After dealing with the problem with the airplane I was so ready to be in a nice quiet place that had just animals and birds. The lodge is part of a cattle ranch that has horses and sheep. The family also has horses they ride and dog as pets. We are amazed when we swoop over the top of the grass field runway to check out its condition, it was even and level, but we also saw to our amazement a beacon, a tower, runway lights and taxi way lightening and sign, and best of all two open sided hard surfaced floored hangars which keep the planes out of the heat but one can load and unload with getting the baggage muddy. We realized that the people who live here must really like flying or are very welcoming to people with planes. We are warmly greeted by Paulenir, Renata and their sweet child Camilla. The lodge is simple but charming, with the main eating area joining on to the reading lounge. There are individual rooms dotted around the main dining area with many hand painted pictures from Paulenir’s talented mother who is also a writer. There is a delightful chapel and two medical stations. Around the lodge, there are lush green trees, one being a huge mango tree. There are also pretty orange flowers scattered around the property. Renata says that many of the flowers have to be very hardy in this area as the heat is so intensive in the summer that many plants cannot survive and shrivel and dry up. We are led to our room which is thankfully air-conditioned as it about 90- 100 degrees and very humid. We unpack get comfortable, and take a cup of iced Mate and cake with Renata and Paulenir which is surprisingly refreshing. We are told that in an hour or so we will be taken for a “Safari drive” around the compound and surrounding areas. Soon we are driving out of the gates and looking at two brand new lambs which have just been born days ago. One is still have trouble trying to stand up and the other is walking around with wobbling ting twig legs. Within minutes of being out of the gate Paulenir’s manager (nicknamed Soldier) Alijuda spots two giant blue parrot which he and Paulenir call “blueys” we ride for a few more minutes and see Capybaras swimming in the lake across from the lodge. It seems as though someone has told the animals and birds that we are coming, so they need to put on a show, because we saw the most amazing birds within the first hour of our visit such as parrots, macaws, Jabiru Storks, and beautiful birds in which the names I could not remember again or pronounce!!The reason Paulenir explains that we have been able to see much wildlife close to the lodge is it is the dry season and the animals and birds are forced into small areas to drink and feed such as the nearby lakes. It reminded Chris and I of African Safaris we have gone on in the past, with the landscape looking very similar but with different wild animals and birds. On the second day we also go out on “Safari” in which is combined with driving and then walking around the area. Paulenir points out different trees and names them for us. We are lucky to see Caimans which are like Alligator, as well as more Capybaras. We saw and heard some wild boar like animals speeding across a field, gnashing their teeth loudly which were called Peccaries. These are said to be more dangerous than a puma as they can run really fast and eat EVERYTHING including the bones. I remember this wild boar featuring in one of that the Godfather films. A person crosses one of the mob and they are thrown into the sty with peccaries where there is nothing left for the police to trace!!!!
We saw a Toucan up close in a tree on this waIk, but unfortunately Chris was kicking his self as his battery in his camera went dead at that very moment and he was forever looking to get that shot again.I went horse riding with Alijuda and although we had no common language I was able to make ourselves be understood by sign language and jabbering but we still managed to have a nice conversation. He told me that loved working the ranch and being a “cowboy” which we saw some of the men doing, still working the land and herding at the lodge. They wore the typical cowboy gear, big hats, riding chaps, checked shirts, stirrups! The men had that worn leathered skin, but looked friendly and waved at me on the last morning as I watched them all  standing around a fire drinking strong black Brazilian coffee, dragging on a cigarettes. They had typical cowboy saddles ready to go and any one of the men would be perfectly suited to be in one of the old Marlboro ads!
We found out that Renata also loved flying but had never really tried to do it herself. So Chris still being a flight instructor and a great sport decided to give her an introduction lesson in flying. So we took a flight around the local area showing her the lodge from the air but after she did an assisted take- off I could see she was thrilled. By the first ten minutes into her “lesson” I could see by her face she had got the flying bug and she told us afterwards that this was going to be her next goal.

On the last morning we both seem to get a bit edgy, I think much was to do with the 90- 100 degree heat and I was awaiting news about my sister, but with no phone or internet I had this still lingering at the back of my mind. Also Chris’s gash on his leg was not healing; in fact it was now looking pretty bad and it was painful. He had started to take emergency antibiotics from our first aid kit in which he had been given before this trip just in case he got any infections(having a low immune system his body is not strong enough to fight infections alone). But cleaning his wound and dressing it every day, I believed he needed to seek medical attention. I suspected he needed stronger or different antibiotics because his cut was not healing but getting worst. I guessed it was infected as he was complaining of his leg being painful and itchy; his leg had also started to swell up. We needed to head a town or city, to rectify these issues in which case we chose Brasilia, the capital city; Chris had also been email and texting Edimar, a friend of a friend of our friend Martin. Edimar had been sending Chris vital information about where to get fuel in this area and along our route, he had also told Chris that he would organized that we were able to land at his Aero club and keep our plane safely in a hangar. We were looking forward to meeting this helpful,generous, kind, Edimar, not only because he sounded like he would be a fun person but everyone including Paulenir and Renata sang his praises, and we wanted to take him out for drinks and dinner, and repay his kindness.





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