September 10: A Little Bit of Everything
I’m a definite night owl, but I am actually enjoying getting up really early every morning and being out on the river as the sun is rising. (Plus it is the only part of the day that you know you are going to feel COLD.)
As we were ripping up the river this morning at 40 mph, I kept taking random shots to check my camera settings. That’s how I got this shot of a tapir on the bank. It’s blurry, but it’s a miracle that: 1) I saw it at all—I was the only one on the trip who saw a tapir at Porto Jofre; and 2) It’s recognizable! We were going so fast that if I had blinked I would have completely missed it. Instead I managed to fire off 2 shots—this one and one of its rear-end as it jumped into the brush. I’ll take blurry over nonexistent any day.
(Near the end of the tour, Paulo was talking about an “albino tapir” that people were telling him they had seen. When he saw this photo, he laughed and said that they were just mistaking an unusually light-colored tapir for an albino one. My photo ended up being evidence of more than one thing!)
Tapir, Cuiabá River
©️APaige Baker, 2019
The Brothers were up early. Sometimes they curl up so closely together that you can’t see where one of them starts and the other one ends. Depending on where the boat was situated, they often looked like one jaguar with two heads.
Janus-headed Jaguar
©️APaige Baker, 2019
Xando didn’t like the bugs any better than I did….
Stop bugging me!
©A Paige Baker, 2019
There are many side channels off the main riverways like the one below. They are filled with floating vegetation that offer hiding places to the birds, caimans, and capybaras. Some of the smaller channels get clogged up by floating islands of flora, but with a big enough boat motor, you can just drive right through them.
The photo below gives you an idea of how hot it was. The shimmers in the sky and the haze over the trees are evidence of high temps. Most of the days we were in Porto Jofre, the temperature was well over 100 degrees. And out there, you wear long sleeves, long pants, high socks, and a hat to protect yourself from both the sun and the bugs.
Mark told us before we even got to Brazil: “There is no whining in nature photography.” I took him at his word—and I actually think it helped me to keep focused on what was around me, rather than on how hot (or buggy) it was. I was just so grateful to be there that I’d like to think the “rule” wasn’t necessary—but it probably was. ;-)
Side note: This trip really made me appreciate the simple pleasures of a drink of fresh, cold water and a cool shower!
Side channel, Cuiabá River
©️APaige Baker, 2019
The floating hyacinths were really lovely…
Floating Hyacinths, Cuiabá River
©️APaige Baker, 2019
These are the areas where you find large numbers of caimans. This was the day that we counted well over 20 of them lined up down the bank of one of these side channels. They space themselves almost equidistant to one another—and many of them lie there with their mouths hanging open. Apparently this is a way they cool themselves. (I’m not sure I want to know what that is in this guy’s mouth!)
All the better to eat you with, my dear….
©️APaige Baker, 2019
They are beautiful in their own way….
Caiman
©️APaige Baker, 2019
The capybaras also love these byways. They were always playing peek-a-boo with us when we passed through. (You can tell the males from the females by the large oval patch above their noses. It’s a scent gland that makes them attractive to the ladies.)
Female capybara
©️APaige Baker, 2019
Male capybara
©️APaige Baker, 2019
We also saw some really amazing birds, including this beautiful Swallow-Tailed Kite.
Swallow-Tailed Kite
©️APaige Baker, 2019
And then there was this Black Vulture. I’m actually a pretty big fan of vultures. They are nature’s garbage disposals, and I think they are quite handsome in a weird sort of way. (They don’t smell so good, though.)
Black Vulture
©️APaige Baker, 2019
This photo of a Southern Screamer is not very good—it’s both blurry and grainy at the same time. Sigh. But I loved the name, which sounds like a high school rock band, and I thought the “spurs” on its wings were kind of trippy….
Southern Screamer
©A Paige Baker, 2019
I’m pretty sure this is Borro who decided to take a flying leap down the river bank. I just happened to be shooting him when he did it.
It’s a bird, it’s a plane….
©️APaige Baker, 2019
What goes up, must come down….
©️APaige Baker, 2019
The capybaras weren’t the only ones who liked a game of peek-a-boo!
Jaguar on the prowl
©️APaige Baker, 2019