The 2023 Brazil Journals, Chapter Thirty-Six

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Chapter Thirty-Six

Getting around Customer No-Service

 

 

An employee’s obligation is to follow the rules;

A manager’s job is to consider the situation.

—A Gullible Original

 

 

 

I kept my foot on the gas for a long, long time on a chilly day in Anchorage, hoping the truck’s battery was charging.

 

Carefully, I put the truck in gear and headed a mile down the road to Costco.   I parked and turned off the ignition, fingers crossed.

 

Nope.   Not gonna start.   Instead of the main store, I went to the tire shop where Costco stocks batteries.

Chestnut-eared aracari

I was tired.  I wanted to get my grocery shopping over with and head south a hundred miles to home.   I wanted to take some cold medicine and sleep all night.

 

That would be delayed.

 

I waited for the next employee to be free and explained my situation:   I need a new battery;  I have no tools; I cannot lift the battery high enough to clear the truck fenders without a ladder.

 

She kindly explained that they would be happy to sell me a new battery once I brought in the old one as a core.   And, she said, that would make sure they got the right new battery.

 

Once again:   I have no tools and I can’t lift the battery high enough to clear the fenders.

 

We can’t loan you tools, she added.   We went over the above several times.   She was following Costco policy and I understood that and why it was.

One of six giant anteaters we saw.

 

I’ll make this short.   I asked to see the manager.   She went into the shop and returned with a handful of tools.  

 

I tried all of them and none worked, so I headed back past the shop to the sales office.

Black-capped Donocobious

Giant river otters.

 

On a hunch, I walked into the shop and asked for the manager.  I explained my problem.

 

“No problem,” he said.   And gathering some tools, we went to the truck.  “I can’t do this for you,” he explained, “but I can instruct you.”

 

He gave me the proper tool to loosen the hold downs and undo the cables and he  lifted  the battery from the compartment.  

 

We went back to the sales office where I purchased a new battery.   I waved at the manager and together we installed the battery.

 

Then I could relax, do my shopping, and make the long drive home.

A capybara family cooling off in the mud.

 

I really, really could have done without all that, being in the chilly weather and all.   But, I was saved by a kind young man who understood that while company rules are made to limit liability,  ensure the safety of employees, and are to be followed, sometimes the situation also needs to be taken into consideration.

Macaw

 

After that, the only drama came when I was unpacking the next day.   I could not find the folding comb/brush that my friend Marg gave me after another trip.   It is perfect.

 

Finally, finally, I found it tucked away on my luggage.

Now, it was time to download all the thousands of photos and to begin writing the Brazil Journals.

Yes, this is the final chapter of my journey to Brazil and the Pantanal of Brazil.   Wonderful trip, great companions, and an excellent guide. 

Thanks for following along.

The 2023 Brazil Journals, Chapter Thirty-three

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Chapter Thirty-three

Calm before the Chaos

 

No man needs a vacation more than 

the man who just had one. —Elbert Hubbard 

 

 

 

And the day has come.   It’s the end of the tour of the Brazilian Pantanal  but we have yet to survive the bedlam of international air travel.

 

Right now, it’s time to say goodbye to Lala, the blue and gold macaw that has adopted Araras Eco Lodge as her home.   I am late getting up, somehow missing the message that a special breakfast would be served in the outdoor pavilion, but I manage to scrounge enough to eat from the serving plates as staff is clearing tables and such.

 

I even find a piece of papaya for Lala and off I go to her favorite place in front of the lodge.

A couple videos:

Octavio has been busy watching his phone for updates on our flight from Cuiaba to Sao Paulo, hoping that it will be early enough that three of us won’t miss our flights home.   For now, it appears all is well and we load up into the van and begin the couple hour drive on the Transpantaneria highway.

 

Not far out of camp we stop to take photos of an amazing bird.

This is potoo, a bird whose coloring disguises it like a tree trunk or branch. 

 

 

A little farther along, we stop to see a huge number of caimans sunning themselves on the shore of a small amount of water.   How do so many find enough to eat?

 

 

At length, we reach the end (or beginning) of the Transpantanaria highway and stop for the obligatory class photo.

We have enough time in Cuiaba before our flight that Octavio and Larissa decide to treat up to lunch at a popular Brazilian restaurant.   In the US, there’s a chain called Carnivores that is fashioned after this type of restaurant.

 

Servers make the round of the table, slicing off servings of whatever meat they have on skewers.

 

And, finally, I find beef that’s cooked less than well or medium.  It isn’t quite rare, which is my preference, but it’s tasty and tender.

Red or green indicates whether or not you want more meat.

Delicious beef and yes, beans and rice from an extensive buffet.

Here, the server has sausages on the skewers.

Cinnamon pineapple.

Our guides escort us through the Cuiaba air terminal and make sure we’re on the right flight to Sao Paulo.   We settle in and relax.

 

And, we’re served snacks.   Yes, all three.

We land at the domestic terminal in Sao Paulo.

 

And the chaos commences!!!

The 2023 Brazil Journals, Chapter Thirty-Two

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Chapter Thirty-Two

The No-Go Area

 

 

Where words are restrained,

the eyes often talk a great deal.

—Samuel Underwood

 

 

 

The scant light from the kitchen windows and work area at the rear of Araras lodge provide just enough illumination as we follow Octavio to the wooden rail fence that separates the guest areas from the NO GO area.  

The light fades away as we reach the rail.  He turns on the broad-beam light that he uses to spotlight animals for night photography, aims it downward into the dark, and moves it slowly to the left.

This is a lousy cell phone photo taken at night obviously.   I haven't figured out how 

to turn off the phone's light to take a night picture.   Plus, the white reflections represent only a small portion of the eyes we saw.

 

The white reflections of dozens of caimans’ eyes are startling to behold!   How can so many occupy one pond.  I’m not sure if it is really a pond, or a backwater of the nearby river.   Whatever, there are far too many caimans there for my comfort.

 

I think about sleeping just yards away from them and am a little unsettled by the thought.   I’m glad I’m on the opposite side of the room wing.  Good reason to not go out of the room at night.

 

I sleep in the next morning, having missed the notice that we would gather in an outdoor pavilion for a special breakfast.   Nonetheless, I am able to gather up enough food from the trays as the staff clears the area.

 

Then, I grab my camera and head for the pond we visited last night, the one with all the critters.   I am in search of a specific bird—the sunbittern.

 

I walk up to the rail and am a bit disappointed about a fog lying over the water, although I do take a shot of a caiman that I like.

Black-collared hawk

 

We are leaving this morning as it’s our last day of the trip, so I am limited in time to find that bird.

Your friendly, smiling caiman

 

Before  the mist evaporates,  I am astounded at the number of white storks!

The stork tree

 

I take a few shots of them, as well as some other birds, and then I see a bird fly across the water toward me and land about ten yards away.  It’s my prey:   a non-descript and subdued-colored bird with a narrow head and long legs that’s foraging in the mud on the shore.   Which is surprising because caimans are one of its main predators.

 

I take some shots and wait for it to fly.

 

When it does, magic happens!  

 

 

The pattern on the wings and back is astonishing.  From nondescript to incredible with the opening of the wings.

 

That pattern has a practical use.   It will appear to any predator as a large and threatening  face, with large eyes much like some moths and butterflies have coloration on their spread wings to mimic large eyes and scare off predators.

 

 

At length, it’s time to load up the van and begin a two to three hour drive in the Transpantanaria Highway to the border of the Pantanal.   We have an aealy afternoon flight from Cuiaba to Sao Paulo where my my flight homeward is scheduled for late tonight.

 

I think about what a great trip this has been and I am reluctant to leave.

 

But, if I thought the adventures were over, I was highly mistaken!!!

 

 

 

 

Rufous hornero

Monk parakeets

Monk parakeets

Wattled jacana juvenile

Wattled jacana adult

Green ibis

Plumbeous heron