Exploring a world without fences…
one story at a time.
We finally created a vlog from our anaconda diving expedition. This was one of the best days I have experienced here in the water. It was an amazing time spent with good friends in an epic setting with amazing wildlife. This was taken from day three of our second week in Brazil. I am going to be cutting a couple more videos from this trip, but for now, here is this one. I hope you enjoy!
Brazil is a special place. The wildlife here is some of the most incredible you will ever encounter in our magical wildlife world. I love everything about this fantastic place, and I truly feel honored that I get to spend so much time here. It never feels like it's enough time, though. I leave always wanting more.
Sadly, they were working on re-cabling the internet at our hotel, so it was not working properly, which meant I could not share as much as I usually do for a trip like this, which kills me because something was going on every day. From troops of capuchin monkeys feeding and hanging around our hotel to giant anteaters seeking out food in the fields we were driving by on our way back to the lodge at the end of the day, to ponds filled with caiman, and we are talking about 200 plus caiman on the river banks. This place is just amazing.
We did have some magnificent snake encounters this season which was the main reason we visited Brazil. We ran two trips back to back. During our first week out there, we had one big female and a few male anacondas. Our female had recently eaten a capybara or a tapir, and she was so full she could barely move. It is impressive to see how her skin can stretch to accept prey that big in her body. Mind-blowing really. We spent a few days with her, but we were respectful and were careful not to stress her out. She was so lethargic from having eaten her meal that all she wanted to do was sleep.
Snapping an image of our big girl. You can see a bit of her face on the left. Image by Daniel Degranville
We found three big females and a dead one during our second week out there. While on the river, we found a dead six-meter snake in the river. Juka, our boat captain, saw her the previous week with some severe injuries after trying to catch and kill a peccary. Peccaries live in family groups, and the snake was mortally wounded by family members trying to help their kin escape, while our snake was trying to kill it - sadly she did not survive the encounter… it is the circle of life.
Juka snapping our big dead girl. Kinda filthy, but still cool.
After we saw that snake, we were all gutted, thinking that this would be our snake encounter for the day. But we continued searching the river for more wildlife and found another snake ( alive one of course), basking in the sun on the river bank. We spent an epic two hours with her. It was the kind of encounter you dream of having when you plan a trip like this. It was so great.
I really wish I had better signal while I was out there, because damn what an adventure it was. One of our best Brazil outings to date.
I am sharing this photo album I put together of both the wildlife and Behind the Scenes images of the fantastic moments we had out there. It was such a great trip. A huge thank you to our friends who joined us out there and made it special. Love you guys.
One of the highlights of the trip was crawling into an anaconda snake hole and capturing unique images of a resting snake.
The boat slowly approached two mating anacondas. The boys quickly and as silently as possible threw on their gear. One by one they slid off the boat and into the water. The snakes, aware of their presence, broke off their courtship and swam in different directions. The boys chose the biggest of the pair to follow, an 18 foot long beauty. They filmed and photographed the snake as it silently swam away from them. The encounter was brief but everything we all had hoped it would be. This moment was exactly what I had been dreaming about since I first learned that it was possible to swim with anacondas in Brazil. A dream come true! This was also just the first encounter of a perfect week of diving... Sadly, I was NOT there for any of it!
September 22 - San Fransisco International Airport. I arrived at the airport late for my flight. I screwed up on my departure time, so a nice final breakfast with Maritza, Sophia and our buddy Larisa, turned into a mad race towards the airport in an effort of getting me on my flight for Brazil. I made it with seconds to spare. HOWEVER, when I was checking in for my flight, the airline attendant asked me for my travel visa... My heart sank. My eye's wide with fear, I responded, "What do you mean travel visa?" She then told me that for americans to fly to Brazil, a travel visa was required. I told her I didn't have one. She looked at me, handed back my passport and said, "Sorry, you are NOT going to Brazil today."
I was stunned. I have never needed a tourist visa for any of the countries I have visited in the past, so that caught me completely off guard. I started scrambling, trying to see if I could get one in a hurry. It turns out, that I needed to get it through the Brazilian Consulate. However, they wouldn't be able to get it until Monday, because they are closed over the weekend, ( today was Friday ). That meant I wouldn't get it in my hands until Tuesday. Which meant I couldn't fly till Wednesday, and I wouldn't get to my group until Friday. Which was the final day of the trip.
I.. freaking.. screwed.. up.. badly! I sat down, head in my hands, just devastated. I missed the window for my trip, I disappointed our friends who joined us. This trip was one that I had been dreaming about for a very long time. I was gutted.
Thankfully, my good friend Jorge Cervera Hauser, who was joining us on this trip picked up the reins and led the group. The week would of been so much harder without his help. And I am happy to report that the Brazil trip was a smashing success. They had 3 days with an 18 foot anaconda, mating anacondas, jaguars, caiman, river otters, families of capybaras. Just everything we had hoped the trip would be. Of course, I wasn’t there to see it this season, but that is the price I paid for my American vanity and stupidity. Everyday, the boys updated me with the trip and how it was going. I received image after image, of an epic wildlife adventure. I was extremely excited for them and so damn happy that the trip was a huge success. But I was also dying inside, wanting desperately to be there with them, to experience it all. For that, I will forever regret.
The trip ended and everyone one went safely home. I was ever grateful that the boys had the adventure of a lifetime. The images I am sharing from the trip are all Jorge's pics… and they are all just stunning! We are of course planning our trip for next season already and I can say this with confidence, I won’t make that same epic mistake next season... and I WILL be there for all of it!
