Brazil (and Argentina) Highlights

Favorite Food: Pao de Queijo (cheese bread). Yum.

Favorite Restaurants: Rio’s kilo restaurants, where you pay by the weight.

Favorite Drink: Guarana soda.

Runner-up: Coconut water. Refreshing after three hours in the sun.

Best Bird: Blue-fronted piping guan, spotted on both the Brazilian and Argentine sides of Iguacu Falls.

Runners up: Hyacinth macaw, Toco toucan

Best Mammal: Ocelot.

Runner up: Golden lion tamarin.

Best beach: Copacabana, Rio

Best tour guide, Rio: Neyla Bontempo (her #1 ranking on Tripadvisor is well-deserved)

Best tour guide, Iguacu and Pantanal: Zapa (phenomenal enthusiasm for nature)

Best hotel: Hotel das Cataratas, Foz de Iguacu, Brazil (stunning location, beautiful hotel, tasty food)

Missed connections: Jaguar, Anaconda, Capped Heron, Rio’s Botanical Garden, Snorkeling with Dorado, Piranha (without snorkeling).


For photos of all sorts of Brazilian critters, see this slideshow.