More Pantanal & Bonito pictures! / Mais fotos do Pantanal e Bonito

End of the Pantanal & Bonito Trip/ Fim da viagem ao Pantanal e Bonito

Dear Exchange Students!


It's time to say "Goodbye" to Pantanal and Bonito! What an amazing trip, right?! We would like to thank Rotary, Chairmen, Officers, Families and Host Families; as well as our coordinators, chaperone, drivers, suppliers and ALL students for such an incredible trip!

We do hope you have left Pantanal and Bonito with great memories and lots of friends!
It's time now to post your photos for the Photo Contest!

See you all in Northeast trip! Thanks!

Terra Brasil Turismo Team.

 

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Queridos intercambistas,

 

Chegou a hora de dizer 'tchau' para o Pantanal e Bonito. Que viagem maravilhosa, certo?! Nós gostaríamos de agradecer ao Rotary, Chairmen, Oficiais, Famílias e Famílias anfitriãs; assim como nossos coordenadores, chaperones, motoristas, fornecedores e TODOS os intercambistas por uma viagem tão incrível!

Nós esperamos que vocês tenham deixado Pantanal e Bonito com ótimas memórias e amigos ainda melhores!

Agora é hora de postar as fotos para o Concurso de Fotografia!

 

Vemos todos vocês na viagem ao Nordeste! Obrigada!

 

Terra Brasil Turismo

Snorkeling at Rio da Prata in Bonito / Mergulho superficial no Rio da Prata em Bonito

 

 

Bom dia!

 Today we got up around seven in the morning, and had breakfast. At about nine, we signed our life insurance group by group. Then it was almost time to get on the bus and head for Rio Da Prata, where we are going to snorkel in the afternoon! When we arrived there, we had lunch first then started our activity! All the exchange students were divided into seven groups, each group with nine people. We started snorkel, group by group. I was in group seven, so our group waited for a really really long time then it’s finally our turn to snorkel. When it was finally our turn, first we got dressed, and took our equipment with us. Second, we listened to some snorkeling introductions. Then, we got on to a little truck and heading to the river! But before that, we had to walk in the forest for about thirty minutes. Although it was really hard to walk normally with the snorkeling suit, it was still worth because we saw a lot of precious animals and plants on the way to the river.

Thirty minutes later, we arrived at the river and started to snorkel! This was my first time to snorkel, so I was quite nervous and not used to use my mouth to breathe. But I still had a great time during in the water. At first we got into the water, we saw some small springs with many bubbles, it was so cool! Then we floated in the water, let the river took us down the stream. To my surprise, there were so many gorgeous fish and plants in the water! The water was so clear that I could see everything crystal clear. I could even touch them because they were so close to me! At first, I tried to take as many pictures as I can, but after the first part of the river, I shut down my cellphone to let myself embrace the nature and enjoy myself. In the middle part of the river, there was also a rapid current with lots of sharp rocks at the bottom of the river. I tried to stay away from them, but unfortunately, I still got scratched by the rocks on my belly. But I was lucky because the painful feeling didn’t last too long. After the rapid current, here came the deeper part of the river. I couldn’t even touch the ground! There were more beautiful and colorful fish in this deep area. Then, we saw a wide open area with a bigger spring under the water. Lots of exchange students tried to dive and grab a hand of sands of the spring. We then rested for a while, and go on snorkeling. When it was almost to the end of the snorkeling area, I was so exhausted so I chose to take a boat ride. While the others with more energy, they chose to swim to the end.

 At last, we took shower, get dressed, and waited until everyone was ready then headed to the downtown of Bonito for dinner. At about ten thirty at night, we went back to our hotel and had a small meeting for tomorrow’s activity. I was so exhausted that I almost fell asleep. When I closed my eyes, the spectacular memories of snorkeling appeared on my mind. I started to feel a bit excited and looking forward to the activity tomorrow.

 

André

 

Bonito - Day 2/ Bonito - Dia 2

Second day in Bonito

Goodmorning rain. Today we had a lot of rain. It began already in the early hours of the morning. For our first excursion, everyone went to a private farm called Fazenda Mimosa where we went on a hiking for four kilometers (2.5 miles). Along the path, there were four stops with beautiful waterfalls. At the first waterfall, we could swim under the waterfall and walk into a little cave behind it. The second waterfall was a grotto where everyone was supposed to make a wish. The third stop was the favorite amongst most of the groups. There we could climb up onto a cliff and make a six-meter jump into the water. It was exhilarating. At the fourth and final stop we got our last chance to swim in the river, Rio Mimosa. After the trek back to the farm we ate lunch as a group. Then we took a bus to our second excursion of the day, Porto da Ilha. There we divided into six groups to go on a rafting adventure down the river. Most of the trip consisted of water wars between the rafts. Everyone was splashing each other and pulling people into the water. The rest of the trip we went over small waterfalls in the rafts. Everyone had a blast. After returning to the hotel to get ready to go have dinner, we all went out to the city of Bonito to spend the rest of the evening. After dinner, we all headed home, were the rest of the night, were spent outside, playing cards, shaving heads and talking. Tomorrow will be our last full day in Bonito! We are really looking forward to it!

#IamTerraBrasil   #Ronsbeardrocks

Marnie Schrader and Mads Holst 

 

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Segundo dia em Bonito

 

Bom dia chuva. Hoje nós tivemos muita chuva, que começou nas primeiras horas da manhã. Para nossa primeira excursão todos nós fomos para uma fazenda chamada Fazenda Mimosa, onde fizemos uma caminhada de quarto quilômetros. Pelo caminhos fizemos quatro paradas para ver lindas cachoeiras. Na primeira cachoeira nós pudemos nadar  e ver uma pequena caverna que havia atrás da cachoeira. Na segunda havia uma gruta onde todos deveriam fazer pedidos. A terceira parada foi a favorita da maioria dos grupos. Lá nós podíamos subir num penhasco e dar um pulo de seis metros para a água! Foi emocionante! Na quarta e última parada nós tivemos nossa última chance de nadar no Rio Mimosa. Depois da caminhada de volta nós almoçamos em grupo, e então pegamos o ônibus para nossa segunda excursão do dia, Porto da Ilha. Lá nós fomos divididos em seis grupos para que pudéssemos fazer rafting rio abaixo. A maior parte do passeio consistiu em guerras de água entre os rafts (botes). Todos estavam jogando água uns nos outros e puxando pessoas para a água. O resto do passeio nós fomos em pequenas cachoeiras com os botes. Todos de divertiram muito! Depois de voltar para o hotel para nos arrumarmos para jantar, nós fomos para a cidade de Bonito. Após o jantar nós fomos para o hotel onde passamos o resto da noite do lado de fora jogando cartas, raspando cabeças e convesando. Amanhã será nosso último dia em Bonito e todos estão ansiosos para isso!

 

#IamTerraBrasil   #Ronsbeardrocks

Marnie Schrader and Mads Holst 

 

 

Last day at Pantanal! / Último dia no Pantanal!

    7 a.m. and it is another bad hairday, the French guy you are sleeping in room with have sat a happy wakeup alarm, and you are ready for the long day, and this one hotter than the others you have experienced in the reserve of Pantanal. Having a quick breakfast because you are under time pressure, as always! Everyone knows it is the last day in Pantanal. So all of us packed our bags, before leaving for the daily activities. We followed our group as always running behind them because we seriously got a freaking time problem, and after running 30 seconds you look like just coming out of the shower. Today there was fishing for Piranhas on the program. So when we arrived there, we were told that the record of the other groups was 23 fishes! A easy thing for us to break… We thought…. But after twenty minutes covered in sweat and with only three fishes (not even Piranhas) the majority decided to change the activity and changed fishing pole with the hammock. A good idea! But it got boring so one of us was just breaking the hammock down (no names). After that accident we returned to the hotel, sad because we just needed 19 fishes more to beat the record. So close! But the pool was calling and we just enjoyed a cool experience.

 

    Then we had to get our stuff ready and we left Pantanal and headed for Bonito. 5 hours later we arrived in the city, and ate alligator. After fast dinner we went to the lovely hotel and everyone went to the even bigger pool with even cooler experiences.
    All the exchange students came together got separated in groups for the activities for tomorrow and ended the day with dancing a cultural dance in a circle. Now we are really looking forward to a great program and we will end it here because we are so tired.

    Love you guys!

 

Written by Jasper, Rasmus and Mads.

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    7 horas da manhã e outro 'bad hairday'; o menino Francês que está dormindo com a gente no quarto programou um despertador bem animado; e de repente estamos prontos para o longo dia; e esse está mais quente que os dias anteriores que tivemos aqui no Pantanal. Tomamos um café da manhã rápido, pressionados pelo relógio, é claro! Todos sabem que é o nosso último dia no Pantanal. Então todos nós arrumamos nossas bagagens antes de sair para as atividades do dia. Seguimos o nosso grupo como sempre atrás de todos por que seriamente temos um problema com o relógio; e após correr por 30 segundos, parece que saímos do banho (muito suor)! Hoje teve pescaria no programa. Então, assim que chegamos lá, nos avisaram que o recorde dos outros grupos era de 23 peixes! Muito fácil da gente bater esse recorde...pensamos! Mas após vinte minutos, cobertos de suor e só com 3 peixes na mão (que nem eram piranhas) a maioria decidiu mudar de atividade - e mudamos para a vara de pescar com a rede! Boa ideia! Mas logo cansamos - até que um de nós (sem nomes) destruísse a rede. Depois desse pequeno incidente, voltamos para o hotel - bem tristes, por que faltaram mais 19 peixes para quebrarmos o recorde! Foi por pouco! Mas a piscina estava nos chamando e aproveitamos a grande experiência.

 

 

    Depois tivemos que pegar nossas coisas para nos despedirmos do Pantanal em direção a Bonito. 5 horas de estrada depois, chegamos na cidade! Comemos carne de jacaré! Após o rápido jantar, voltamos para o hotel e todos fomos para uma piscina maior com experiências maiores! Muito legal!

    Todos os intercambistas que chegaram juntos foram divididos em grupos para as atividades de amanhã e terminamos o dia com uma roda de danças típicas. Agora estamos bem empolgados para a programação de amanhã e vamos terminar por aqui por que estamos bem cansados.

    Amamos vocês!

 

Escrito por Jasper, Rasmus e Mads.

Photo Gallery / Galeria de Fotos

    Want more fotos of the trip? Check it out the Facebook Gallery of the Pantanal and Bonito trip! Like our photos and feel free to write comments and messages for the exchange students! They always love it!

Keep tuned!
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    Quer mais fotos da viagem? Veja a Galeria de Fotos do Pantanal e Bonito! Curta nossas fotos e fique a vontade para escrever comentários e mensagens para os intercambistas! Eles adoram!

Continue acompanhando nosso blog...

Wild animals of Pantanal! / Animais selvagens do Pantanal!

5th Day - More of Pantanal! / 5º Dia - Um pouco mais do Pantanal

Fifth Day of our trip!            

 

    We started the day with a lovely breakfast at the Santa Clara Farm. There were a variety of fresh fruits and homemade juices. After that, the groups continued with the activities in Pantanal. Each group had two activities - one before and after lunch. The four activities were a boat trip through the Abobarado River, a scenic horse ride, a wildlife safari through the tropical forest, and a piranha-fishing excursion in the river. On the boat trip, the groups saw a variety of animals such as toucans, capivaras, caymans, storks, and giant otters. The horse ride explored the local terrain of Pantanal. On the safari, the group saw all of the animals and plants in the forest. Our guide taught us how to make rope out of one of the plants found in the forest. The fishing group used raw cow meat to catch piranhas in the river with bamboo poles. The group would be able to eat the fish we caught for dinner. Between activities, we had lots of free time. Some relaxing activities included playing soccer, swimming in the pool, laying in hammocks, and playing pool volleyball.

 

    Today after all the activities, we had a churrasco (barbecue) for dinner. There were freshly slaughtered lamb, chicken, and piranha meat. After dinner, the night ended with a dance party. Tomorrow will be our last day in Pantanal and then we are off to Bonito!

    Keep tuned here for more news... 

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Quinto Dia de nossa viagem!

    Começamos o dia tomando um delicioso café da manhã que contava com diversas frutas e sucos naturais na Fazenda Santa Clara. Depois disso os grupos continuaram com as atividades no Pantanal. Cada grupo tinha duas atividades programadas – uma antes e outra depois do almoço. As quatro atividades eram uma viagem de barco pelo rio Abobarado, cavalgada, um safari na floresta tropical, e uma excursão de barco para pescar piranhas. Na viagem de barco o grupo teve a oportunidade de ver uma grande variedade de animais como tucanos, capivaras, jacarés, cegonhas e ariranhas. A cavalgada serviu para explorar o terreno do Pantanal. No safari o grupo viu todos os animais e plantas na floresta. O guia nos ensinou como fazer corda utilizando uma das plantas encontradas lá. O grupo que foi pescar piranhas usou como isca carne de boi crua e anzóis feitos de bambu. Além disso, eles poderiam comer no jantar os peixes que pegassem. Entre as atividades houve muito tempo livre. Algumas atividades para relaxar como jogar futebol, nadar na piscina, deitar em redes e jogar vôlei também foram incluídas.

 

 

    Hoje depois de todas essas atividades comemos churrasco no jantar. Havia carneiro, frango e carne de piranha. Depois do jantar a noite acabou com uma festa! Amanhã será nosso último dia no Pantanal e então iremos para Bonito!

    Fique ligado para mais notícias...

Photos from Pantanal! / Fotos do Pantanal!

4th Day - Pantanal! / 4º Dia - Pantanal!

Hello!

    Today we had a very nice day. In the morning we spent time talking about our trip, rules and other important things. Then we had free time, which we spent at the pool and with friends. After lunch, at 15:30 our program has started. Each group had an amazing program. My group went to enjoy the safari. It was so exciting and we saw things that we had never seen before like Tuiuius, Jacares, Tarantulas, and the guide told us some really interesting things. After, we came back and had dinner at eight, it was delicious! At 21:00 we went to take a look at caymans (Jacares) and our guide gave us very interesting information about them and about Piranhas!

    Such a great time with perfect people that will continue tomorrow!

Written by Robert Juraj Paulinsky!
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Olá!
    Tivemos um grande dia hoje. Durante a manhã, conversamos sobre a viagem, as regras e outras informações importantes. Depois tivemos tempo livre; alguns intercambistas ficaram na piscina com amigos. após o almoço, as 15:30 os nossos passeios começaram. Cada grupo teve uma atividade incrível. O meu grupo fez um safári pelo Pantanal. Foi sensacional e vimos animais que nunca tínhamos visto antes como os Tuiuiús, jacarés, aranhas; e o guia também nos contou estórias incríveis. Depois disso, voltamos ao hotel para jantar as oito da noite - delicioso! As 21:00 saímos para a focagem de jacarés onde nosso guia também contou grandes estórias sobre eles e as piranhas!
    Estamos tendo uma grande viagem, com pessoas incríveis. Continua amanhã!

Escrito por Robert Juraj Paulinsky!

 

3rd Day - Activities in Pantanal / 3º Dia - Passeios no Pantanal

 

Arriving in Pantanal! / Chegada no Pantanal!

Hey there!

    The majority of our first few days were spent on our Terra Brasil bus. Twenty-nine exchange students boarded at Belo Horizonte at the bright and early hour of seven am and spent the next fourteen hours traveling to Sao Paulo. On the bus, there was random singing, dance parties, conversations, movies, and lots of napping. Along the way, we stopped for meals, bathroom breaks, snacks, and to pick up more exchange students until we reached our grand total of 63 representing 18 countries. We arrived at the Perkin Palace Hotel at 10:30 in the pouring rain and woke up the next morning at 5:30 to eat breakfast and catch the bus.

    We spent another day driving. Once reaching Pantanal, we had to transfer to little trucks because the roads to the lodge were dirt with little wooden bridges. It was about an hour-long ride, and we got to feel the breeze and watch an incredible sunset.

 

    Our lodge is named Pousada Santa Clara. It kind of looks like a tropical farm filled with animals of all kinds, especially bugs. You must put on repellent every hour. There is a fenced in area with horses, goats, and sheep right next to the soccer field. Walking around the resort, you’ll see parrots, warthogs, odd ducks, macaws, a fox, bats, and geese. There are multiple gazebos with eight hammocks each.

 

    We ate a quick dinner, had a little bit of free time and then played a name game. Bedtime was 11 o’clock. Keep tuned on our blog for more news!

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Olá!
    A maior parte dos nossos últimos dias, passamos dentro do ônibus da Terra Brasil. 29 intercambistas embarcaram em Belo Horizonte bem cedo as sete da manhã e passamos quatorze horas viajando até o Estado de São Paulo. Dentro do ônibus, algumas pessoas cantando, danças e festinhas, conversas, filmes e muito cochilo! No caminho, paramos para refeições, banheiro, lanches e para receber mais intercambistas até chegarmos no nosso total de 63 pessoas, representando 18 países. Chegamos ao hotel Pekin Palace as 22:30 com um pouco de chuva e acordamos na manhça seguinte as 05:30 para o café da manhã e embarque no ônibus.

    Passamos mais um dia na estrada. Ao chegarmos no Pantanal, tivemos que trocar de veículo - trocamos para caminhonetes por que as estradas até a pousada são de terra, estreitas e com pontes de madeira. Levamos em torno de uma hora até a pousada; já sentindo a brisa do Pantanal e apreciando um incrível pôr do sol.

    Nossa pousada chama-se Pousada Santa Clara! Parece bem com uma fazenda tropical cheia de animais de todas as espécies; especialmente insetos. Temos que passar repelentes a toda hora. Atrás de uma cerca, cavalos, cabras e ovelhas bem perto de um campo de futebol. Andando pelo resort, também vimos papagaios, javalis, patos, araras, uma raposa, morcegos e gansos. O hotel também têm várias varandas com oito redes em cada.

    Jantamos rapidamente, tivemos um pouco de tempo livre e depois fizemos um jogo de nomes para conhecer todo mundo. O horário de dormir foi as 23:00. Continuem seguindo o blog para mais notícias!

PANTANAL and BONITO 2014 has started!

Exchange students have just boarded in Belo Horizonte (MG) in front Terra Brasil’s office! 18 other students who arrived yesterday are waiting at the hotel! Everyone’s heading to Uberaba and Araçatuba today! Tomorrow they leave Araçatuba towards Três lagoas, Campo Grande and Pantanal region itself! Everyone is very excited and we wish all a nice trip!

We would like to invite you to follow their footsteps by accessing Instagram, Photo Gallery and Twitter!

Keep tuned! Best regards,

Terra Brasil Turismo Team

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Os intercambistas acabam de embarcar em Belo Horizonte (MG) em frente ao escritório da Terra Brasil! Outros 18 intercambistas que chegaram ontem aguardam no hotel! Todos seguem hoje para Uberaba e Araçatuba! Amanhã, saem de Araçatuba com destino a Campo Grande, Três Lagoas e a região do Pantanal! Todos estão muito animados e desejamos uma fantástica viagem!

Lhe convidamos para seguir o grupo, acessando o Instagram, Galeria de Fotos e Twitter!

Mais notícias em breve! Atenciosamente,

Terra Brasil Turismo