I flew to Campo Grande to get to Pantanal, but once I got there, I used mostly busses to get around. Long distance busses are really good in Brazil even though the roads are a bit run down. I’d say busses are more comfortable than planes but that 17 hour bus ride from Campo Grande back to the East coast to Sao Paolo at the end of my trip did feel a bit daunting! Air con or not, it is a long time to sit still. It really shows how big Brazil is.

The cities in the Mato Grosso do Sul (Southern Pantanal) are about 3 hours bus drive apart. The bus network is good and private car would save only a little time.

Drivers and workers at the stations are very keen to help as well. I learned enough Portuguese to be able to buy a bus ticket, but otherwise I was totally hopeless. So when I was trying to get to one bus for which I had bought the ticket online, and the inspector noticed the ticket was for tomorrow (oops), they didn’t blame for being stupid. The driver and all the other extra workers, such as a ticket inspector, a luggage handler, and a sticker placer, who were required to get passengers to the bus, waited as I ran back and forth trying to sort it out. The bus left 10 minutes late because of my mistake but no-one minded and I got the ticket exchanged for free.

As well as getting from one place to another the busses are good way to see how the environment changes within Pantanal. And, unfortunately, there are also animal carcasses on the road. The only giant anteater I saw during my trip was a dead one by the road. He looked like a very big stuffed animal that had been pushed to its side and then forgotten there. I would much rather have seen a living breathing giant anteater.