Sunday 21/7/2019. Chappada and Hotel Mohave
We had a 4.45 start, finished packing loading up
the van then breakfast at 5.00am, the usual lovely choice of cheese breads,
bacon rolls, fruit, yoghurt etc. Before our 2 1/2 hour drive to Campo Grande
airport. The checkin went reasonably smoothly apart from David’s case not being
labelled with cases being
manually transported to the trolley for the plane. We had a cup of coffee and
tea, checked the internet and then we were ready to board the flight to Cuiaba.
Because of a small hiccough in the checkin procedure we were in seats 10 A,B
and D while David ended up in a seat 24D. We were offered a selection of drinks
and a snack, I had cheesy puffs. The landing went smoothly and we collected our
luggage, found our driver and drove across the road to the Grilleria. The
buffet selection was amazing, with salads, pasta, chips etc. You collected
your sides, salad etc.from a central island and went back to your table where you were given a card which said ‘meat’ on one side and ‘no meat’ on the other. The waiters then circulated with an array of spitted
meats, mainly beef, but also lamb and chicken, ribs and sausages. The meat was
sliced at the table and you grabbed your piece with a pair of tongs. It was
very easy to overeat. When you had enough, you turned your card over and they
didn’t offer any more.
Our next stop was a valley in the chappada which
we walked slowly along, picking up birds as we went.The track went through farmland and a field of gourds suspended from a lattice of wires. There was also an odd looking bee-hive hanging from a tree. We had a toucan in a distant tree which turned out to be a Channel-billed Toucan, the only one we saw.
Further along the track there was a tree with lots of lovely leaf colour and roosting on a branch was a Pygmy Owl which peered down at us but stayed put.
We then drove along to a view point with spectacular
views and a kettle of swifts but no King Vultures. It had a marker to show that it was also the Center point
of S America.
A brief stop for ice cream and we drove on to a waterfall site
where we hoping to see Red/green macaws, which come in around 5 o’clock.
Unfortunately, it was closed and absolutely no chance of going to the viewing
point, so no macaws. We scannedaaround incase any came by and we did find a pair of white-eared puffbirds in a tree full of lovely yellow flowers, giving
great views.
We then drove back to the hotel for dinner, and bed. A bit of a
disappointing day but better to come.
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