We still have Passo do Lontra to ourselves but part of the package is a trip to “the farm.” Fazenda Sao Joao is a working ranch/lodge where horseback riding is the main attraction for most visitors. We went along mainly to see different birds in another environment. Along the way we stopped to photograph some toco toucans and a stunning blonde anteater.
There were a dozen twenty-somethings in residence when we arrived and another dozen noisy Brazilian day-trippers showed up but we went out on our own. The horses were healthy and spirited despite the neck wounds inflicted by vampire bats. This was one of the first horses I have ridden that didn’t try to knock me off on a low hanging limb or rub my leg into a tree and I appreciated it. And if you think photographing birds from a moving boat is difficult, you should try it from a horse! We did succeed in our mission, though, to see and photograph both the red and green macaw and the hyacinth (blue) macaw. Absolutely stunning!
All in all, it was a lazy day with a lot of hammock time. Our afternoon hike took us over and under several fences and through seemingly impenetrable groves of palms. This land floods during the rainy season and even Fabiano had trouble finding the trails. We also learned that he has no tolerance for the aroma of peccaries. Though we could barely smell them, he retched for ten minutes after a group of 30 of the swine grunted across our path.
