Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia

 Today is a zero day for me to rest in Bonito HI Hostel e Pousada, and got ready for border crossing to Paraguay.  The formal border towns are Pedro Juan Caballero and Ponta Porã which are in two different time zones. For example,  11:00 Monday, in Pedro Juan Caballero, Paraguay is 10:00 Monday, in Ponta Porã, Brazil. The direct bus to Ponta Porã, Brazil will be too late to get Brazil exit stamp. So I am forced to take two different buses (via Dourado) to get the stamps, and then the 10 pm overnight Bus from Pedro Juan Caballero to Asunción, the capital of Paraguay. My bilingualroomate helped me to buy the 1st leg bus ticket in town. I will get other tickets and corss the border myself. Wish me luck not to stranded in a bus station overnight (which happened in Columbia once 15 years ago).  In Bonito, the tour prices are fixed, so the operators can only vary the transport costs a little. I chose the buy the tours via my hostel since they gave 15% accommodations discou...

 I woke up early to take DAY-TOUR SAN FRANCISCO FARM. The pickup was scheduled for 5 am but I was picked up almost 6 am as the last person of the group before heading to the farm 2.5 hours away. The tour included a Photo Safari, lunch, and a Barge Ride. I observed Pantanal wildlife and saw animals such as deer, capybaras, alligators, and birds like the tuiuiú—the Pantanal's iconic bird. But no luck with anteaters, tapirs, or jaguars. I met a new friend who can speak English and kindly translate for me. Most tour guides in Brazil speak Portuguese.  We also fished for piranhas which were later used to lure the alligators to jump out of water, also an eagle to fly over to catch the fish. We came back Bonito almost 7 pm and I was exhausted.  The Pantanal is a region in South America lying mostly in Western Brazilbut extending into Bolivia as well. It is considered one of the world's largest and most diverse freshwater wetland ecosystems. The Pantanal is also one of Brazil's m...

Bonito is located at the edge of the  Amazon basin  and is a gateway to the Pantanal wetlands, featuring its own unique river systems, lakes, and waterfalls known for crystal-clear waters. The Amazon River basin covers a significant portion of Brazil, but Bonito lies in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, which is not within the main Amazon basin. The region's waterways, such as the  Prata River , are famed for their transparent waters, which are rich in limestone.  Brazil has three major river basins: the Amazon, Tocantins-Araguaia, and Paraná. Bonito's waters are part of a system separate from the Amazon.  I took TOUR AQUARIO NATURAL - HALF DAY today. The guide gave a quick lesson before the trip, especially not touching fish, plants, or river bed.  We took a 700-meter walk along a trail of wooden walkways, until reaching the source of the Baía Bonita River. We floated at the source for 15 minutes; the 800-meter route lasts about 40 minutes. The experience i...

 I found the shuttle bus outside of Campo Grande (CGR) airport by 10:00 pm, and the 3-hr ride into Bonito leaded me to my hostel almost 2 am. NO guard at the reception area of the hostel as the hostel told me. I opened and walked away from the first dorm room with guys and only fan, and crashed in the only open bed in the second/female dorm room with AC. I enjoyed a big breakfast and paid for the bed and tours, and then shopped for a rental bicycle from Cido Bike e motos (40r) to ride to a local river park to swim and play with fish. As the tap water in Bonito is not drinkable, and the hostel does not provide filtered water, I first rode to a supermarket to get water and grocery then rode to the river park. There was a biking path to ride to the river park but the sun was hot in 90f (a big difference from the 50sf in Montevideo, Uruguay, so I wore a hot and a sun shirt.  Bosque das Águas is 17 km round trip from my hostel and right next to the Balneário Municipal yet with deep...