A quiet afternoon

 After lunch, a swim in the pool and a short nap (we did get up at 4:45 after all!), we got back into our skiff.  We intentionally explored some of the quieter backwaters rather than the heavily traveled streams of the Cuiaba River this afternoon.  No jaguar sightings (by any boat all afternoon), but we saw howlers, agouti, capybara, giant otters, fishing bats, caiman and some new birds.   We also saw some fun behaviors: it seemed as though the capybara decided to "take a family trip to the beach" on this hot afternoon; there they were lined up just off a sandbar in the river, up to their knees in the water and allowing the ripples from passing boats to wash up higher on them. Near sunset we watched giant river otters dive back into the water from the shore.

As the sun begins to set, it is almost inconceivable how many insects appear in huge swarms near the surface of the water. This creates a feeding frenzy for all kinds of flycatchers -- and then as it gets darker, out come the fishing bats and the nighthawks.  Several of our photographers played around with photographing the fishing bats (the bats are red!!), which then meant we had to hurry home, with the skiff at high speed in the moonlight. 

The food has been very good throughout the trip, mostly quite traditional and farm-to-table.  At lunch today, Kevin had cashew fruit (not the nuts, the fruit itself, preserved in sugar from last season).  It was delicious, very like a caramel pear.  We have also eaten a lot of manioc in various forms with local vegetables, fruits and meats.  Here at Porto Jofre, there is also fresh fish from the river at every meal, while when we were in the northern Pantanal, we ate beef from the herds of the farm of the lodge. 

Pictured: Agouti, Blue-throated Piping-guan, Yellow-rumped Cacique, Vermillion Flycatcher