Bonito

Immediately after sitting down on the bus I realised I’d forgotten something…my dear records! Devastated, there was nothing we could do, the bus was due to leave any minute so we set off with the plan to organise getting them posted to Rio. Our bus took us first to Cascavel, where we patiently waited 5 hours for our very delayed bus to turn up circa 1am. From there, we took the overnight bus to Dourados but were very worried we would miss the connecting bus to Bonito. Our driver didn’t hold back though and got us there with just 15mins to spare so we made our connection. Another 5 hours later and we’d made it to Bonito!
Our first day was spent around our hostel pool sinking beers with a Dutch couple, before joining the hostel BBQ which was a bit disappointing and very chewy.

The next morning we set out to one of the many natural swimming pools set on Bonito’s beautiful rivers, Balneiro do Municipal. As soon as we arrived, we headed over to the crystal clear river that meandered through the park, the clarity was incredible, and it was crazy how many fish there were. We sat our towels down on the grass and took a walk along the jungle trail and immediately stumbled across some monkeys. It was great to see them so close in the wild, even if they were stealing human food. We spent the day jumping in and floating down the river, taking in the spectacular nature all around.
We headed home to change, then walked down for the training for tomorrow’s caving/abseiling tour, Abismo. After completing the training however we decided not to pursue the tour. On our way home, we stopped off at a Chinese restaurant for some stirfry which turned out to be rather tasty.

The next day we took a taxi to another natural swimming pool, Balneiro do Sol with our hostel roomies, Lilliana and Jason. This one had diving platforms and zip lines but I probably preferred the first one we went to as it wasn’t as busy. It was great fun though and we spent the day jumping off and swimming amongst the many fish and waterfalls, as well as watching another real-life monkey show. A Macaw parrot also came and sat casually on a bird feeder nearby whilst we played some ping pong. After the taxi ride home, we grabbed some ingredients from a nearby supermarket and rustled up a pretty badass pasta dish, before hitting the sack in preparation for tomorrow’s snorkelling trip.

After getting an early breakfast, the tour van picked us up and we set off into the wild. First stop was a large sinkhole known for its parrots and birdlife. We walked in a circle around the gigantic hole spotting all sorts of birds and parrots as well as a Caiman (alligator) that had been trapped in the bottom of the sinkhole after a heavy flood. The walk was cool and we met a couple of really friendly Brazilians who helped translate the guides info.
Following the tour, we drove further, passing Anteaters and wild terrain, until we reached base camp. Our group had an hour to kill, so we kicked back in some comfy hammocks and watched as the sun cut through the clouds and began heating the ground and air up. When it was time we changed into our wetsuits and snorkelling gear and embarked on a jeep which took us into a Nature Reserve and to the start of a trail. From here we walked along a path surrounded by dense tropical jungle, passing a very poisonous snake, lots of rare trees and gushing crystal clear streams. When we reached the start of the snorkelling, our mouths hit the floor in amazement. The water was the clearest and most beautiful we’d ever seen. Hundreds of fish and river plants filled the sparkling waters, and we got used to our snorkel gear. Just as we were about to leave, a Tapir appeared just a few metres away. Tapirs are sort of an aquatic horse, with almost elephant like skin. He’d clearly spotted us so before he got too close he dived under and started running along the bottom of the river away to somewhere more peaceful. It was up there with one of life’s best moments, straight from a David Attenborough documentary. With the tapir gone, we began our snorkel tour down the beautiful river. The water is so clear here due it being the start of a natural spring, and if you want to snorkel you have to avoid touching the bottom as that stirs up the river bed.
We spent 3 hours or so meandering down the river, checking out the vast number of fish, some of which were pretty big and mean looking. Some sections of the river were very fast flowing over sharp rocks, so we took turns launching ourselves down doing our best not to crash. We also saw some springs on the riverbed, bubbling like underwater volcanoes.
Bonito is actually the Portuguese word for beautiful and it’s easy to understand how they came to that conclusion after seeing this river. Eventually, we joined a bigger river, the Rio do Prata which is not as clear since it’s so much deeper. As monkeys jumped around in the trees above, we continued along until we reached a jetty, then jumped back in the jeep and drove back to base. All in all, an excellent day.

Back at the hostel, we had a quiet last night and got up early the following day to enjoy some sun before embarking on a 24hour journey to Buzios.