Argentina and Brazil October 2025

Brazil October 2025

Morris had been talking about going to the Amazon rainforest and the Pantanal in Brazil for years. The Pantanal is the world’s largest tropical wetland. It is famous for its abundant wildlife which includes jaguars, giant anteaters, capybaras and caimans- all of which we saw. It also includes numerous species of birds. Now the reason for the 14 hour flight is clearer!

Lucky us, when Ken and Deena heard about our travel plans they invited themselves along. Perfect company!

We decided to begin our travels in Argentina to see the Iguazú Falls and then cross over to Brazil to see the Iguazú Falls from the other side. They were fabulous! We liked the Argentinian side for the beautiful paths along the falls and the Brazilian side, for its proximity to the falls. We were so close in some places that we got sprayed and would have been completely drenched without a raincoat.

Besides the sheer majesty and spectacular views of the falls, we saw first hand what the decimation of the rainforest has caused. The water of the falls used to be clear but now it is a murky reddish brown caused by erosion. The reddish earth falls into the rivers and turns the water brown! Very sad and disheartening!

After spending the day at Iguazú, we took a flight to São Paulo where we met up with the rest of our tour group run by a company from the UK called Naturetrek. There we met up with our incredible guide- Lailson- and the rest of our group all living in the UK. Luckily, we all got along extremely well and enjoyed our time together. 

The first lodge we stayed at- SouthWild Amazon Lodge is owned by a conglomerate of French businesses. We learned that they are very serious about ecology and reforestation. There is a nursery on the property that propagates tree seedlings which are planted in the rainforest where there has been clearcutting. They employ biologists to monitor the plant and animal life. It gives one hope for the future!

During our time at the SouthWest Lodge we enjoyed lots of good sightings including a juvenile harpy eagle- 19 months old and left by itself by its parents- so sink or swim, fall or fly! In order to get a proper view we had to climb up a 14 metre high tower where we were in the canopy of the forest- talk about a bird’s eye view!

Our driver, Georgefound a brazil nut and proceeded to hack away at its very hard shell similar to a coconut, with a machete type of knife. Inside the nutshell are 18-24 seeds or Brazil nuts. We got to sample a nut-couldn't be any fresher!

During one of our walks we saw a cashew tree. The fruit looks almost like pear with a single cashew sitting in a shell at the bottom of the fruit. The shell needs to dry out for a while before the single nut is harvested. No wonder cashews are so expensive!

We discovered that in spite of wearing long sleeves, long pants, socks and shoes, as well as insect repellant we were bitten by these fierce sandflies which are so tiny you can barely see them. However they bite and left us bleeding and very itchy. 

We had time off during the hottest part of the days-(28C by 9:00 and hotter as the day progressed- up to 40C) and then resumed with a river safari down the Juruang River, a tributary of the Amazon. From the boat we saw lots of different birds and animals including squirrel monkeys and marmosets- so much fun to watch as they performed their acrobatics moving across the treetops. Honestly, it felt as if we were in a BBC documentary cruising down the river and hearing the animal and insects calling out. 

On our last day at the lodge we got up even earlier than usual so as to be ready for a 5:10 departure for an excursion by boat  to an island where we would see the elusive umbrella birds and their beautiful display of feathers and then have a picnic breakfast.

Instead of beautiful sunshine, it was a dark and gloomy day. The sky got darker and darker and the wind picked up speed. We all started to put on our raincoats while still on the lookout for the umbrella birds. Then it started spitting- not an umbrella bird in sight-they were smarter than we were! Finally we saw a pair of umbrella birds flying by but not a one was interested in putting on a display for us! 

We gobbled down some breakfast and then the heavens opened! Luckily we made it back to shore where a minibus was waiting to take us back to the lodge. After lunch, we piled into the bus for the next part of our Amazon adventure. We were not sad to leave the sandflies behind!

After a gruelling drive over bumpy roads we stopped at a hotel overnight before resuming a drive, a flight and another drive to arrive at our next destination in the Pantanal-Pouso Alegre Lodge, a very rustic basic lodge on a working ranch. Ken and Deena had a huge spider to welcome them while Morris and I had a tree frog sitting in the toilet bowl.

I lifted the lid and much to my surprise and consternation, there was a frog sitting just above the water line. All of a sudden my desperate need for the toilet was put on hold until Lailson, our guide, came in to fish it out of the bowl and release it outdoors. He was killing himself laughing as the frog escaped from his hands and he had to chase it around the shower! It really was funny, especially when we were told that the tree frog was harmless.

The upside of staying at the Pouso Alegre is that it is very well located for many species of wildlife. Also, the owners of the lodge set out seeds and fruit for the various birds and animals. It was so entertaining to see the various birds, monkeys and coati (relative of the raccoon) come and retrieve the food laid out for them. The downside of staying in the Panatanal was that we traded sandflies for mosquitoes-big nasty and ever present mosquitoes!

On a walk after breakfast we spotted a Toco Toucan in its nest located in a hole in a tree. We only saw its head and neck but it was quite gorgeous. Morris managed to get a picture of the toucan in another spot.

We saw plenty of caimans(smaller relative of the alligator). Supposedly there are over 1.5 million caimans in the pantanal!! They hang around the rivers and ponds and at night all you can see are their red eyes glowing in the dark! Also what you can see glowing in the dark are fireflies- tons of them! There are even stars- millions of beautiful glittering stars!

After 2 nights we made our way to a flotel- floating stationary hotel- where we stayed for a few nights in an area known as Jaguarland! 

To get there we had to transfer from bus to boat. This meant going down from a steep bank to a river via a set of stairs made of tires piled on top of each other. Although they looked rickety, the tires were filled with cement so they were as sturdy as could be. Interesting use of discarded tires.

We went for our usual evening safari on the water and couldn’t believe how lucky we were. Besides a nice variety of birds we had the great fortune to have not one but 2 jaguar sightings. The first was a male about two years old and the second was a female who had recently given birth. 

At one point we saw the female’s head go down and quickly come up with a small caiman. We had the pleasure of watching her walk along the shoreline and then disappear from view. What excitement! There were about 10 other boats with people thrilled to see the jaguar. 

The other excitement was when a fish flew out of the water and hit Ken, who was quietly minding his own business and had a huge shock! If he hadn’t been sitting where he was, that fish would have landed in the boat and we would have had fish for supper!

By 6:30am we were in the boat ready for another day of adventure. We saw 2 different giant otters somewhat like the size of small seals.

Unfortunately we missed seeing a jaguar which was out in the morning. However, we saw lots of birds and a family of capybara on the riverbank so they were in full view. Two babies were actually suckling so that was a good sighting. We had another fish land in our boat- it just jumped out of the river and landed right in front of Morris. He scooped it up and threw it back.

It was so hot that we were all suffering. Eventually we got some ice meant to keep the water cold and put it on our necks, arms… I even threw some down my shirt- a very welcome relief in the intense heat- 40C plus humidity. 

On our last day at the flotel, We went out to see what we could see! Besides the usual birds, we managed to see 4 different jaguars before 11:00. All the jaguars are named by the people here who study their behaviour. 

After lunch we got back into the boat to head up the River on our quest to see a maned wolf which turns out not to be a wolf at all but related to a bush dog. 

It appears that after the terrible fires of 2021/22 a maned wolf turned up at a rancher’s property quite obviously starving. He decided to feed it and along with two other maned wolves (on an alternating schedule) they have been returning almost daily to get a chicken dinner. They are quite a sighting as there are very few in the world. 

Our last lodge stay was at SouthWild Pantanal Lodge. We were hoping to see an ocelot and sat for hours in a hide being bitten alive by mosquitoes but never seeing the ocelot! The following day we managed a short excursion by boat and then got rained out of our afternoon activity by torrential rains! It gave us all the opportunity to sit around, read and socialize. In the evening Morris and Steven, a fellow traveller learned how to make the Brazilian cocktail-Caipirnha- which the rest of us happily drank!

Our last day was spent on our own in Sao Paulo which is the largest city in Brazil. Unfortunately it rained most of the day and made it difficult to tour around. We did see some nice buildings and the market was like some of the amazing markets we have seen in Barcelona. There is also a very interesting part of the city where there are lots of artsy venues and graffiti painted on the sides of buildings which was terrific!

All in all, it was a very nice trip. The people we travelled with were all lovely. We got to see millions of stars just about every night. We saw giant otters, capybaras, jaguars, an armadillo (rare siting), an anteater with a baby on her back, monkeys, caimans, plenty of birds… Morris managed to see 206 of which 176 were new species to him! 

 November 13-23, 2023

We barely had time to return from Morocco, unpack, do the laundry, repack and fly off to Lisbon- a city Morris visited years ago and one I had never been to although it has been on that never ending bucket list for a few years. We had been told that Lisbon was a very nice place to visit and that there was plenty to see. We were also told that the city is very hilly. That is an understatement- our walking App showed, besides walking between 10000-16000 steps daily we were also climbing 7-16 flights daily. This is because you cannot avoid the many staircases leading from one street to another in the old part of Lisbon. If you aren't in decent shape Lisbon is a great place to go to get into shape! 

We stayed mostly in the area of Santa Maria Maior and got acquainted with some of the city.

Can you see how steep the road is!

There is even an elevator (above)- about 100 years old, which goes up about 6 stories and certainly saves climbing stairs. Besides which, there is a great view of the city from the top.

Pedestrian streets with plenty of nice shops and outdoor restaurants.

On Day 2, we took a streetcar, way more modern than ours, and went to Belém to see the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos built in the 15th C. It is a beautiful monastery with courtyards, beautiful arches and gargoyles. After that we strolled down to the water via a big park and looked at the impressive marine monument.

No way we were leaving without sampling the famous Portuguese custard tarts which are readily available to us in Toronto, and honestly, ours are just as good!

On the way back from Belém we walked past the famous Pink Street where there are lots of restaurants and shops. We also climbed lots of staircases and just when we thought we had reached the top, we discovered that just around the corner, there were way more steps to climb! Can you see how steep the staircases are?

It was nice to get back to our hotel- Palacio was Especiarias (Spice Palace) to rest before going out again.  The hotel was originally a palace belonging to a very wealthy family which had made its fortune dealing in spices between India, Portugal and Brazil. The same family still owns the property which was turned into a hotel many years ago. They tried to conserve as much as possible of the original building and only installed an elevator last year. It is one of the tiniest elevators I have ever seen and fits 3 people in a pinch!

Our room had a beautiful deep bathtub at one end which regrettably was not used by us- too busy doing the tourist thing. The ceilings were about 18-20 feet high and everything was very old fashioned but comfortable. There was a separate toilet, shower and sink in the bathroom and our room had a beautiful old sink at one end. The only complaint was that there was a tiny armoire which held almost nothing so we had to live out of our suitcases.

Breakfast was pretty spectacular. We had our choice of 3 rooms where we could have breakfast. There were also 3 rooms which held the breakfast foods- hot breakfast, cold- fruit, cheese, cereals, meats... and a dessert room. Imagine the temptation! And, of course, we had wonderful coffee and heated milk poured right at our table. As if that wasn't enough there was also a pianist playing in the music room and on alternate days a violinist played accompaniment. We felt very indulged!

There are so many nooks and crannies, hidden staircases- the grand ones originally for the proprietors and the smaller ones for the servants. We also discovered a room in the basement where musical performances are held and where we were invited to try some wonderful wine and cheese. The car was something we discovered wandering around!

We took a day trip to Sintra, a town about   away by train. It is one of the top attractions in Portugal and it is easy to see why. We visited the Pena Palace which was built in the 19th C in the Romanticism style of architecture. It had been the site of a monastery and acquired by King Ferdinand II in the 1800s. It has had  additions and now looks like a castle complete with battlements, watchtowers and even a drawbridge. It was painted in interesting colours- kind of a Disney version of a castle. 

We spent the rest of our time in Lisbon exploring the Castelo de Sao Jorge from the 10th C- no renovations in this place- but more interest in an archeological perspective. It does have great views of the city.

We took the famous #28 tram to explore parts of the city like the old cemetery where we wandered for a little while. We also took the subway which is so incredibly far below street level that there are a number of very long steep escalators to take to get to the subway. I would not like to have to climb stairs to get up or down!

We had lots of fish dinners in Lisbon-all pretty good. We were getting pretty skilled at deboning our fish but realized that the portions looked big but by the time the skin and bones are removed it isn't a big portion after all!

All in all, we really enjoyed our time in Portugal, the little we saw of it. The city is very charming, the streets were clean and the people were very friendly.   Their wine is very good as are their custard tarts!        

Our next stop was Barcelona, one of our very favourite cities for a variety of reasons, not the least being that our good friends Teresa and Jordi live there- lucky them! After having been to Barcelona numerous times I thought that we had seen all the sites but I was wrong! We revisited the Miro and Picasso museums to see the joint exhibitions of Miro and Picasso at each of the museums. They were so well curated and wonderful works of art were on display.

We also visited the Casa Vincens, a modernist building situated 250 metres from Jordi and Teresa's place. Over the years we had passed it many times but never visited. It was the first masterpiece of Antonio Gaudi and was built between 1883-1885 as a summer house for the Vincens family. The attention to detail is amazing and there is so much detail! The restoration was started in 2017 but I don't think it was open to the public until fairly recently. 

There isn't a square inch of undecorated wall or ceiling!

After visiting the Casa Vincens we walked to Sant Pau Recinte Modernista which is the world's largest Art Nouveau complex. This hospital complex was designed by Luis Domenech in the early 1900s and was in use as a functioning hospital until about fifteen years ago. This, in fact, was where Teresa had her first job as a nurse. The complex has many buildings, each dedicated to a branch of medicine- cardiology, radiology, physiotherapy etc. It is now set up as a museum and has displays of old instruments used in the hospital. There is a ward set up with beds- probably about 20 in one long room. The rooms have high ceilings and ae bright and airy with attention to beautiful detail. There are gardens between the buildings and even the basements were beautiful spaces.

I do not know how we had the energy after the Casa Vincens and the Sant Pau hospital and the hours of walking we did but we had a group of people to meet at the Sagrada Familia for a tour arranged by Jordi and Teresa as part of the festivities for out of towners who, like ourselves, had come to celebrate Jordi because of his retirement. There were colleagues who came from Italy, Switzerland, Germany, France, USA, different parts of Spain, Brazil and the two of us from Canada. I likely left some countries out!

You can see it in the distance!

Outside views of the Sagrada Familia designed by Catalan architect Antonio Gaudi in the late 1800s. At the time of his death in 1926 less than a quarter of the project was complete.

Interior views of the Sagrada Familia- The stained glass windows on the east side are all shades of green and blue- cool colours for the hot side of the building. Of course, the west side is in shades of oranges and reds to warm the interior when the sun is disappearing. What an incredible building- absolutely one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. 

The next few days spent in Barcelona included a symposium in Jordi's honour, small and large group dinners and enjoying, particularly for Morris, meeting up with former colleagues involved in liver disease.

A few buildings of interest. Barcelona is such a beautiful city. There is so much to see and do! By the way, we know a great tour guide!

Stay tuned for the next trip! Your guess is as good as mine!