Porto Jofre – Fishing (& More Jaguars!!)

We say our goodbyes and head off at 10.00 to go back to Porto Jofre along The Transpanteneira. We are getting to know it quite well! However, this time we have the comfort of an air-conditioned vehicle and the journey takes half the time. We arrive at 11.30 just in time for lunch.

Meals here are early:-

• Breakfast 05.30 – 07.00
• Lunch 11.30 – 13.00
• Dinner 18.30 – 20.00

This is a pretty unassuming place but it turns out to be built for purpose. The room is basic but clean, with a/c and a sensible screened porch with chairs, which provides a barrier to prevent a thousand bugs entering your room when you open the door. The food is good and more varied than elsewhere, the caipirinhas are quite excellent. It took me a while to work out how you make the lime sunshine. Simple – take a slice, turn it inside out and slide back over lime.

We do not have much down time. We are out on a boat by 14.30. Fortunately Bruno has joined us for our extension. I honestly do not know how we would have coped without him. No-one speaks English and our Portuguese is non- existent, so checking in and explaining that we had booked a fishing guide would have been challenging. Likewise communicating in any way with the guide would have been impossible. If you ever come here, please make sure you ask for an English speaking guide when you book.

Our boatman and fishing expert was Manuel. He had never seen fly-fishing before and was intrigued. The afternoon was pretty successful with Paul catching a small piraputanga…

…and a vampire fish. It’s two large bottom teeth go through holes in its top jaw. Keep fingers away!!

We had a fly past by a couple of hyacinth macaws…

… and a beautiful sunset.

If you like a lie in, then this is not the holiday for you. Breakfast at 05.50 and on the boat by 06.30. Mist hangs over the water and the air is pleasantly cool. That will not last!

We head for the Piquiri River where our boatman thinks there is a good chance of finding golden dorado. There are certainly lots of fish here. A piranha bites clean through one of Paul’s flies and Bruno catches a catfish and type of peacock bass by using bits of sausage.

I am still far more interested in the wildlife than the fishing and capture photos whenever an opportunity presents itself.

As we head back, two jabiru storks are hanging out on their favourite sandbank.

We have been out for 5 hours. It is exceedingly hot. Paul is soaked in sweat from all the casting in full sun and the rest of us are pretty damp too! As we approach the lodge we notice something swimming in the river. Oh my goodness! It’s a tapir! What a lucky spot. I did not know they were out and about in the daylight.

Manuel wants to depart at 14.00. We think that is a bit keen as it was so hot yesterday. We opt for 15.00. It will still be pretty steamy but at least the sun will be a bit lower in the sky. The plan is to head further up the Piquiri River to get beyond the boat traffic. This we do and are mega lucky for there, swimming along the river, is a family of giant river otters. They are the same family that we saw last week, but they have moved to a different den. They have several dens and move up and down the river so as to not deplete the fish stock too much in any one area. Some are grooming each other and the two in the background are playing tag and move incredibly quickly. Photography is a challenge. Low light and fast moving grey objects….

The afternoon is drawing on so we set off in pursuit of fish. It is not long before Paul has a nice specimen on the end of his line – a small pacu, which is a fish that has been served several times for dinner here and very good it is too.

This is a nice place to hang out. Capybara swim in the river and parakeets have come down to drink on the shoreline.

We find a quiet backwater for the day’s final fishing attempts. A lovely spot with kingfishers and hawks eying up the activity.

As we depart I notice a tiny rufous-tailed jacamar darting around in the bushes. To my delight he is shortly joined by his mate and they pose prettily side by side.

That was a rather successful day and hard to see that a new day can be any better. How wrong can you be? The next morning our plan is to head up the Cuiaba River and travel a fair distance to escape the boat traffic and find calmer water. Well that was the plan and we did start with some fishing, though quite a few boats zoomed past.

We changed location and noticed two boats had stopped. We went over to have a look. A beautiful young jaguar is lazing on the bank. This is Juliet, 3 year old daughter of Ryan. She looks like she has sustained a small injury under her neck.

We do not stay too long as this is meant to be Paul’s fishing fix. We find a perfect spot close to the sandbank where the skimmers nest. This is the most lovely spot. The water is calm and there are no other boats to disturb the tranquility.

Well maybe just the one!

I look at the beach and say “Wouldn’t it be amazing if Juliet left her resting place and strolled onto the beach?” Keep that thought….

Fishing commences and Bruno catches a piranha. Those teeth look sharp. He has a certain amount of difficulty removing the hook without losing a finger.

While Paul continues to fish, Bruno asks me if I would like to go ashore. I do not hesitate for a second. He shows me where the skimmers are nesting and we are very careful to stay clear of the nests (which are no more than wholes in the sand) and not disturb them. I lie on my stomach on the sand to try and capture an eye level view. There are large-billed terns and plovers, as well as the skimmers. We must not stay long as they need to be left in peace.

I have a very unsuccessful attempt at trying to capture velocity photos of the plover by setting the shutter speed very slow and tracking it. I need a lot more practice and we did not have the time, but you can sort of see the effect I was aiming for. We also see a jabiru footprint. They are really big! Meantime Paul continues to fish.

We beckon to Manuel to come and pick us up and notice a number of boats appearing. Jaguar activity must be afoot.

I love the shot below. The boats in the background are out of focus and waiting for something they cannot see, whilst life is happening all around them.

We think a jaguar is about to cross the river – probably Juliet and then we see her. But it is not Juliet. It is her mother Ryan.

She walks down the bank and swims to the far side. She is very focussed on a distant caiman. The speed of the attack is unbelievable. I had Paul ready to video on his phone, whilst I photographed. It was so intense and fast. I can take 20fps and I was on 1/1000s but only caught glimpses of the action and Paul… well he was so in the moment he forgot to record it🤣

Still Ryan is not a jaguar to give up so easily and immediately hones in on another caiman. She moves imperceptibly slowly. Inch by inch she advances. There is not a ripple in the water. At the snail’s pace she is moving this may take a while, and indeed it does. After 15 minutes she is close. I can see her thigh muscles tensing and haunches being drawn forward ready to pounce. Then it happens. It is as though she has been catapulted out of the water. The speed is just incredible. She pounds forward and then there is an explosion of water. It is impossible to know what is happening until her head appears a few yards away. All that effort and no result. Poor Ryan and lucky caiman. Sorry, there are a lot of photos, but I want you to experience a little of that magical encounter.

Well that was amazing and Ryan is really putting on a show. She swims in the direction of the sandbank where the skimmers are nesting and where I was walking an hour earlier. We reposition and wait. There are now a lot of boats and everyone is jostling for position. There is a certain amount of bumping. Definitely keep your fingers off the side. Ryan appears and runs along the beach, disturbing the skimmers as she goes.

She walks down to the water and starts to swim. I think she is going to cross, but am wrong. Bruno is brilliant at anticipating her every move. We leave the other boats and set up position at the far end of the sandbank. Bruno is sure she will appear here. She does. We are in prime position. I cannot believe what I am seeing. Ryan emerges from the grass and walks straight towards us. She is filling my camera lens. I zoom out. What a powerful and over-whelming experience. My heart is pounding. I have tears in my eyes. I cannot believe what is happening. One of those very, very rare moments with nature.

Ryan ignores us completely, re-enters the water and proceeds to swim along the river bank. She looks for a place to exit and eventually chooses the exact spot where we saw Juliet earlier. I have looked at the times that I took photos. It turns out that we spent 1.5 hours with Ryan. What an absolute privilege.

Time to head back for lunch. We pass Naturezas, where we stayed last week. I am obviously still logged on to the WiFi and my phone pings with messages as we pass by. We stop at the confluence of the Cuiaba and Piquiri Rivers, where Bruno has seen dorado in the past. There is a clear line in the water between the muddy Cuiaba River and clearer Piquiri. We don’t catch a dorado but Bruno catches a piranha and Paul has anther fly bitten in half by one.

It is only fair that after such an exciting morning, we concentrate on the fishing. Having got back at 11.45 there is just time for lunch and a freshen up before heading out again at 14.00. We go back to the river confluence. Moor in the shade of some trees and Paul fishes, but the fish are not co-operating.

I watch the jabiru storks on the bank opposite. One of them has the head of a fish. It is easy to see that the other half has been bitten clean off by piranhas. This is not a river to sloosh your hands in! It is too big for him and he spends at least 10 minutes trying to work out how to swallow it. He does eventually succeed.

We work our way slowly along the river bank. The nice thing about fishing is that you move at a more leisurely pace , giving time to observe the wildlife. Capuchins forage in the trees and swallows flit across the water.

A green kingfisher poses and then takes flight.

A ringed kingfisher has focussed on Paul’s fly. Every time Paul casts, the kingfisher takes his fly. Bruno and I think it is hilarious and Paul may have called the kingfisher one or two names. After the third strike the kingfisher realised that black and silver fluff and a hook is not a fish!

The light is fading so time to say goodbye to this beautiful river. The parakeets are drinking and an anhinga dries his wings before also retiring for the night. One final cast….

This has been a truly wonderful trip. Thank you to our travel companions – Rosa, Claire, Gill, Wayne, Kay, Alan & Karen. You were good company and made it a fun experience. Huge thanks to the best guide ever – Bruno. Your knowledge and wildlife expertise were invaluable and I love that we always managed to capture almost identical shots! Also thanks to Wildlife Worldwide who organised the trip for us.