Instead of staying in Brazil after visiting Iguaçu Falls and driving north from there, Mark and I decided to return to Paraguay en route to our next destination, for three reasons: fuel is cheaper in Paraguay, so we wanted to cover a bunch of distance in that country; we didn’t want to use some of our precious, three-month entry allowance for Brazil just driving; and we preferred more time in Paraguay, since we’d enjoyed it. I wrote about those last Paraguayan days here.
Our Brazilian route
Border Crossing into Brazil
On June 17th, we left Paraguay and crossed into Brazil again, needing to drive all over town to find the required government offices and paperwork. This was a very different method from our usual border crossings, where the buildings and desks are located along the main highway. But we got everything straightened out and found a great and affordable grocery store with new products.
(As always, hover over or click on photos in galleries to read their captions.)
Bonito
That first night was spent at a loud truck stop near Bonito, confirming the fact that Brazil – especially the inland areas – is very heavy on truck traffic. The rutted condition of the roads, bumper-to-bumper traffic in cities, the actual percentage of these massive beasts in relation to cars, and the number of gas stations/truck stops with truckers’ facilities all contributed to this reality.
I had looked forward to snorkeling activities and scenic excursions in Bonito for many years (my blogging friend Gilda wrote an extensive post about it), but a few elements were against us. Prices were sky high (but we did say we’d commit to one excursion); we happened to be there on a long holiday weekend, which increased those steep prices by another 25%; and rainy/chilly days were ahead.
Before making any decisions about which company and which excursion to book, we walked Maya along one of the clear rivers, noticed we were close to an attractive-sounding campground, and checked this place out. Not only did we love the grounds, we also spotted our new South African friends Jo and Wayne.
The decision was made to move into the campground on that rare hot and sunny day and enjoy the facilities. The price for camping was steep for us, but the employees let us stay the following day until dark without charging extra, so it was well worth it!
We made full use of the hot showers, swam in the river (with the added bonus that Maya could join us, unlike on any of the overpriced excursions), watched the monkeys in the trees (and getting into the garbage), and hung out with Jo and Wayne for the evening.
The following day, the weather cooled off substantially. We went for a couple more walks on the property, filled our water tank, and did some work, before camping for free on the edge of Bonito that evening. The three of us walked into town to meet Jo and Wayne at a restaurant for his birthday dinner. We banked another lovely evening before moving on.
The high prices, the cool weather, the way the companies take advantage of holiday weekends by charging more, and our principles helped us decide to skip any paid activities in Bonito. To read about what’s there to see and do, I recommend checking out Gilda’s blog here or that of our Vermonster friends, Jon and Heather, here.
In the meantime, we had decided to spend another couple of nights at a similarly beautiful campground in the jungle with wildlife, waterfalls, and an attractive river to make up for not doing an excursion. We had also contacted a guide in the Pantanal to potentially do a boat tour there; it’s the thing to do in that region. His fee came back and we had to make a decision again… The $50 for two nights at our intended campground could go towards the $190 for the private boat tour. And that was that. You have to make choices when you’re on a tight budget to keep living the lifestyle you enjoy.
South Pantanal
Our pace sped up a bit when we discovered Saturday would be the nicest day out of a handful. That’s when we had booked a day tour with Marcelo in Passo do Lontra, a village along the river in the southern Pantanal, where popular jungle lodges are located. Marcelo’s brother allowed us to camp for two nights on his property, but we didn’t sleep well, it being the weekend (people like to celebrate), and because the resident rooster wakes up at 3 am, causing a ruckus until 6 am.
Our guide, Marcelo, was professional, friendly, knowledgeable, and caring, and he spoke English well. Unfortunately, it was cold for the time of the year, cloudy in the morning, and because of the recent heavy rains, the water level was higher than usual and the foliage lusher as well, making wildlife watching challenging.
The main reason tourists take river tours is to see the elusive jaguar. In Porto Joffre, further north and another 1,200-mile detour, chances to see these big cats are higher, but we didn’t have the time nor the budget for that trip. We hoped for the best, but we didn’t get lucky. No jaguars. The last time Marcelo had seen one was three weeks prior.
Our time on the water, nine hours in total, was peaceful.
We spotted a lot of birds, howler monkeys, caiman, and a family of Giant Otters, which was the highlight.
A boat tour is the reason to come here, but it was super pricey for not seeing jaguars. We used a full tank of gas to reach this area and that $190 could have been used towards a lot of other things, but we still enjoyed our time on the water – and we could take Maya!
Aquidauana
The following morning, we had an early start driving the bumpy dirt road into the marshlands to hopefully see more wildlife. The road was horrible and the spot where we planned to have breakfast was still flooded, so after an hour and a half, we gave up. Of course, we then had to backtrack this distance to the village and continue to the main road.
It was a long day in the car, but we looked forward to an attractive-sounding camping spot by a pond in Aquidauana. The stagnant water attracted thousands of gnats, who found their way through our mosquito screens inside our hot abode. While cooking dinner, we saw swarms against the white walls and ceiling. It was a mess!
We had to catch up on work and other projects, so we decided to spend an extra day in Aquidauana, turning our fan on high to somewhat block out the traffic noise. We saw some capybaras swimming in the lake and enjoyed the sounds and views of scarlet macaws flying by.
Anteater Road
Unofficially called Anteater Road in our trusty free app iOverlander, this area of the Pantanal had been pinned on our map for a couple of years, ever since our friends Jon and Heather spotted many anteaters – with babies – from very close by. We were counting on three full days, driving in the early mornings and late afternoons to optimize our wildlife spotting chances. During the long lunch break, we would eat, work, and research.
We hit the dirt road from 8 am to 11 am and from 2 pm to 5 pm, when the sun set, hoping our intended camping spot would work out. The first couple of days we spotted toucans, scarlet macaws, foxes, capybara, caiman, and other birds, but not anteaters.
Then, on the last afternoon, along the northern part of the stretch, I saw a weird-looking rock through the binoculars while Mark was driving. “Stop!” I yelled. This was easy to do as we only moved at about 15 mph. Upon a closer look, we had spotted our first anteater. It was pretty far away in a farmer’s field within view of their house, so we didn’t feel comfortable jumping the fence.
Six more times, we could see anteaters in the paddocks. Once, one was pretty close, but when Mark and I got out of the car upwind from the animal, he must have gotten a whiff of Maya and took off.
We learned from that experience, and when we hit the jackpot – a juvenile anteater browsing near the fence – we left the car running, the windows closed, and turned the AC on. For the next ten minutes, we could observe this interesting-looking creature up close. It was so cool!
Campo Grande
Mark would be leaving the country within the next ten days. We still had almost 1,300 miles to cover to reach São Paulo and the coastal region, and we needed to find a decent campground for Maya and me. Our last stop in the Southern Pantanal was Campo Grande, which baffled us with its urban setting and high-rise skyline. We were not used to that anymore! As we would soon learn, Brazil has some real cities. We would pass many more like this on our drive east.
The idea was to camp a couple of nights in Campo Grande and visit its raved-about urban park, which houses the biggest freshwater aquarium in the world, which is free. Soon, however, we discovered dogs are not allowed in the park due to the wildlife, namely the massive herd of capybaras. Disappointed, we vowed to visit the aquarium first thing in the morning and leave.
After a noisy night (yes, we were camped in a city again), Mark and I had a nice hour in the well-presented and maintained aquarium. The staff was super friendly, signs were in Portuguese, and the displays were colorful and attractive.
The Drive East
What followed were four days of non-eventful driving other than the issues we encountered at the toll booths, which I wrote about earlier. And we passed so many “real” cities, which meant traffic jams again. It had been two years since we experienced that!
We managed to find relatively decent free camping spots along the way and visited the Dutch-inspired town Holambra for an afternoon.
Once we entered the mountains near São Paulo, it started to rain. Without ocean views on the ride, we only witnessed the grey ocean when settled for the night. Our task at hand: investigate a few potential campgrounds in Bertioga – and north – for Maya and me to be comfortable during Mark’s absence.
Next up: Monthly expense report of July 2025
Curious about a previous ten-year chapter in our nomadic lives, which includes eight years aboard a 35-foot sailboat in the tropics with dogs, check out my compelling, inspiring, and refreshingly honest travel memoir:
Discover more from Roaming About
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
July 25, 2025 at 19:57
Amazing experiences, Liesbet. The wildlife you saw is incredible. I have never seen anteaters except in a zoo. (That doesn’t count.) What an exciting moment that must have been! The camping spot you found in Bonito looks amazing.
July 27, 2025 at 11:08
Hi Pete,
Nice that you’ve seen an anteater at all. Until this experience – and these photos – I had never seen an anteater, not even in a zoo.
When trying to remember how they looked like from photos in the far past, I thought about the pointy nose. But before I saw the juvenile one up-close for the first time, I had no idea this is how they actually looked like. When we spotted them from far away, we could not distinguish the tail and the legs, so finally seeing the animal and understanding its appearance was super interesting.
July 25, 2025 at 21:24
So much amazing wildlife. I do love monkeys.
July 27, 2025 at 11:09
Monkeys are super fascinating to me as well, Jacqui.
July 25, 2025 at 22:57
You really hit the jackpot with wildlife on this leg of your trip. I particularly enjoyed the video of the anteater – they are such freakish looking creatures! The long skinny nose and the giant fringed tail really seem mismatched. Two completely different critters in one! 🙂
July 27, 2025 at 11:13
Hi Diane,
When we met South African travelers and listened to their disappointment about the lack of wildlife on this continent compared to theirs, it did dawn on us that, indeed, we hadn’t seen that much wildlife in the last three years – apart from the penguins and vicuñas.
Now that we’ve reached Brazil, our hopes and enjoyment to observe wildlife have been restored. 🙂 Now, we have to make it to the Amazon jungle somehow.
July 26, 2025 at 09:44
As I read this, I thought again that everything in life has pluses and minuses. Your budget keeps you from doing some things, but you have the health to do so much more. Although not as young as you, we still managed to do some very extensive driving in the U.S. at a time when we too were on a tight budget. Now, decades later, we are so grateful for those trips; the places we saw and the things we did just aren’t possible for anyone to do and see anymore because everything changes.
July 27, 2025 at 11:23
Hi Ray and/or Alie
That’s such a good observation. Everything changes all the time! The only constant in life is change. I believe that’s an expression I read somewhere. So, yes, we are all very fortunate to have traveled in the places we have. Even when I think about our sailing years in the Caribbean, I’m sure so much has changed there over the last decade. Same in the US – just think about what might happen to the national parks…
For some reason, it does feel that things get worse over time. Places become more crowded, expensive, and commercialized. Yet, we all still enjoy traveling and exploring, because our curiosity never ceases.
July 26, 2025 at 10:01
I can tell you’re liking this leg of the journey–abundant wild-life and gorgeous scenery. I especially enjoyed your frolicking with Maya in the water. Lucky also to see your new South African friends!
July 27, 2025 at 11:26
Hi Marian,
Since I’ve been alone with Maya during Mark’s absence, I’ve really enjoyed seeing her happy – prancing around and wagging her tail. She’s had a tough live before she joined our family and she still has a lot of issues, so seeing her joy and happiness at times like that one on the beach, makes my day.
Wildlife encounters are and have always been a highlight on my travels. So, yes, you are right, being in nature with animals was my happy place.
July 26, 2025 at 13:20
The wildlife is amazing – the anteater is so weird, it doesn’t look real. You almost feel its skinny snout might snap off!
July 27, 2025 at 11:27
Hi Anabel,
The anteater must be one of the weirdest-looking animals out there. I had no idea how they looked like until I actually saw one up-close. That’s when we could finally figure out that his tail looks super bizarre and out of proportion. If only I could touch one!
July 26, 2025 at 16:08
Amazing wildlife. I continue to learn a great deal from your travels! <3
July 27, 2025 at 11:28
I’m glad about that, Donna! Our curiosity leads us to the strangest places with the strangest creatures, teaching us about life on earth as well.
July 26, 2025 at 16:45
At least you finally saw anteaters although you got to see a lot of other wildlife in the process as well.
July 27, 2025 at 11:30
Hi Alex,
Finally seeing the anteaters made my day, as we really set out with that in mind. And, after not seeing the jaguars, we weren’t quite ready for another disappointment after driving hundreds of extra miles again. The Pantanal is a fascinating area!
July 27, 2025 at 05:45
I loved reading this post, thank you so much for including the link to my blog post about Bonito. How wonderful that you managed to spot the anteaters, they are so interesting.
I am glad you managed to stay in the campsite in Bonito and enjoy some swimming in the clear water. Even Maya was able to enjoy that, really wonderful. I am looking forward to following along on your travels in Brazil. I really hope you, Mark and Maya will have a great time exploring my home country.
July 27, 2025 at 11:36
Hi Gilda!
We wish we could have done one of those snorkel trips in Bonito. I read your blog over and over to pick which river I wanted to go down on, but in the end, as you read, none of it panned out. Mostly because it happened to be a holiday long weekend and the prices went overboard.
My disappointment only existed, because after I read your blog years ago, I really wanted to go and had looked forward to it. But, we are flexible. Staying in campgrounds like the one with the river and the falls was super nice as well and gave us better value for our money in a way. And I do regret not staying in that second, similar campground we had in mind, but choices have to be made.
We will finally start exploring the Brazilian coast, now that Mark is back from the US. We will try our best and avoid the weekends, though, as they are extremely busy! But first, he has to rest up and we have to fix a few issues he brought parts for. Thanks for following along!
August 1, 2025 at 00:11
Been out of touch in Vienna, but I finally was able to read this post. The campground you stayed in looked like a great place to stay. Loved the photos, especailly the one of Maya all wet from a swim. Oh and the monkey with the banana peal video. That boat tour looked fun, but sorry you didn’t see any jaguars. Aren’t anteaters fascinating? Holambra looks interesting. Thanks for sharing. Jim
August 2, 2025 at 11:08
Hi Jim!
Sounds like Vienna is treating you and Carmen well! The happiest moments of my days are when I see my dog prance around, tail up high and wagging. I think you totally appreciate that feeling… 🙂
Anteaters are the weirdest creatures I ever laid my eyes on. They are super fascinating and I hope we get to observe an adult one here in Brazil at some point. Keep enjoying your extended, celebratory vacation!
August 2, 2025 at 07:08
I’m glad you got to see an anteater up close, Liesbet. Such a curious-looking creature, but I expect it thinks the same of us. And all that other wildlife – it’s like being in a big zoo, apart from those big cities!
I hope you all found a great spot for Maya and you to stay while Mark was away.
August 2, 2025 at 11:12
Hi Hugh,
You might be right about other animals raising their eyebrows when watching us, two-legged creatures! We must be the weirdest ones in the animal kingdom, as our worlds and behaviors don’t make much sense compared to the pure intentions and primal behaviors of animals.
I guess the size of the Brazilian cities came as a surprise to us. Even here, along the coast, every town has skyscrapers. After almost three years of small towns in South America, Brazil feels different and busy.
We found an adequate campground for Maya and me while Mark was away. He is back now and we have – happily – hit the road again, ready for some coastal adventures.
August 3, 2025 at 18:28
You got some great wildlife pictures. And great IDs. I am so jealous.
Sorry you didn’t get to see a jaguar. But the anteater was priceless!
August 12, 2025 at 21:35
Yeah, we did get lucky with the close ups of the anteater. And, so many birds here. I really think you have to add Brazil to your list. I can’t wait to start using my new camera, but I’m swamped with work right now, so that has the focus. Again.
August 4, 2025 at 00:53
Such an incredible journey, full of genuine moments, tough decisions, and breathtaking wildlife! Loved the anteater sighting and your honesty about costs and choices. Inspiring, as always!
August 12, 2025 at 21:37
Thanks for the supportive comment. I make a point of reporting on the good, the bad, and the ugly and aim to represent all sides of this fascinating yet challenging lifestyle. 🙂
August 13, 2025 at 00:55
And that’s exactly what makes your writing so compelling, Liesbet, it’s real, balanced, and relatable. It’s a gift to see both the magic and the challenges through your eyes.
August 16, 2025 at 20:21
Thanks for the fabulous compliment! It sounds like you might have read my book, Plunge – One Woman’s Pursuit of a Life Less Ordinary, as well. 🙂
August 18, 2025 at 00:50
Not yet, but it’s definitely on my list now! 🙂 If your book is anything like your blog, I know it’ll be an honest, adventurous, and eye-opening read.