Figuring Out How Things Work (in English)

I was feeling a little lost when I arrived at the farm in the middle of the Pantanal. So far I wasn't hearing much English, and very little Spanish either. Granted I was in a Portuguese speaking country, but I had hoped some one would speak some English. And then I met Mario. Mario was in my dorm room when I walked in to drop off my bag. He introduced himself right away in perfect English and I knew we would be great friends. Turns out he was a Brazilian on a quest to see as much of his country as possible. A bit of an aged hippie, Mario was traveling with a German family who, I believe, was footing the bill.

But he was a very nice guy, offering to give me a quick tour of the place (in English) and how everything worked. The place was set up for travelers - it had several dorm rooms, a fairly large dining hall/lounge with a bar(ish), a rec room, and a pool. But it was empty. As Mario informed me, all the guests were out doing activities with the two (English speaking) guides. English speaking guides? Awesome.

He suggested we grab two beers from the bar and hangout by the hammocks. I thought that was a fine idea. And so there is where I was filled in on what I could expect here at the farm. Meals were included as part of the package, but drinks were not. Beads were offered for "purchasing" drinks other than tea and water. I was handed a bead necklace worth about $40 and immediately took off the appropriate number of beads to buy a grande beer. At the end of my stay I turned in what was remaining of my beads to see what I owed in cash. I went through two necklaces.

Mario told me the main guide was another Brazilian who spoke OK English and his wife, who was from Australia, spoke much better English but wasn't as knowledgeable. The main guide took the guests out twice a day to do various activities. If there were several people at the farm, like there were that day, his wife would take another group on a different activity.

As he was explaining all this the two groups returned; the German family from a horse ride and the large group of young Australians from a piranha fishing trip. I was excited to see so many people there that could speak English, and when dinner was served I made a point of talking to as many of the Australians as possible. As the night rolled on I generally became a part of the Australian group - a group of about fourteen kids between the ages of nineteen and twenty eight who had signed up for a six week tour of South America. They were staying in each country for about a week. *whew* Tomorrow was their final day in the Pantanal before leaving for Rio. We downed Caprihiñas and chatted until their overland guide informed them they would be waking at 6am for a horse ride before leaving for Rio at 9am. And that killed the party.

I finished my night out amongst the hammocks with Mario and his German friends. They had obtained one of the farm's guitars and a music book and were singing songs ranging from "Imagine" to "The Girl From Impanema". The main guide was with them and this is where I found out what I would be doing the next day: a horse ride into the tall grassfields at 9am. Everyone else would be leaving before lunch, leaving me as the sole guest on the farm. Fortunately I now knew how everything worked. No English required.

To see pics of my time in Brazil, follow this link:
http://flickr.com/photos/15233918@N00/sets/72157603948681054/