us with a company called Delhi Magic where we will tour the bazaar in Old Delhi on foot with our guide. Aman is quite talkative but still seems to maneuver through the insane traffic in Delhi. There are only two lanes, but the small cars and motorcycles turn a two-lane road into at least a four-lane road. The depth perception of Indian drivers must be incredible because I swear there is only a few inches between us and the vehicles next to us. There are several times when I let out an audible gasp because I am sure we will be hit by another vehicle. There is constant honking of horns, but it isn’t angry. The drivers seem to “talk” to each other by using their horns.

   Aman stops in an area where we are to pick up our guide and after a short wait he appears. Our guide is a young man, whose name I can’t recall. Aman continues driving but doesn’t talk much now that we have our official guide who takes over giving us information about Delhi. When we reach Old Delhi, we exit the sedan and begin our walking tour of the bazaar.

   The streets are busy, congested and noisy with cars whose drivers are constantly honking their horns. There is activity everywhere which keeps one looking in all directions. Our first lesson from our guide is that when you cross a street, hold up your hand and the cars will, (hopefully), stop for you. Our guide walks fast and between dodging moving vehicles and the horde of milling people it is hard to keep up with him.

    There are little shops everywhere that sell food, spices, clothing, jewelry, and on and on with the wares for sale spilling out onto the sidewalks. The smell of cooking food mixed with car fumes adds to the overload to your senses. Constant noise in your ears, incredible colors and activity for your eyes, and the smells of a bazaar that offers a variety of goods is overwhelming.  Paul asks our guide at one point how the store owners can get everything sold when so many people are offering the same items in their shops. I am not sure we really got an answer, but when you have 25 million people living in Delhi, I suppose that explains it.

The photos in Old Delhi are mostly Paul’s taken with his phone. A few from Joy. I didn’t even take my big camera.

    It is impossible to walk down the sidewalk without being jostled and bumped by the human traffic. One oddity is that the shoppers and shop keepers all seems to be men.  It is with some relief that our guide turns into an alley, and we continue our walk here. We don’t go far before the noise subsides, thank goodness. The bad part is that this alley is filthy but at least there are less people here.

    Our guide leads us to a large area where men are unloading and moving bags of spices. He warns us that we will walk through the spice area until we are overcome with sneezing and coughing. I think he is joking but he definitely was not! After a few minutes we are all beginning to clear our throats along with coughing on occasion. Our guide takes us down another alley and we are happy to leave the spice saturated air behind. I can’t imagine having to work in that place all day long. You have to wonder what state those workers lungs are in.

    This alley is full of jewelry stores, some fancy clothing stores, while other shops are selling hats and shoes. If I remember correctly a lot of these shops cater to people who are preparing for their weddings.

   Once we leave this place our guide goes over to a line of rickshaws and visits with a few of the owners. He chooses two of the dozens he could have picked from, I suppose the pair that were selected gave him the best price. He puts Joy and Paul in one and he and I get into the other rickshaw. Again, I can’t imagine spending all day pedaling a bike as you pull a cart weighed down by your passengers.

    We exit the rickshaw after a few blocks, and we now wait for our guide to choose a motorized cart. I guess he wants us to experience various types of transportation in Old Delhi. Several people are trying to get his attention, but he chooses an older man, and we climb into the cart which comfortably holds four people.  Our driver takes off and joins the throng of traffic consisting of cars, rickshaws, tuk-tuks, motorcycles, and humans. Geez. Our guide warns us to keep our arms and hands inside the cart as there is little wiggle room between all the modes of traffic clogging the street.

   Our driver tries to finagle his way in front of another motorized cart and ends up bumping into it. He achieves his goal of getting ahead of his rival but due to the mild contact the offended driver begins shouting at our driver. A loud argument ensues and our driver speeds up. The offended man follows right behind us and continues to yell at our driver. To the relief of all of us the angry cart driver finally turns off on a side street. Our guide never says a thing so maybe this is a normal incident.

   We are almost back to the area where Aman dropped us off this morning when a car begins backing out of a parking space. The car comes within a few inches of hitting us. Really! I am so happy to see Aman waiting to take us back to the hotel. The bad part is he will have to drive through heavy traffic for nearly an hour to deliver us to the hotel.

    I suppose we dropped our guide off where we picked him up but truthfully, I don’t remember. I know we all thank him and give him a tip. When Aman drops us at the hotel we also thank and tip him. It is 2:30 and I am really hungry. We eat at the hotel restaurant where I have, wait for it, spaghetti. Most of the items on the menu are spicy and I am not taking a chance on that. Paul has stir-fried noodles which have plenty of zip. Joy settles for rice and steamed vegetables.  

   We take it easy for what is left of the afternoon. Since we ate so late Paul and I just eat some fruit we brought up from the restaurant and some complimentary cookies that were in the room this evening.

   We go to the lobby for the meeting with our trip leader, Allwyn, and to meet the other members of the group at seven=thirty. We are ushered into a small, doorless room off the main lobby. Allwyn, pronounced Alvin, introduces himself to us and then has us all introduce ourselves. There are fourteen of us in total and I am guessing all of us range from middle sixties to around eighty. Once the introductions are finished, Allwyn proceeds to tell us how to pack for our domestic flight tomorrow. We can only carry on a personal item, all liquids are to go in our checked luggage, and all batteries, wires, anything electrical must be in our carryon packs. When we get to the airport, we must remove all batteries and electrical things and place them in a tub, plus your binoculars must also be taken out of their cases. Great, basically we have to unpack our carryon. Allwyn then tells us what time to have our luggage out of the room and when we must be in the lobby. Allwyn answers any questions we have and after socializing a bit, we head up to our room.

     I slept for two hours and then was wide awake. Paul is awake too and we both reluctantly decide to take a half dose of ambien. That gave me another three hours of sleep while Paul managed to get four hours. Thank goodness for downloading books on our tablets.

    We pack everything we can, then Paul and I take a few laps around the courtyard before going to eat breakfast with Joy. We go back to the room and finish packing and set our luggage outside the door. We leave for the airport at 9:15. Allwyn, gathers all of our passports and checks us in, then hands out the tickets. He also checks every one’s luggage in. I would assume this might help keep all our luggage together. After we unpack our backpacks to get through security we have a short walk to our gate. We board the plane shortly after arriving at the gate and after an hour and a half in the air we land at Jabalpur airport. It is a small airport out in the country, and we don’t have to wait long for the luggage to appear. We exit the airport and there are five SUV’s waiting to drive us to Bandhavgarh National Park. Nope, I can’t pronounce it or even remember the name. Joy too, has problems saying the name of the park. Paul on the other hand has no problem pronouncing or remembering the name.

   Joy, Paul, and I walk over to one of the SUV’s and lay claim to it. The driver’s name is Bonsei. He is a very nice man, with limited English. He proves to be a good driver, and he doesn’t excessively use his horn. On our four hour drive we pass through many villages even more colorful than usual since the people are celebrating Holi which is a Hindu festival celebrating color, love and springtime. I looked that up😊. One of the ways they celebrate is painting their faces with various colors and splashing each other with paint. We even see some dogs that have joined the celebration whether they wanted to or not, their coats splashed with red or blue paint. For some reason I did not capture any of the villagers that were covered in paint, but Paul did get one great photo with his phone.

    After some heart-stopping moments during our drive, we arrive at Bandhavgarh Jungle Lodge by late afternoon. The staff was waiting for us with big smiles and waves as we drove into the parking area.

   After being shown to our comfortable rooms, Paul and I get somewhat organized and then shower before going to supper. Paul ordered a beer which is the biggest bottle of beer I have ever seen, a whole liter! I share a little bit of the beer as we listen to the manager of the lodge give an informative talk about the park’s history and the animals that can be found here. That of course includes tigers!

    Once the presentation is over and questions from members of the group have been answered we proceed to the buffet. I quickly learn that most of the food is too spicy for me so thank goodness they have Naan (flat bread) which is delicious. Other members of the group love the spicy food; a few are like me and can’t tolerate it while others like Paul can eat the dishes that are somewhat spicy but don’t set your mouth on fire.

    Allwyn gives us our instructions for tomorrow. We are to be at the main building by 5:45 where the staff will have tea, coffee, and porridge ready for us. Shortly after 6 we will load up for our first game drive. I can’t wait.

India, part 1

   Paul and I were invited by his sister Joy to join her on a tiger safari in India to celebrate her turning eighty years old this year. How can you turn down an invitation to go on a trip with Joy, the world traveler, especially when the adventure is focusing on tigers! All of us have been to India before and were lucky enough to see the magnificent cats back then. It has been seventeen years for us, and I believe ten years for Joy since our last India adventure, so we all decided it was time to return to India. I will add that Paul and I will be celebrating our fiftieth wedding anniversary this year so this will be our gift to ourselves!

   A couple of days before our departure I am having second thoughts about going because of the chaos in the middle East. In fact, I tell Paul I am not going and he informs Joy, who like Paul is disappointed. They decide they will still go although Joy is a bit uncomfortable with the situation too.

   I then call Katy, from Wilderness Travel, to break the news to her. Katy listens patiently then proceeds to explain to me that the company is in constant touch with their people in India and the consensus is that there are no problems in getting to India from the USA. That was my main concern. A couple of the people coming from the USA have had flights that had to be rerouted, but our flight was fine. I ask if anyone else in the group has canceled and she said only one person and it was due to health problems. After listening to her calm and kind explanation I reverse my decision and decide to suck it up and go to India.

    Paul and I have booked the Wabaunsee County transport van to deliver us to KCI. We requested that our friend Chuck drive us and to our delight he agreed too. It is a great service provided by the county at a very reasonable cost. The best part is we don’t have to drive to KCI and pay to have our car parked there for nearly three weeks.

      Chuck picks us up before 8 a.m. and then he picks up another woman who lives in northern Wabaunsee County. We arrive at the airport at ten a.m. and thank our friend for bringing us. Chuck is a great driver, and we appreciate him giving up his day for us.  Thanks Chuck!

    When we enter the airport and go to the check in area for United, we are approached by a staff member. The woman takes us to a kiosk and proceeds to do everything for us. Great. I breeze through the Precheck line, but Paul’s artificial knee sets the alarm off as usual. He is used to this and is prepared for the going over the TSA person gives him.

   Our KC flight leaves on time so we land in Dulles on schedule. The flight information board shows that our flight to Newark is on time, so we are feeling good. I happen to look at the flight board sometime later and now it shows our flight has been delayed and will be leaving fifteen minutes late.  The next time we check our flight the delay is up to thirty minutes late. I go to the desk and ask a man what the problem is. He explains that Newark is fogged in and they are having to slow the incoming and outgoing flights down to be safe.  He checks the passenger list and tells us there are ten people that are on the same flight to India as us. The helpful fellow admits that they probably wouldn’t hold the plane up even for that many people. Great. We end up boarding the plane more than an hour late. The pilot gives the usual “welcome aboard” talk and tells us approximately what time we will land. We will land about the time our plane to Delhi is to be closing its doors.

    This is a short flight and as soon as we land, we begin asking people in front of us to please let us by as we are hoping to make a connection and have very little time. We go from row thirty to row eleven before they start allowing people off the plane. That was a big help, and we were thankful for people understanding. We rush to the shuttle with eight other people who are of Indian descent. Once everyone is aboard the shuttle Paul tells the rather bored driver to “drive”! He complies with Paul’s request. Our companions, who I assume have taken this flight often, are confident that we will make it to our gate before the doors are closed.

   Once off the shuttle, Paul and I take off running. Well, Paul walks really fast and I run if you can call it that. We both have a backpack and a carry on but at least my big case has rollers. A young woman that was on the shuttle with us blows by us like we are standing still. Before long, my heart rate is crazy and I am gasping for breath, so once in a while I have to slow down to catch my breath. Paul looks back often and asks if I am okay. He doesn’t seem to be having much trouble.

    I see our gate and am elated when there are eight or ten people still lined up to board the plane. I walk right past them telling them we are in boarding group two. I asked them what group they were in and they replied group five, so I feel like we have the right to go to the front of the line. I thought Paul was right behind me, but when I look back after scanning my ticket, I see him standing at the end of the line with Joy! I didn’t even see Joy as I was so fixated on getting on the plane. Paul catches up with me and tells me I got a couple of dirty looks when I cut in line. Oh well. I need to sit down and get my heart quieted down.

   We have the two front seats in economy plus and is it nice to have all that leg room! Joy is seated right behind us. Across the aisle from us are a group of monks dressed in their saffron colored robes. I don’t know why I should be surprised but I am when I see them working/reading on their laptops, tablets or smartphones. It just doesn’t fit my image of monks!

   The fourteen-hour flight to Delhi is fine, with only a few instances of minor turbulence. I think the three of us slept more than we thought we would which is good. Once in the Delhi airport we have no problems, it is just very slow to get through customs. Not because there are a lot of people, the process is just time consuming.

    As we exit the customs area, we see a man holding a Wilderness Travel sign up with our names on it. We wave and approach the man who introduces himself as Sandy. I believe he is somewhat amazed that each of us only have two pieces of luggage. None of us checked any luggage which helped get us through the airport quicker.

   We follow Sandy to a small van and after the luggage is stowed, we are taken to our hotel called Andaz. It is just a few minutes’ drive from the airport thank goodness. We got to the hotel at midnight but the process to get checked in to our rooms is very slow. I think it took longer to get checked into the hotel than it did getting through the Delhi airport!

   Joy and our rooms are on different floors, and we drop Joy off first. The rooms are very nice. I shower plus hang clothes up for tomorrow, etc.  We get to bed about two a.m. completely exhausted. It took us 24 hours from leaving our house to arriving at our hotel in Delhi!

Brazil 2025 part 6

   Our next three days at San Francisco ranch go like this. Up at 4:30, eat breakfast at five o’clock, load on the touring truck at 5:30.  We are taken back to headquarters around 11:00 a.m., eat lunch at noon, try to take a nap before going on our afternoon drive which starts at 2:30. Back to the ranch at 5:30, eat supper at 6:00, back on the truck by 6:30 and do a night drive that ends around 10 p.m.!

    The first day we meet up with a research team that are studying Crab-eating fox and Ocelots to see how each species is doing on this ranch compared to other parts of the Pantanal. The team have live traps set and are trying to capture a crab-eating fox whose collar has lost power. The team leader has informed Fred that they have captured two foxes, (neither one turns out to be the collared fox) and we go to the first area to watch them release the canine. The fox is amazingly calm until they open the cage door. When the cage door is opened the fox bolts for freedom and never looks back. We meet up with them at the second site and again, no agitation in the cage by the fox, but as soon as the door is open the little fox is a blur as it runs from the human spectators.

   This afternoon Paul and Fred end up in a contest on who can find the most Marsh Deer. The deer are an endangered species but not on this ranch. The deer do so well here because of the ranches main crop which is rice. There are water canals and boggy areas that the deer love plus they graze in the rice fields.

At the end of our afternoon drive as the sun is nearly down our driver spots a giant anteater! These are the oddest-looking creatures! The anteater is in a pasture, and the South African man asks if we can try to get closer to the anteater on foot. Fred agrees that this will be okay. It is a hopeless attempt as the anteater keeps walking away from us faster than we can close the gap. Once we are in the pasture Fred spots a second anteater on the edge of the field. You can tell it is an anteater, but it is not close enough to document with a photo. Paul had hoped we would see an anteater, so he is quite happy.

     We do not see much on our night drive and Fred tells us we have the misfortune of a full moon while we are here. During a full moon mammals are not moving around much. We do see a couple of foxes, plus a barn owl diving for prey. The highlight was spotting a cayman killing a huge snake in one of the canals. No chance for a photo darn it.

     Today the native South Africans are going home so our group is down to six. This morning, we see myriads of beautiful birds, a couple of fox, and Marsh deer. Fred tells us that we have seen nearly two hundred species of birds!  

    We arrive in the parking lot and discover that a busload of people has arrived for a day at the ranch and they are waiting to eat lunch. Thankfully Fred has arranged for us to be at the head of the lunch line.

    This afternoon it is really hot which is not made any more comfortable by the hot wind that is blowing. Thank goodness for my neck cooler. Again, we see lots of birds plus the Marsh deer contest is continuing. Fred is winning. The rest of us are helping Paul if we see a deer that Paul overlooked. We point out to Fred that he has an advantage because he is sitting on the chair that is affixed to the top of the truck cab which gives him a clearer view. He just shrugs his shoulders and laughs.

   Tonight, the Indian couple decide not to go with us on the night drive. The man seems to be bothered by mosquitos, but Paul and I have not been bothered by the pests. They chose the wrong night to stay behind because we have not driven far when our spotter finds a giant anteater. We sit and watch the animal nosing around in a pasture for a while then move on. Amazing.

    Towards the end of our night drive the truck driver picks up speed. Our spotter and the driver are talking excitedly to one another. Soon our spotter shines his light on a walkway that is built out into a boggy field (these walkways are made to allow people to get through the marshes). There is a magnificent jaguar walking on the wooden structure. The big cat soon disappears into the darkness. We had no expectations of seeing a jaguar here, so this was an incredible bonus. We were all getting a little sleepy, but this certainly woke us up!

    On our third day we have a unique experience of watching the farm crew loading fertilizer into a plane. We watch as the plane takes off and begins dropping the fertilizer on the wet rice fields. Paul and I have also enjoyed looking at the farm equipment that we have encountered on these drives. The San Francisco Ranch is 15,000 hectares which is nearly 37,000 acres! Fred told us there are around 7500 head of cattle, counting cows, calves, and feedlot animals. I do not remember how many acres of rice they had. Fred also informs us that fifty percent of the ranch’s income comes from tourism.

   Later we sit and watch as some cowboys are moving a herd of yearling bulls. They are bringing them out of a pen onto the road. All goes well until one bull suddenly decides he does not want to leave the pen. After evading the two cowboys on horseback several times, the bull attempts to go through the fence. He is unsuccessful in getting through so the renegade gives up and walks through the gate. We watch as the cowboys and cattle move on down the road then return to the lodge for supper. These cattle were headed for a feedlot. They do not steer their bull calves.

    Tonight, our game drive was very sparse though we did watch a pair of crab-eating fox hunting in some tall grass next to the road. Although the pair worked hard, they came up empty.

    This morning, we begin our long journey home. We eat breakfast at five and return to our room to finish packing. Paul left our room for some reason and soon came back in to inform me that there was a Hyacinth Macaw in a tree behind our building. I grab my camera and get some shots of the beautiful bird. Paul tells the other people in our group about the Macaw, and they all go unpack their cameras to photograph this hard-to-find Macaw. A great way to end our time here.

    The Colorado couple and Fred are not going with the Indian couple and us to the airport because their flights are later. We take a photo with Fred; tell him he was a great guide and give him a well-earned tip. We say goodbye to Fred and the couple from Colorado and load up for our last road trip in Brazil.

   Our trip home was a long one but the complete opposite of the debacle of getting to Brazil, meaning it all went smoothly. It was a great trip but as always so good to get home.

Brazil 2025 part 5

    A cold front came through last night with strong winds and the riverboat was sailing into the wind and waves. I woke up several times and could feel our ship hitting waves and rolling a bit.  Paul slept through the night and never noticed the waves at all. Consequently, we are behind schedule as far as where the captain had hoped to be this morning.

Paul and I went outside at five a.m. to look at the sunrise and came right back in. It is chilly and with the stiff wind, it is not comfortable. What a change from yesterday. After breakfast we load up in the speedboat.

    Although our boat driver stays as close to the edge of the river as he can, we are traveling into the wind. This means the wind-created waves are coming straight at us.  The river is rough and at times there will be a wave that is three feet tall, (I asked Paul about the height, and this was his estimation). Our driver must speed into these large swells to make it over them. This maneuver sends a spray of water into the boat. This is one time it is good to be sitting in the middle seats! We hardly see any birds, I assume they do not like the wind or the temperature.  Fred must see the discomfort of his charges and asks us if we want to go back to the riverboat. Every one of us agrees we want to return. Some explorers we are!

    We decide to go back out on the speedboat this afternoon, this is our last chance to explore by speed boat after all. At least the sun is out although it is still windy. We must cross some rough water but then our driver turns into a side channel which is protected from the wind, (and much smaller than the Paraguay river). We see a Toucan, a Trogan, and a Great Horned owl with two chicks in a nest so this alone was worth the trip. We arrive at a crystal-clear pool of water where a lot of the group had hoped to swim and snorkel, but it is just too cold.

    Fred sings for us one last time and gives an educational talk on Macaws. He also brings the cowboy-hat wearing chefs out and introduces them to us. We give the incredible cooks a much-deserved round of applause for all the delicious meals they have prepared for us.

    Tonight, the KC Chiefs are playing in Sao Paulo. As crazy as it seems, Paul and the man from Colorado can watch the game on the tv in the dining room. Not exactly roughing it are we?

    Today the riverboat delivers us to the town of Carumba. Upon seeing the slot where the captain must maneuver the boat into, I cannot see how in the world he will manage it. However, with seemingly little effort he pulls into the space next to another riverboat. Before we disembark the crew lines up in the prow of the boat. We shake hands, thank them for taking such good care of us and give them a well-deserved tip.

    There is a van waiting for us at the boat dock. Some of the crew loads up our luggage and we climb into the van. We are driven into the historic part of Carumba where a young woman is waiting for us. We climb back out of the van and take a walking tour in the old town of Carumba. As we walk, the young woman fills us in on the history of her town as we admire the colorful buildings.

    When our tour is over, we crawl back into the van and are driven to a house that is now a museum. The museum was the home of a wealthy couple who left the house and their belongings to the city with the intent for it to become a museum. It is filled with beautiful furniture, has a big library, and a large room dedicated to Don Quixote. The man was obsessed with Quixote. There are Quixote paintings, statues, toys, and books he collected in many languages.

    Our next stop is visiting a man who is famous for constructing guitars from native wood. We are given a tour of a room filled with memorabilia and guitars. He also strums on one of his creations while he sings to us. We end the tour in his simple workshop which is behind his house.

    Our last stop before lunch is at the top of a steep hill. There is a statue of Jesus that looks like a replica of the famous statue in Rio de Janeiro. There is also a nice bird’s eye view of Carumba.

   Time for lunch, which is in a museum dedicated to cowboy life in the Pantanal. Fred has outdone himself here. Our table is set up in the middle of the displays, and a trio of men are serenading us as we eat. We are served ten different dishes, one at a time. Though the food was delicious, and the portions small I do not think anyone was able to eat everything.  The guitar player and accordion player are excellent. They both have great voices too but when the guitarist sang on his own, I literally got goose bumps. What a haunting voice this young man has. The song I remember clearly was “Easy like Sunday Morning.” Yes, they mostly sang American songs.

    It is time to journey to the San Francisco ranch, so we say goodbye to and thank our knowledgeable guide. I tell her that her English is superb, and she thanks me for the compliment.

     After three hours on a very rough highway and some dirt roads we arrive at our destination. The first thing we see when exiting the van is a pair of Macaws eating from the unique bird feeder. The feeder is the top rail of the wooden fence that has been hollowed out. When everyone is finished snapping photos of the Macaws, Fred leads us to one of the owners who is waiting for us. The young woman points out the restaurant, the office, informs us where to drop off our laundry, etc. We are shown to our rooms which are spacious, simple, and very clean. There are three beds, a half dozen wood platforms attached to the wall to set your luggage on, a small bathroom, and air conditioning. It is all we need.

    We eat supper at 6:30 but it is not just our group. The ranch has many guests here. Most are Brazilians who come for one night to enjoy the country life. They are taken on drives in trucks that carry sixty people. No thanks! The guests also enjoy the pools, hammocks, liquor, and the buffet. Our supper is good but a step or two down from our meals on the riverboat.

    After supper we go on a night drive. I am a little uncomfortable with the spotlighting but that is the only way you will see anything. We get lucky and our spotter finds an ocelot hunting by the edge of the road. The small cat catches what our spotter thinks is a guinea pig. We watch from a distance as she gobbles it down. We sit and wait and sure enough the ocelot comes towards us with no fear at all. She goes into a field and this time we clearly see her pounce on something. Since it does not take her long to consume it the guides figure it is a mouse. Cool, we had hoped to see an ocelot and that can be checked off the list.  We also see crab-eating foxes and some owls. I also am surprised at how the animals and birds don’t seem to be affected by the spotlight. We get back to our rooms around ten o’clock, tired but happy.

Brazil 2025 part 4

    This morning, I wake up with an unhappy stomach so make the decision I had better stay on the boat. We cannot exactly pull up anywhere on the riverbank for an emergency stop! Pit stops are only allowed on open sandy beaches and those can be few and far between.

Paul waves at me as the speedboat backs away. Naturally, I feel some remorse as I watch the group leaving without me. The good part of my staying on the riverboat is that today we will be on the move and heading up the river. Another good thing is I can stand up and walk around plus there is an awning to stand under and escape the hot sun! Paul and I are both sick of sitting all the time! We do walk laps around the upper deck when we are on the riverboat to get some exercise.

    I observe the crew prepare to leave. The youngest member goes ashore to untie the huge rope that has kept the riverboat moored to a tree during the night. It takes three men to get the lengthy rope pulled back onto the ship. One of them is in the water pulling the rope to the boat, another man pulls it through a hole in the ships side, and the third man wraps the rope around a bar on the other side of the ship. This is all taking place below me, so I have a bird’s eye view of the process. It takes a lot of strength to get that rope back on the ship and secured.

Once we are moving up the river, I stand in the prow and observe the river and the shoreline.  I see birds everywhere, spy an iguana sitting on the edge of the river, and watch a pair of Hyacinth Macaws fly in front of the ship. I did not have my camera in hand so there is no photo of the Macaws.

   I also watch the Brazilians going about their lives as we drift by their homesteads. One homestead has laundry hanging on the line. There is a man and woman preparing to leave in a small boat. Maybe they are going fishing?  A couple of cowboys are driving a small herd of cattle down a road. We wave to each other and by the time I think to take a photo, they have disappeared behind a grove of trees. The riverboat is amazingly quiet which is a nice change from the speed boats. I really am enjoying this!

I watch the crew clean the ship, swabbing the decks and washing windows. This ship is always very clean and well kept. After they finish, I do some laps around the top deck and see several of the crew taking a break on the deck below. I go to our room and get the photo book I brought with photos taken at our ranch. The men do not speak English, and I sure do not speak Portugues but photos they understand. The crew crowd around the man holding the book and one of them points to a photo of cows and says “bison”? No, I reply, they are Angus cattle. Several of them say Angus as though they recognize that word. The photo that gets the most reaction is one of our cows lined up eating hay with snow on the ground and snow on the cattle’s back. All of them react with an ooh or even brr. They hand my book back and thank me for letting them see it, (I think).

    Fred and the group return to check on me late morning, and I am feeling good enough to go with them on a short jaunt before coming back for lunch. Paul tells me they saw Marcela and Ousado but the best sighting was a Tapir! Boy am I sorry I missed seeing that odd animal. I tell myself that we saw two tapirs on our first trip to Brazil so that makes me feel better. Paul has a photo which looks good on his phone, but it is too pixelated when it is blown up to post on the blog.

Our adventure this afternoon is going up a side channel that is very shallow with lots of water hyacinths. Fred must use a pole to check the depth of the water to make sure our boat does not bottom out. There are caiman everywhere and more beautiful birds including Roseate Spoonbills. Unfortunately, it is so blasted hot that everybody agrees we should return to the riverboat early.

   Fred sang for us and gave a great talk on caymans and howler monkeys tonight. The best thing on the buffet in my opinion was the French fries! They were cooked perfectly. We have not had many potato dishes so I ate my fill of them! I love potatoes and am not fond of rice and beans which is a staple in Brazil. Okay, the stroganoff was excellent too.

     This morning Paul and I go out to watch the sunrise but are soon chased back in due to clouds of mosquitos. We have had very little trouble with these pests so far which is kind of surprising.

   We do not leave until 6:30 this morning as Fred is taking us to a place where we can take a walk. Yeah!! The Indian couple decide to forgo this as Fred warns us that there will be mosquitos and the man seems to be a mosquito magnet. It was not a tough hike although in one place there were a lot of loose rocks which made you watch your step. We saw a Pale-crested woodpecker which was new for us and a tiny woodpecker about the size of a wren. When we got out of the timber and onto a dirt road, Paul spotted a jaguar track in the dust. We are just glad we did not run into the big cat on the brushy trail. We walked a couple of miles and boy did that feel good.

    The Indian couple are waiting in the speedboat when we get back. Our boat driver takes us down a river canal which leads to a huge lake. There is a mountain range in the background so the scenery is stunning. As we motor on, there are lakes and water canals as far as you can see. This means we see huge flocks of water birds, flying, perching, and swimming. It is just surreal. We end up in Bolivia for a few minutes; the border is marked by a white post sticking up out of the water. No, we are not supposed to go into Bolivia, but we have not seen a soul since we entered this beautiful area so figure we are safe. Oh yes, the riverboat is now traveling up the Paraguay river.

     This afternoon we are going to visit what Fred calls the shopping mall. A group of women decided to start weaving crafts from the water hyacinth stems. Fred always brings his groups here because he so admires the innovation of the women. Also, very few tourists come here so they need all the help they can get. Everyone finds something to purchase. Paul and I buy a piece that resembles a capybara. I have no idea what we will do with it when we get it home but the ability it took to weave this piece is admirable.

  We leave the shopping mall behind and motor to the Pantanal National Park headquarters. I cannot remember how many acres the park is but do know it is huge. To patrol the waters and land of this enormous national park there are only two rangers! The head ranger is a personable woman who warmly greets us upon our arrival. We follow her to the office building and sign the visitors’ book. After visiting for a bit, with Fred translating, we head back to the riverboat. One thing Fred shares with us is how isolated the people who work and live here are, twelve hours by boat to a town!

    A wonderful day and I loved this scenic area. Not a bad way to spend your 49^th wedding anniversary!

I have included slideshows in this blog. Below are various birds we saw. Another slide show shows photos when we were touring the expansive waters. Just click on the arrows to see all the photos.

Brazil 2025 part 3

    I always make notes in a journal at the end of the day, and this is what my first sentence was for today. Jaguar heaven this morning! Can it really be better than yesterday?

We have not gone far on the main river when we experience a phenomenon that I will never forget. Fish begin jumping out of the river and one of them lands in the lap of the Indian woman. She jumps up screaming and runs over to my side of the boat. I get down and while trying to capture the flopping fish I keep reassuring her, (okay I am laughing too), that it is just a fish. She finally settles down, and I manage to grab our uninvited guest and toss it overboard. In the meantime, several other fish have landed in our boat. A crewman that is with us this morning is busy grabbing them and tossing them back. I know I should not have laughed as the poor woman really was freaked out. I am fairly certain I was not the only one laughing at her expense.

   We have some good bird sightings this morning before we join a few boats watching Marcela as she is getting ready to cross the narrow tributary we are in. Holy smokes! No wonder Marcela slept all day, yesterday. Her belly is huge! This beauty is either very pregnant, or she stuffed herself to the point of bursting. It does not take Marcela long to reach the other side and then she disappears into the woods.

We continue exploring and twenty minutes after leaving Marcela we cross paths with Patricia and Makala walking near the water. Patricia soon vanishes into the brushy cover, but Makala decides to sit down and stare right back at us. He soon becomes bored and heads in the same direction Mom did. Well, that was cool.

Our driver turns down another channel on orders from Fred and in a few minutes, we find Marcela sleeping in a tree! I guess that swim and short overland hike wore her out. Fred tells us this is one of her favorite trees. The guides obviously know the habits of the individual jaguars very well.

This place is a labyrinth of channels off the main river, and I have no idea where we are or where we have been. I do know that we find two river otters in the offshoot of the main river we are exploring now. These otters are not cute in my opinion. To me they look flat out mean. This couple do entertain us with their playful antics. They crawl up the muddy bank and slide around in the mud, then go down into the river and splash around. Suddenly the otters go on alert. Fred sees what they are upset about as he spots Ousado emerging from some trees on the other side of the river. Ousado approaches the water and is preparing to cross when he espies the otters. He stops and intently watches the otters.

I think all of us are holding our breath as Fred quietly relates to us that jaguar fear river otters. A group of otters will not hesitate to attack a jaguar and if you could see their teeth, you would understand why. After what seems like an eternity, Ousado backs up and takes refuge on the riverbank. The otters seem to accept his retreat and start playing again. Eventually the otters swim down the river and we follow them for a while. They can stay under the water a long time and boy can they swim fast! What an interesting encounter.

    Our boat is speeding off again and this time we are taken to a pair of jaguars in mating mode. Typical cat romance, snarling, lashing out with their paws, nothing that would suggest they wanted anything to do with each other. We sit here with several other tourists watching the jaguars’ antics but the two do not mate.  Regardless, a great way to cap off the morning!

It is a relief to be back on the airconditioned riverboat as it is sunny and very hot today. We are served another great meal. These chefs are something else. Fred regals us with stories of things that have happened with other clients of his which is very entertaining. I wonder if the fish encounter will be told to future clients.

    We are off at three o’clock, but the Indian couple decide to stay on the boat. Maybe it is too hot for them, and it is stifling hot. I am wearing a neck cooler, and I am so glad I decided to buy one and give it a try. I have no idea how it works but after soaking it in ice water, it stays cool for about three hours. I do not deal with heat very well and this device has allowed me to stay comfortable.

We find a jaguar grooming himself on a sandy beach. It turns out to be Ousado. Fred says Ousado is about two miles from where we saw him this morning. Fred tells us that this makes him feel more positive about Ousado’s health since he has traveled that far in a fairly short time. My question is how the old jaguar can stand being out in the direct sunlight?

    We meander down different channels, some quite shallow. When we are in the shallow tributaries, Fred asks us to all to move to front seats so the motor will sit higher in the water. This will keep the motor from getting clogged with the water plants. We go back to check on the mating couple which have stayed in the same area we saw them at this morning. There is no shade for the boat, so we are at the mercy of the late afternoon sun. Yikes, have I mentioned it is really hot? The two jaguars move around some, still making threatening noises and gestures towards one another. We move on after twenty minutes giving up hope that the couple will actually mate. When the speedboat is moving the breeze helps tremendously in cooling us down, so we are all happy to leave.

Fred wants to check on Marcella again. I think Marcela must be one of Fred’s favorite jaguars. After we have been there a few minutes, Marcela sits up on the big limb she was sleeping on. Everyone, (a few other boats are here), watch intently in the hope we will see her ambush the caiman that poked his head up not far from Marcela’s perch. Marcela looks at the reptile and then lays back down. What a tease she is!

Another beautiful sunset, great meal, and entertainment from our versatile guide.

BRAZIL 2025 PART 2

    We are up early, 4:30, and eating breakfast at 5:30. This will be our routine for the days we are on the boat. By the way, our boat travels at night so we are at a different place this morning from where it was moored last night. We load up on the speed boat at six a.m. and motor down the Rio Cuiaba river.

   A myriad of birds, caiman, and trees blooming in vibrant reds, pinks, and purples nearly overwhelm me. Fred is amazing on his ability to spot and identify every bird we see, also the trees and flowers. We have not been on the boat very long when it suddenly speeds up and we roar down the river. Since the other people in our group experienced the sudden acceleration yesterday morning, they know what is up and Paul and I have a pretty good idea too.

     We come upon a boat sitting still in the middle of the river and when we pull up beside it, there on the shore is a beautiful jaguar. Our first jaguar! I am pretty sure my mouth drops open and my heart definitely speeds up. The big male, who Fred identifies as Tomas, is busy eating a bird. A paltry snack for this big cat but Fred says even though the jaguar’s main prey are caimans they never pass up an opportunity for a meal. We sit and watch Tomas devour his big kill. He spends more time plucking feathers and spitting them out than finding a piece of meat to eat. When Tomas finishes his snack, he stands up and strolls into the brush and trees, disappearing from our sight. Tomas never even looked towards the boats that arrived to watch him dine, which tells you how acclimated they are to humans.

   We have learned from this experience that the guides share a jaguar sighting with other guides, which is good. There are so many side channels that the odds would go way down in seeing a jaguar if no one shared their good luck at spotting the beautiful cat.

     We head on down or maybe up the river, and I swear we have not left Thomas fifteen minutes ago and our boat is roaring down the river again. Here is the bad part of everyone knowing about a jaguar siting. When we arrive, there are probably twenty boats watching a female jaguar as she is hunting a caiman. We never see the caiman she is after but the big cat will splash into the water, then go up on the shore, walk along the shore a little way before going back into the water. More boats have arrived and are jostling for a better spot which becomes very irritating. The jaguar seems to have given up on her quest for the caiman, as she walks into some dense bushes that engulf her. Our boat and the others proceed in the direction she headed and sure enough the big cat comes back into the open. The jaguar shows no inclination of continuing her hunt. Fred asks us if we have had enough. We all agree we are ready to leave the chaos behind. There were probably thirty boats by the time we left.   

As we cruise down the river, Fred, and our boat driver, simultaneously call out “Jaguar.” Are you kidding me. I must be dreaming, how in the world have we seen three jaguars within an hour or so? Fred immediately knows this male jaguar because he is wearing a radio collar and he has quite a story behind him. Ousado was rescued after a devastating wildfire in this area in 2022. Ousado had been burned badly particularly his feet. I think Fred told us he was under human care for a year and then returned to the wild. He is the only jaguar with a radio collar.  Ousado is ten years old which is old for a jaguar particularly one that went through the trauma that he did. Fred notices that he is missing a back toe which is still raw. When Ousado stands up we see how bony he is and that he is walking slowly. Fred shakes his head and wonders out loud how much longer the old cat will survive. I would have to agree with our guides assessment.  We are joined by two other boats which after the last jaguar encounter is a marked improvement.  As we are leaving Ousado, other boats are speeding our way so we timed our departure just right.

    Our boat driver takes off and soon we have joined several boats that are clustered near a tree growing next to the shoreline. This is crazy. There is a jaguar sleeping in the tree though she is so hidden that all you can see is her head and front paws. All the staring human eyes and boat noise does not even wake her up. Fred identifies her as Marcela. The jaguars in the identification project are named and identified by the markings on their heads or unique spots on their sides. We stay for a bit to see if the snoozing lady will wake up and do something to entertain us but all we get for the time we are there is seeing her open her eyes once.

    Are you ready?  We are speeding away again and soon join a few other tourists in watching a mother and her big cub swimming in the river. How amazing to see cats leisurely swimming. Jaguars often choose to swim in the river to travel to another place rather than go overland. The pair swim near the edge of the river for quite some distance and their entourage of speed boats filled with humans follow slowly on the other side of the river. When the pair emerge from the water, we get a good look at them and see that the male cub is nearly as big as his mama. The cub named Makala has what looks like teeth puncture wounds on his hips. Who knows what put them there but maybe a male jaguar?  Patricia, his mother, slowly ambles into the cover of trees and brush with Makala not far behind although he is more curious about we humans and stops to look at us occasionally.

It is time to head back to the boat for lunch and as we arrive there is a family of capybara standing on the beach not far from where our riverboat is moored. Our boat driver takes us near the rodent family so we can snap some photos of the huge, odd-looking creatures. We have seen many of these giant rodents already, but the lighting and the little ones make for a good photo op.

Once on the boat we enjoy a wonderful lunch served buffet style. We have a couple hours after lunch to rest up. If anyone would have told us that we would see six individual jaguars within a few hours on the river I think all of us would have laughed out loud! I still have trouble believing our good fortune.   

    We leave for our afternoon exploration at three o’clock. It is hot, in the 90’s, but it is cloudy which certainly helps. Fred wants to go back and check on Marcela to see if she is still sleeping in the tree. Marcela has left the tree and is now napping on an embankment a few yards from the tree she had been in. Again, Marcela does not move or even open her eyes. I wish I could sleep that well. We do not stay long as there is way too many boats filled with patient people hoping the lazy jaguar will wake up and entertain them.

Our boat driver takes us down a small channel and we have not gone far when we join a few boats watching a female jaguar walking on the sandy beach. The lovely lady lays down but after a few minutes she decides that she is thirsty and walks down to the river to drink. Watching any cat lap water is fascinating to me as I do not see how they ever manage to get enough water to satisfy them. There are more boats arriving all the time, so we say farewell to the seventh jaguar we have seen today. Paul and I just shake our heads at this unbelievable day in Brazil. I guess the misery of getting here was worth it. Thanks for sticking with getting us here Paul!

   Fred decides we need to check on Marcela one last time and we find her in the same area, and she is still zonked out. Because there are a lot less boats we are able to see all of this slumbering cat. Marcela will probably start prowling once the sun sets and all these bothersome tourists are gone. We enjoy another gorgeous sunset before going back to the riverboat.

    Once we are on the boat, we all head to our rooms to clean up before supper. Our cabin is much like the room we had at the airport. A bed with room for luggage underneath it, a small wardrobe to hang clothes, and a bathroom. It is small but we will not be spending much time in here anyway.

   We head upstairs to the dining area and Fred is already playing the guitar and singing. Yes, our guide is multi-talented. He often sings popular American songs in English of course, but occasionally sings a Brazilian song in Portuguese. Fred then presents his “Fred talks” where he has photos he has taken on a computer about the animals he is educating us about for that night. I think tonight it was on capybaras. Fred also has a camera with those long lenses and his photos are stunning.  A wonderful meal is just the icing on the cake of this incredible, unbelievable day!