Good Morning!

Boa noite from the beautiful SESC hotel in the Pantanal.  It's crazy to think that this is only our second day here! We all have been busy exploring the surrounding area and enjoying our time here.  This morning, while all were asleep and well in their beds, Group A (the best group ever!) woke up bright and early at 3:45 am to go on a boating adventure.  Feeling groggy and exhausted, we wandered out to meet 3 little jet boats sitting on the Cuiabá river.  We climbed in and we were off! The guide flicked a super powerful light from bank to bank and we could see tons of pairs of reflecting alligator eyes.  He would then illuminate the trees and we could see about a million different species of birds.  It was absolutely incredible, but that's not even the best part.  As we went, the sky began to change from dark to light pink, then to red, then to a beautiful combination of orange and blue.  We continued to zip along the river, passing trees and alligators and all sorts of wildlife, until the boat came to a stop.  I looked up and saw the sun begin to appear through the trees.  We sat in silence watching the sun rise over the river for a few minutes, and then we turned around and zipped back home again.  On the way I discovered that instead of the freezing, icy rivers that we have at home, the water is incredibly warm!  Perfect water for a bath or a hottub!... well if you want to bathe in dirty water with piranhas and alligators.  Despite our early wake up, it was a perfect start to the day.  Luckily we had time to go sleep afterwards.

Isobel