Probably the only horrible thing about Brazil, as an American, is paying the $200 to get a visa. Other than that everything is amazing, the wildlife, the woman, and the FOOD (two words-Beef Country). This October my dad and I spent three weeks driving, boating, and hiking around the jungles of Brazil looking for wildlife. We spent the majority of our trip along the Transpantanal Highway, a 70 mile dirt road that barely scratches the immense Pantanal. At twenty times the size of the Florida Everglades, the Pantanal is one of the largest wetlands, if not the biggest, in the world. It’s also home to a jaw-dropping amount of wildlife. It may not have the renown of the Falklands Islands or the Galapagos, but the Pantanal contains some serious flora/fauna and will surely be discovered by the end of the 2016 Olympics.

I enjoy all forms of wildlife, but if you’re a birder this is the place for you. Hyacinth macaws played above our lodge, countless species of heron, kingfishers, hawks, and Jabiru storks, there were so many species of bird I had to have our guide go through picture by picture with me so that I could write the names down.

Just two minutes walking time from our first lodge, the Jaguar Ecolodge, was probably my favorite spot to photograph of the entire trip. There was this amazing waterhole that held so much life. I got up every morning with the sun just so I could be alone and photograph the watering hole in the early morning glow. Anyone who has listened to Deke describe me knows that getting up hella early is not my thing, so you know this place was amazing. I photographed these two black vultures eating a dead caiman one morning, a family of capibaras next morning, and then the next day kingfishers.

Even if you’re not a birder the Pantanal has more to offer; there are several species of deer, crab-eating foxes, tapirs, and even giant river otters.

Now I’ve seen river otters here in Washington and I’m not lying when I say there cute. But lets just say that I would not want to meet one of the giant river otters in a dark alley, they just look vicious, even if there not missing a large sharp tooth.

After the Jaguar Ecolodge we spent another week at a different lodge in the Pantanal, and then it was off to the Amazon. Now in the amazon wildlife is not as abundant as the Pantanal, but there is one thing truly remarkable about it. What animals you do find are beautiful and very unusual. Whether it be transparent butterflies, which I didn’t know existed, or a huge caterpillar that would actually try an attack your finger if you get to close.

The bizarre creatures of the Amazon are truly astounding.

This “Great Potoo” (a nocturnal bird)  is a great example of bizarre wildlife. Here’s a closer look if you have a hard time seeing this bird in the photo.

Not only is the wildlife amazing, but plants in the Amazon are just as fascinating. I haven’t told many people, but I actually went around for over an hour just photographing and hugging tree bark.

The jungles of Brazil are truly remarkable….

At the end of most magazines there is usually a parting shot, but since this is my first real blog post I liked to leave two.

This image of an adult Jabiru stork returning to its nest is one of the images where I really planned and watched out for the shot. I had scoped out the nest for three nights and had watched the parents returning to nest, after feeding, each night at dusk. On our last night at the site I set up my gear well before the sun even went down and proceeded to wait…. and wait, which meant my dad had to wait too (thanks by the way).

All in all a great trip, but the one thing I will never forget is sitting down to read a book during the middle of the day and sweating, I don’t think I’ve ever worked so hard at reading.

Chris