Pantanal & Bonito BELO BRASIL Trip

I know it has been awhile since my last post and as the year goes on there will be more time between posts because there is a lot going on. But I got back from my first Rotary trip to Pantanal and Bonito a little over a week ago, and it was an amazing trip.

We started out the trip in Pantanal and we were spilt into 3 groups, and my group was Tuiuiu(which is the symbol of Pantanal). We arrived in Pantanal around 2 and we went to our rooms and then went to get a snack. Then we went in our groups and my group went on a “safari” ride. On the safari we saw a lot of amazing animals and there was this one point where we walked for a little bit and we saw a crocodile which we thought was dead until it moved and hissed at us, but we still got some great photos. The next day we went piranha fishing and I caught one and I got to hold it! Sorry Mrs. Codgen who told me that piranhas are dangerous and we should never get too close to one. After that we went to lunch and then went to go horse back riding. When we got there we were spilt into 2 groups, the Italians went first and my group stayed back. While the Italians were horse back riding, we got to talk with the farm workers, drink chimarrão, walked around the farm, and play with puppies. It was then our time to go horseback riding! It was sooooooo beautiful, and we even got to see the sun set! We saw a whole bunch of different animals such as: crocodiles, blue macaws, armadillos, and so many other animals. Later that night, the last day in Pantanal, we were supposed to go camping but after the camp fire most of us went back to the air conditioned rooms because it was so hot and there were a lot of mosquitos.

The next day we got up super early to head to Bonito, and we got there around lunchtime so we went to this restaurant (where we went for most meals) for lunch where we got to meet some people from the first group. After lunch we went to the hotel to check-in and to change and headed to the rafting place. Rafting was so much fun, we went in the same groups as Pantanal. During the rafting you could dump water on people in the other rafts and also on people in your group (sorry Milena), and half way through we got to go swimming for a little bit. The rafting trip in whole took about 90 minutes, so afterwards we stayed for little bit, had a snack and then headed back to the hotel to shower and change and then went to dinner. After dinner we were allowed to walk around the city for a little bit and my friends and I went to get açaí (which I love now by the way) and we went to a little convince store to buy some things. The next day we went to a place where they had a tree top adventure course, a bow and arrow activity, and tubing. We spilt into 2 groups and my group did the tree top adventure course, and wow it was amazing. The courses started out easy but got harder as you went on, but at the end they had two zip lines and one went into the water. We then headed to the bow and arrow activity were again we were spilt into 2 smaller groups and my group went first. The bow and arrow activity was a lot of fun, and I have done it before so it wasn’t that difficult for me and I even got 3 bullseyes out of 10! After that we went tubing which was amazing as well. We got to go down 6 waterfalls, I think, and we got to tip people over between waterfalls which was a lot of fun as well. We then went to lunch, and afterwards most of the people went back to the hotel while a few others and I went to go scuba diving. Even though, it wasn’t in the ocean it was still an amazing experience and one not many people get the chance to do, so obviously I had to do it. I was in the first group to go scuba diving and while the instructor was getting Martin ready (the last one in our group) my friend, Astrid, and I saw a python in the water, which I think was about 6 meters (19.7 feet). It was really cool to see one in the wild and not in captivity. After the scuba diving, Martin, Astrid, and I went paddle boarding, kayaking, and zip-lining into the little lake they had there. Later that night we had a party with the first group because it was their last day there. I got to meet a lot of cool people and some of them were from my friends districts which was really cool! The next day we went snorkeling in the clearest waters in the area, and oh my God it was a sight to see. I would say that it was better than any of the snorkeling I have done in Florida. We then went to an underprivileged daycare/nursery, this was my second time going to one of these and both times I have gone, I have loved it. At this age they don’t care what they have or if they’re rich or poor, they just want to have fun and that’s what we were able to do with them for a little bit. The next day we went to the waterfalls, and my God it was so beautiful. It was a lot of work to go from waterfall to waterfall because we had to walk up a lot of stairs, but at each waterfall we were able to swim for a little bit. At the last waterfall we were able to jump off a dock that was about 5 meters(16.5 feet) high. The last day we were there we went to the Blue Lagoon Cave, where as you can tell by the name, the water at the bottom is blue. It was an awesome experience because I have never seen something like that before. We then went to the Anaconda and Pantanal Snakes Protection Project where we saw a variety of snakes and we also got to hold one! That night we had another party with the 3rd (and final) group. During the party we celebrated mine and two others birthdays. It was an awesome last day.

The trip was the best part of my exchange so far and one that I will never forget. It went by so quickly that it felt like a dream. What I did and saw on this trip, most people only dream of. This was a once in a life time experience and I am so happy that I went on this trip. Thank you to everyone who made this trip amazing. I miss you guys so much!

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Thank you for reading,

Emily <3