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I just finished the most amazing trip into the Pantanal in Brazil. I love photography and nature, and a friend of mine recommended Panthera Photo Safaris. Now, I am not usually a fan of being in a tour group, but when I found out there are usually only 6, I decided I would give it a try. Also, the fact that everyone shares the same interest, I figured that would be a plus.
We met up with Lance, the owner, in Cuiaba, Brazil. We were given a nice ball cap with a jaguar printed on it, as well as a buff with a jaguar. Are you seeing a theme? Both items would come in handy over the next 10 days.
On our first day, Tito, who would be our tour guide for the entire trip, picked us up at the hotel in Cuiaba in a very comfortable van. We stopped at a small store on our way to our midway point between Cuiaba and Pantanal, to stock up on snacks. I would find I really didn’t need them, as we were well fed the entire time. But, it was nice to have a few items on hand.
We arrived around noon to our first accommodations, and enjoyed a buffet style lunch. Later, we went out on a game drive and saw a lot of birds and other wildlife. I’ve been using my camera for several years, but have just not felt like I’d been getting the photographs I’m capable of. Right away, Lance was giving us such useful and easily understood instructions on camera settings, lighting, focusing, etc. In our group, we had four different brands of cameras, but he was still able to help each one of us. There were abilities my camera had that I didn’t even know!
Later that first day, we went out on a truck looking for nocturnal animals. Remember the buff? Well, it can be quite dusty in the area, so it came in useful then, and later for protection from the sun, as well as to keep our faces warm on the boat. Multi use gift!
We continued on the next day to Santa Rosa Hotel in the Pantanal. Again, we ate, then went out on the boat looking for jaguars, and we had a sighting that first trip out! I had already lost track of the number of bird species we had already seen, which would end up being around 140, but this would be our first of 17 different jaguars we would see over the next 8 days…37 sightings total!
We spent about 11 hours on the boat each day. Now, I’m not used to sitting that long, much less staying in one place for an entire day, but the time flies by! The tour guides work together to make it more likely that everyone will see jaguars. They radio sightings, and this allows the most opportunities for people to see different jaguars and other wildlife.
Tito was totally amazing! Many times, after him pointing out an animal or bird, we would remark to each other, ‘How did he see that?!’ This happened time and time again. I’m sure all of the guides do a good job, but Tito is above and beyond what is ‘usual’. And he doesn’t just find animals, but knows so much about them, the habitat, the trees, etc. I don’t think I ever heard him say, ‘I don’t know’ to any of our questions, and we asked A LOT!
The hotel serves 3 meals a day, and they were always on time and abundant. It was fun trying the many different Brazilian dishes, but there were also many items available for less adventurous palates. Rather than come in for lunch, which we all deemed a possible missed opportunity to see and photograph something new, Tito packed us lunches every day.
So what did we see other than the amazing jaguars? Tapirs, Caymans, ocelots, giant river otters, Capybaras, anaconda, and so many species of birds, I lost count. But a few unusual and favorites, include the Potoo, owls, Rhea, Jabirus, and spoonbills.
All of this was amazing, but back to Lance. My photographs are now so much better than when I came. I have photos worthy of printing and displaying. He was so patient with all of us, and always upbeat and ready to go. I will definitely take another tour with him and Panthera Photo Safaris. I have amazing Jaguar photos, as well as so many other birds and mammals I never knew existed. Perhaps I’ll go to India with him next to see tigers! Africa for lions! Oh, the possibilities!
