The canoe glides quietly up the river. On the muddy bank live caimans, reptiles from the alligator family. The two capybaras (the largest rodent in the world) on the opposite bank look at us suspiciously. Strange growls are heard from the branches of a huge tree. These are shagan monkeys who are setting up a riot of God. A beautiful tiger crane flies out of the thicket screeching and sits on a tree topped with a yellow flame. Butterflies fly over our heads in a sort of aerial orgy.

 

We are in the Pantanal, one of the least known and most surprising regions of Brazil. The Amazon Basin may garner more publicity and fame, but the Pantanal, with the largest concentration of animals in the New World, is the place for those who really want to see an indescribable abundance of animals. The writer John Grisham even based his book "The Will" on a search expedition in the Pantanal.

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