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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.
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| Red or green indicates whether or not you want more meat. |
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| Delicious beef and yes, beans and rice from an extensive buffet. |
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| Here, the server has sausages on the skewers. |
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| 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!!!