Brazil
Quest for Jaguar and Other Wildlife on the Pantanal
July 30 to August 16, 2011

This exciting tour to the Pantanal is designed to maximize field time for watching and photographing the diverse wildlife in this famous region on the east side of the Andes. Wildlife is concentrated here in the hot, dry season before the big rains later in the year. The rivers, marshes, lakes, and streams that nourish this area provide a diverse combination of ecosystems, accommodations, and activities that will increase our wildlife encounters. We'll have the chance to see such rare mammals as Jaguar, Giant Anteater, Maned Wolf, and Tapir. Hyacinth Macaws and many other birds will be a joy to encounter as well. This trip includes seven days on the Paraguay River in a comfortable, air-conditioned houseboat to look for Jaguar and other river wildlife. Experience the magnificent wildlife of the Pantanal!

Jaguar

At a Glance

Costs: $6,600 per person, double occupancy, not including airfare. Single supplement is $1,200. Review cost details.

Leaders: Gail and Doug Cheeseman with Carlos Grandez Perez.

Size: 8, not including our leaders.

Days: 17.

Conditions: A non-smoking safari for people who are very interested in all wildlife and spending the maximum time in the field.

Update: This itinerary was updated in July 2010. View the plain text version, great for printing!

Synopsis:

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Detailed Itinerary

This itinerary may vary from day to day depending on road conditions, weather, river conditions, and circumstances beyond our control.

July 30 - 31, Saturday - Sunday: Fly to Cuiabá for overnight on July 31
Fly to Cuiabá (CGB) in Brazil. We will arrange transfers to the hotel on arrival on July 31. Dinner on your own. Overnight at the Cerrados Park Hotel with shuttle service close to the airport on July 31. Review flight details.
Lodging: Cerrados Park Hotel

August 1, Monday: Travel to the Pantanal
After breakfast, Carlos Grandez will meet us at the Best Western Palace in Cuiabá. Travel by car 250 km to the Pantanal 3 Rios Lodge in Cáceres near the Paraguay River. Take an afternoon walk in search of howlers, two species of deer, toucans, hawks, macaws, snakes and other wildlife. After dinner, we will go on a night excursion by motorized boat to look for nocturnal creatures.
Lodging: Pantanal 3 Rios Lodge

Giant River Otter

August 2, Tuesday: Explore by boat up the Jauru River
Enjoy a full-day boat trip along the Paraguay River into the remote and wildlife-rich Jauru River to search for Giant River Otters, two species of caimans, Tapirs, Capybaras, birds, and Jaguar. Today Carlos and his staff will prepare a big traditional Brazilian barbecue lunch on the shores of the river. After lunch, relax in hammocks under the trees by the riverbank in traditional Brazilian siesta style. Later this afternoon, perhaps try fishing for piranha and definitely indulge in more wildlife spotting as we make our way back to the lodge. The sunsets are beautiful in the Pantanal and by the time we reach the lodge we will have done some night spotting again to find nocturnal animals on the river. We'll have a late light dinner at the lodge.
Lodging: Pantanal 3 Rios Lodge

Jaguar

August 3, Wednesday: Embark on our river cruise for seven days
After an early morning breakfast, we will embark in our comfortable, air-conditioned houseboat, the Barco Hotel Bonanca, and travel downstream along the Paraguay River to arrive at the Taiama Reserve late in the afternoon. Staying in a houseboat avoids the hassle of traveling to and from the river, giving us the maximum time in the field. It also allows us to be on the river earlier and later in the day allowing us to cover more of the river to give us the best opportunity to find Jaguar.
Lodging: Aboard our houseboat

August 4 - 9, Thursday - Tuesday: Cruise the Paraguay River for Jaguar and other wildlife
We will spend our time searching the mighty Paraguay River for Jaguar and other fabulous wildlife along exposed riverbanks. We'll have two aluminum boats that will provide greater flexibility for in-depth explorations and photography along the shores and in the river channels to look for birds and other animals, including anaconda, caimans, and monkeys. We will float through the Taiama Reserve, which has the highest concentration of Jaguar in the Brazilian Pantanal. On the third day, the houseboat will travel to the second part of Taiama Reserve. We will also explore areas outside of the reserve near Fazenda Conceição. Carlos knows how to track Jaguar, which will be our main quest this week, but we will encounter many other mammals, birds, and reptiles as well. With a full week here, we should have great looks at anaconda in addition to the hundreds of caiman that thrive in the Pantanal. Enjoy siestas in the hot part of the day, as we will concentrate our tracking time in the early morning and late evening, when spot-lighting is very productive, especially for Jaguar, owls, and other wildlife that are active at night. Jaguars are also apt to come to the river to drink in the middle of the day.
Lodging: Aboard our houseboat

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August 10, Wednesday: Disembark and travel inland to a fazenda
Begin early this morning traveling upstream along the Paraguay River and keeping a sharp eye out for wildlife. Enjoy a picnic lunch along the way. Later in the afternoon, we disembark from our houseboat and start our travel inland by vehicle. Drive 20 km through wilderness areas to arrive at a private fazenda (ranch) in time for dinner and overnight.
Lodging: Fazenda, private ranch

August 11, Thursday: Explore the remote Pantanal
We have a variety of options available to us at the ranch: walks to view wildlife, safari in open vehicles, canoeing, fishing, night safari, and horseback riding. This area is good for rare mammals, such as Giant Anteaters, Pumas, several species of armadillos, Maned Wolf, Tapirs, several species of monkeys, and also for Scarlet Macaws and bush birds. Elusive wildlife is very challenging to photograph, so we will spend a lot of field time to be sure to get some great photographic results.
Lodging: Fazenda, private ranch

Capybara

August 12, Friday: Venture further off the beaten track in the Pantanal
Today we head deeper into the Pantanal where few others travel. In fact, the only people we are likely to encounter are pantanerios working on isolated ranches. This is a particularly good area for Tapirs, Maned Wolf, Giant Anteaters, Howler Monkeys, Capybaras, lizards, anacondas, toucans, and other wildlife. This is also a great day to see and possibly photograph Hyacinth Macaws. We will overnight at a different ranch house tonight and do a night safari in search of Maned Wolf and for cats, including Ocelots, Pumas, and Jaguars.
Lodging: Fazenda, private ranch

August 13, Saturday: Explore the remote Pantanal
Today we have a variety of choices exploring by horse, on foot, and by jeep to continue our tracking for the more elusive wildlife. We will again go on a night safari to search for cats and other nocturnal mammals and birds.
Lodging: Fazenda, private ranch

August 14, Sunday: Travel back to Cuiabá
After breakfast, we will drive back to Cuiabá for an overnight at the Best Western Palace again. Lunch will be along the way at a local restaurant. Dinner and remaining meals are on our own.
Lodging: Best Western Palace

August 15 - 16, Monday - Tuesday: Flights home
Transfers from the hotel to the Cuiaba Airport will be arranged for your flight on August 15. Arrive home on August 16 or contact us if you would like assistance to do an extension while in Brazil.

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Costs

Costs, Payments and Cancellations: All reservations require a deposit due at the time of making the reservation. Once we receive your deposit, we will send trip materials and travel insurance information. Until the final payment date, payments are refundable except for a cancellation fee of $150 per person. This fee may go toward another tour if reserved within six months of the departure date of the cancelled trip. There are no refunds given after the final payment due date. We reserve the right to charge for cost increases that occur between now and the date of travel.

Included:

• Expert guiding, lodging and boat trips as listed in the itinerary.
• All meals from breakfast on August 1 through lunch on August 14.
• Airport transfers on dates listed.

Not Included:

• All airfare. Airfare round trip to Cuiabá is approximately $1,200 to $1,400 (subject to change, quoted November 2009).
• Brazilian visa fee.
• All meals after lunch on August 14.
• Gratuities: Tipping is, of course, discretionary, however we suggest budgeting $8 to $10 per day per participant (a total of $112 to $140 per participant) to be distributed among all the resident naturalists, crew, and drivers. Doug and Gail also contribute their share. The gratuity will be collected at the end of the tour.

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Sign-up

To Make a Reservation: Please contact us to assure space availability and to let us answer your questions. Then, print our reservation form, fill it out, and post it to us in the mail with your deposit. Or fill out our handy online information request and we will send you more information.

Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris
20800 Kittredge Road
Saratoga, CA 95070

Toll Free: (800) 527-5330
Local: (408) 741-5330
Fax: (408) 741-0358
Email: info@cheesemans.com

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Other Details

Leaders: Doug and Gail Cheeseman have found leading safaris to be a fresh way of blending a desire to observe nature with a wish to inspire travelers towards the values of conservation and education. Doug turned on biology majors with zoology and ecology at De Anza College in Cupertino, California, during his long career. Gail is an avid birder and naturalist, plus a meticulous coordinator of trip logistics. Gail and Doug have led wildlife safaris since 1978 to many different counties on every continent on the planet.

Carlos Grandez

Carlos Grandez was raised in the Peruvian Amazon where his father was also a guide. Brazil captured his heart during a visit over 15 years ago and ever since he has guided throughout the country as well as in the Pantanal region of Bolivia and the Esteros del Iberá wetlands of Argentina. His long guiding experience has given him a thorough understanding of the flora and fauna in the Pantanal region and his energy, good humor and enthusiasm make him a highly sort-after guide. He works with and supports several community and social projects in the Pantanal and Amazon regions and is a keen defender of the environments in which he works. Carlos is multilingual, speaking English, Portuguese, Spanish and Italian.

Flights: Arrive in Cuiabá, Brazil (CGB) by July 31 and depart from Cuiabá on August 15. More flight information will be given once airlines have their flight schedules firmed up about eleven months before the return dates. Please let us know if you would like assistance reserving your flights.

Accommodations: The houseboat and lodges have private baths and air conditioning. The two fazendas (private ranches) have shared baths and do not have air conditioning.

Travel Insurance: Emergency Medical Insurance is optional, but encouraged, for this tour. Read about travel insurance and our recommendations and requirements.

Non-smoking Policy: We have a strict non-smoking policy - smoking is not permitted at any time during our tours.

Mailing List: If you would like to be on our mailing list or request information, please use our online information request form or contact us to give us your name, address, email address and phone number. Please note we will never share your personal information with anybody!

Responsibility: Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris, Saratoga, California, act only as agents and shall not be responsible or become liable for any delay incurred by any person in connection with any means of transportation, nor for the loss, damage, or injury to person or property by reason of any event beyond the control of the agency or default of such agency suppliers. We reserve the right to cancel the tour prior to departure in which case full refund will constitute full settlement to the passenger. No refund will be made for any unused portion of the tour unless arrangements are made at the time of booking. All rates are based on current tariffs, exchange rates and fuel prices and are subject to adjustment in the event of any change therein. By sending your initial deposit, you agree to accept our payment schedule as a contract. If payments are still outstanding two weeks after the due date, your space may be forfeited. Baggage is at the owner's risk.

Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris is registered as California Seller of Travel #2063050-40. Registration as a seller of travel does not constitute approval by the State of California. Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris is a participant in the Travel Consumer Restitution Corporation (TCRC). In event of a client canceling where a refund is applicable in accordance with the schedule above, or in the event that CES needs to cancel the trip, all payments for transportation or travel service not provided to the client shall be promptly refunded, unless the client instructs us otherwise in writing. All client payments are deposited into a trust account in accordance with California law. If for any reason a valid refund is not forthcoming, the client may request reimbursement from the TCRC within six months of the scheduled end of the tour. Please feel free to ask us for more information.

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All material © Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris.
All photos © Doug or Ted Cheeseman, unless otherwise credited.
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