To Russia With Love

Everybody has at least one unbelievable story to tell. I have a new one it might just be one of the most unbelievable stories I have ever heard.

About two months ago, Eric Hanson, a longtime friend, was traveling to Russia. He was flying on S7 airlines and during the flight decided to look at their inflight magazine.

He started flipping through the pages and since it was in Russian (which he doesn't speak), he was just really looking at the pictures. He opened to an article that was apparently about piranhas. Being an avid hunter and fisherman it piqued his interest. When he turned to page 114 he saw something completely unexpected.

That is really me in the bottom left hand corner holding a piranha. Eric was shocked to say the least. He mailed me a copy of it when he returned home.

Evidently S7 copied this picture from either our website or my Flickr page. Either way, they didn't ask permission but I figure Russia is probably a lot like Brazil and they could care less.

It would have been nice if they had mentioned our business or fishing in the Pantanal but they didn't. They didn't even mention my name or Brazil.

I've written S7 requesting they acknowledge what they did and at least mention our website.

I'm not holding my breath.

You can see more of our pictures at:

www.fishbigfish.com

or

http://www.flickr.com/photos/westnashvillegringo/sets/72157600059492377/

A Request From The United Nations

Yesterday I received an email from Franz Dejon of the United Nations Energy Program requesting the use of some of my Pantanal photographs. They have asked to use them for Biodiversity Day which is May 22. They are hoping to bring awareness to issues like global warming and it's effect on different ecosystems.

While I don't agree with them completely about global warming, I am all for anything that increases awareness of the Pantanal wetlands.

Back in the day I was published a few times by a local community newspaper for some sports photos but the photos they have asked for were from my first attempt at wildlife photos.

It's an honor just to be asked to be a part of this event. You can find out more about Biodiversity Day at this link:

http://www.biodiv.org/programmes/outreach/awareness/biodiv-day-2007.shtml

Payara - The Dog Fish

The Payara is one of the meanest looking fish you could ever expect to find. Known as cachorra or "dog fish" here in Brazil, it is a fish that is not appreciated by the locals because of its hundreds of tiny bones that make it impossible to eat.

Also known as the "vampire fish", payara love to hit the same bait as dorado and like a dorado will make huge acrobatic leaps out of the water once hooked. The main difference is that they tire easily and can be reeled in fairly quickly.

You'll want to use basically the same equipment as you would fishing for dorado. You'll need a 14-25lb test line and a 4/0-6/0 hook. They will hit tuvira and large worms as well as plugs.

We always ask our clients to please allow the guides to remove the hook from any payara they catch. These fish are much more dangerous than piranha and can cause some real damage.

We'll make sure you'll get plenty of photos of your catch of this unique species.

When you are ready for this kind of adventure, give us a call - 1-800-582-2105

New Video for Rio de Vida Fishing Excursions

Check out our new video with all new scenes and clips from our Pantanal fishing excursions. Our website is being overhauled as well and should be up by the weekend.

If this gets your heart pumping about fishing the Pantanal, pick up the phone and call us - 1-800-582-2105 and reserve your place for the fishing adventure of a lifetime.

ESOX Hand-Made Rods Now a Sponsor of Rio de Vida Fishing Tours

As I reported a couple of weeks ago, I snagged a pretty good size dorado and was reeling him in when all of the sudden my brand new graphite rod snapped in two. Thankfully Rogerio had brought an extra rod with him.

The situation helped me realize that no normal rod is made to handle the type of fishing we do on the Pantanal so my search began for just the right rod.

After some pretty extensive research, I kept hearing a name that I wasn't familiar with, ESOX rods. The reason I wasn't familiar with it is that they have not started shipping rods to Brazil. Until now.

I sent an email to their company and was surprised to hear back from Brent Moorehead, president of ESOX that same afternoon. After just a few minutes of hearing his passion about the perfect rod, I knew this was the company we were looking for.

We are proud to announce that Rio de Vida Fishing Tours will use ESOX Hand-Made rods exclusively for our fishing excursions.

These are no dime store fishing rods. According to Brent, most of the rods they sell are to professional tournament anglers.

Our goal at Rio de Vida Fishing Tours is to provide the best quality equipment for our clients and with ESOX, we are definitely assured of that.

Go over to their website to see their great selection of rods, hand-made in the USA.

Thanks Brent and ESOX for your willingness to partner with us.

http://www.esoxfishingrods.com

Intruder Joins The Rio de Vida Family

In my last post I wrote about the live bait we use most in the Pantanal and I promised to share about artificial lures in the future. Thankfully I've got better news than that to share with you.

Intruder Baits has now become an official partner of Rio de Vida Fishing Tours, our very first. Our goal is to offer our clients the best equipment and tackle possible and with Intruder Baits, we are confident that we are doing just that.

For the past several days I have been talking with Dusty Moulton, owner and designer of Intruder Baits. Beyond being a super nice guy, he is a man with a desire to make the best lure possible at the best price. And I am not exaggerating. He has the best priced high quality lures I've found anywhere, bar none!

This is his Pro-Shad line and it is just what the doctor ordered for reeling in the really big dorado and payara. With 3-D eyes, moulded gills and hand painted bodies, these rascals will fool even the craftiest fish. Fishing for dorado and payara is quite similar to bass, except the catches are much larger and the fish have a lot more fight in them. Intruder lures are tough and will help you land your trophy.

Don't wait to come to Brazil to try them out. Go to your nearest bait and tackle shop and pick up some Intruder lures today. Or you can purchase them online at their website:

http://www.netprolures.com/

Dusty also makes custom knives that are beautiful. I have honestly never seen anything like them before in my life. Each one is a work of art. Check out his knife website at:

http://www.moultonknives.com/

We are proud to be partnered with a great company like Intruder and a fine man like Dusty Moulton. Thanks Dusty!

Let's Talk Bait

This is the tuvira or banded knife fish and is the best known bait for dorado and the large catfish of the Pantanal. It is a type of eel that emits a small electrical charge that attracts sport fish.

It has yet to successfully be raised in captivity. All tuvira used as bait are captured and then sold to fisherman. For this reason they are extremely expensive but don't worry. We supply our travellers with plenty to ensure they hook something like this:

or maybe this:

The best technique is to use a small weight and cast near the banks, allowing your boat to drift as your bait moves along the banks. Generally you won't have to wait long before you are caught up in the adrenaline rush of one of these badboys leaping out of the water and trying to rip your rod right out of your hands.

Dorado and some of the giant catfish also hit on lures and artificial bait. Over the next couple of days I'll be talking about that as well as flyfishing for dorado in the Pantanal.

Piranhas: Fish That Bite Back!

I remember as a kid watching some late night movie about a couple of guys in the Amazon and one fell in the river and was caught in an eating frenzy of a school of piranhas.

I think a lot of us are curious about what it's like to go after these carnivorous fish. Let me tell you, it's a lot of fun. They will hit on just about anything but bacon or raw meat or cut up fish is best. They love to steal your bait when you are fishing for dorado or pintado and will bite your line when reeling in other fish.

This is a red piranha and they can get as big as 8lbs. This one was almost 5lbs.

You can see by the size of these teeth that this is not something to play around with. We advise our anglers to let their native guide remove them from a hook.

For the most part piranhas aren't dangerous. They won't attack unless they feel provoked or sense fresh blood in the water. It is never a good idea to swim in the Paraguay River is you have some sort of open wound. Piranhas travel in groups with as many as 100.

Fishing for piranhas you want to use a medium action rod, 14-17lb test line and a 3/0 to 4/0 size hook. Most days you can catch as many piranhas as you want, especially if you are using some type of meat that still has blood in it.

Piranhas are delicious and are best fried or in the famous Piranha stew which many believe to be an aphrodisiac. I don't know about that but it is definitely some good eating.

New Fish Discovered in Brazil

Researchers Rodrigo Moura and Kenyon Linderman began studying a species which many believed to be a snapper that inhabits the Northeast region of Brazil. Bauna or carapitanga was already well known by local fisherman and identified by its six white vertical stripes but researchers realized that this fish had never been cataloged.

Named Lutjanus alexandrei, in honor of Alexandre Rogrigues Ferreira, a 19th century Brazilian naturalist, it has been found as far north as Maranhão down to the south of Bahia. Bauna are predominately nocturnal. They hatch in thick seaside marshes where food and protection are plentiful and then migrate to deep waters. They are usually found around coral reefs.

The information for this article comes from the latest online edition of Pesca e Cia, Brazil's largest sportfishing magazine. The article is only in Portuguese but it can be found at:

http://pesca-cia.uol.com.br/noticias/noticias.asp?idMateria=591

Pacu

I've being going on and on in the last few posts about dorado and pintado but the pacu is one of the most beautiful fish in the Pantanal. Most pacu reach a length of about 50 cm (about 20 inches) and can weigh as much as 20lbs (this one was about 12lbs).

Pacu have very large molar like teeth. Though their teeth are quite large (and almost look human) they are not part of the piranha family. They use these large teeth to cut through vegetation and to break open large seeds that fall into the water. (photo is from Claus Qvist Jessen's Fishing and Angling Photos Page - http://www.cqj.dk/fisk-eng.htm )

Pacu are herbivores and although they will hit on live bait, their preference is fruit such as the laranjinha (pictured above). This fruit is native to the prata basin of the Pantanal. Wherever you find a tree by the banks, you can be sure there are plenty of fat pacu waiting to be caught.

The best method for catching them is to tie your boat off to a tree branch and use your heaviest weight to drop your bait right on the bottom. Pacu mainly eat fruit that has fallen into the water so they will look for what's just sitting there.

They are skittish so you have to remain quiet and still but the rewards are great. They are not great fighters like the dorado or pintado but still a great catch.

You'll want to use a medium to heavy action rod, 17 - 20lb line and a 4/0 - 6/0 hook.

This is grilled pacu served with rice, salad and topped with fried bananas. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it. The pacu tastes great and the bones are large so you don't have to worry about swallowing one.

Pacu is just one of the many specialties of the Pantanal and Fish Big Fish fishing adventures. Give us a call to set up your excursion - 1-800-582-2105.

Huge Catfish

For the last week or so, I've mainly been talking about dorado. While they are definitely one of the best freshwater sportfish in the world, the catfish of the Pantanal run a very close second place.

The pintado (speckled catfish) is one of the most prized fish in Brazil. Other cats are the cachara (striped catfish) which is also known as surubim, the barbado (flat-whiskered catfish) which in my opinion puts out a better fight than any of the others, and the monster jaú (giant catfish) which can weigh in at over 200lbs.

All of these cats share the same habitat as the dorado and hit the same bait. You immediately know you have hooked one instead of a dorado because where the dorado will leap out of the water trying to shake loose your hook, the pintado and other catfish will dive down as fast as they can and then try to go under your boat in order to break your line. They are successful on many occasions.

All of them are great tasting fish with the exception of the jaú. I personally like the pintado best. It easily slices up into large fillets and is excellent fried, baked, grilled or stewed. The barbado is best when cut into bite size pieces, batter-dipped and fried. Brazilians call it isca or bait and it is out of this world when served with lemon.

You will not only have a chance to reel in all of these fish during your Brazilian fishing excursion but you will also have the privilege to eat them prepared by our international chef.

When you are ready for your fishing adventure, call us at 1-800-582-2105.

In the meantime, I have prepared a video so you can see what all the excitement of catching Pantanal catfish is all about. Enjoy!

So Just How Tough Are Dorado?

The fishing world has been talking recently about dorado and what kind of fight they can put up once hooked. If you haven't seen the video of their spectacular acrobatic leaps, just scroll down the page and take a gander. If that isn't enough to get your blood pumping and adrenalyne rushing, take a look at this photo.



That's me. As you can see by the look on my face, I am not very happy. Why you ask? Let me tell you. You can see that I am holding two pieces of a fishing rod. A fishing rod that used to be my brand new one piece carbon graphite rod that I picked up specifically for this trip. Now it is a memorial to the fight that one dorado put out our first day on the Paraguay River.

I knew that I should use a medium to heavy action rod but since it was the first week of the season and I knew we would mainly be catching smaller 8-12 lb dorado, I figured a light action rod would be fine. I was wrong and I paid the price.

I also paid the price (or as we say in Brazil, paid the monkey) for only using 17lb test line. I had my line snapped more times than I like to remember. Rogerio figures we lost as many as we caught the first day on snapped lines and because we used hooks too small. Since we pulled in over 30 fish that first day, that is saying something.




Our second day I borrowed a heavy action rod from my new friend Silvio who owns the Tuiuiu Marina in Caceres, Mato Grosso. We also switched to size 8/0 barbed hooks and 30lb test line. After that my line snapped only once but then it was by a monster pintado (speckled catfish). We could see him in the water and estimated he weighed over 60 lbs.

You can bring your own gear from home or use the gear we provide. We use only Shimano reels and we will definitely provide you with the right rods and tackle so you won't have to go through what we did.

But because of the way dorado, pintado and barbado struggle once hooked, we can't guarantee that with even using this equipment you won't suffer a snapped line, bent hook or even broken rod or reel.

When you are ready for this kind of fishing action, give us a call - 1-800-582-2105

http://www.fishbigfish.com/

Meeting With The Mayor Of Caceres

During our trip to the Pantanal, Rogerio and I realized the importance of developing relationships with governmental leaders in the region. Caceres, in the state of Mato Grosso, is the port city where our expeditions begin. We wanted to make sure that the city officials understand the needs of our clients as well as our desire to be involved in the local community.

We stopped by the offices of Rubens Macedo (on the left, to my right, in the photo), the secretary for the environment and tourism for Caceres shortly after we arrived. We talked with him briefly about our plans to develop more interest for North Americans to come to the Pantanal not only to fish but also to see the natural beauty of the region. He felt we should meet with the mayor and scheduled a meeting for the next day.

Mayor Ricardo Henry (on the right, my left, in the photo) welcomed us to his offices and was excited to hear about our plans. We shared with him our desire to not only develop tourism in the city but also to give back and build a child development center that would later become a children's home.

His wife works in the department of child services and welfare. We stopped by there also to find out about what is required for this type of venture.

All in all we had some great meetings that produced solid relationships with local officials ensuring our clients have the best time possible during their stay. We have heard horror stories about officials in other South American countries causing problems for American tourists. Our friendship with the city leaders of Caceres means that you will avoid any of that unpleasantness and get down to the real business of your trip - FISHING!

The city's website wrote an article about our visit. It is in Portuguese so you probably won't understand much. You can put it through a translator page such as babelfish but I doubt it will still make much sense.

http://www.caceres.mt.gov.br/index2.php?cod_sec=5&cod_sub=15&cod_art=909

Caiman Crocodiles of the Pantanal

I have shared about the millions of caiman crocodiles that live in the Pantanal. Here is proof. We went out a couple of nights with an indian guide and this is just one of many caiman we found.

Hope you enjoy.

Catching Dorado

Here is a glimpse of what it is like to catch dorado in the Pantanal. Better than you can possibly imagine. Their acrobatic leaps will leave you speechless.

Rogerio and I spent 2 1/2 days fishing in the Paraguay River last week and had a great time. Sorry the audio is in Portuguese but no one else there spoke English.

I will be posting more video in the next few days

When you are ready a for a trip like this, call us at 1-800-582-2105 or go to our website
http://www.fishbigfish.com

Back Home Again

Wow! I guess you can see by the big smile on my face and the beautiful dorado in my hands that we had a great time fishing in the Pantanal. We only fished for two and half days but it was awesome.

Let me give a quick report. First, the weather was great. It only rained one day and then only for a few hours. It was hot but not unbearable. You definitely want to bring sun protection. I used SPF 50 and still got burned on my legs the last day. The mosquitoes were basically non-existent except at night. We had a few ankle-biters but a quick shot of OFF! took care of them. At night you will need to use some type of repellent.

OK, what you really want to know, how was the fishing. In one word, UNBELIEVABLE!!!. Even though it was only the first week of the season, the dorado and pintado were biting like mad. Each time we went out, we caught something within the first ten minutes. The last day, I cast in my line as the boat was approaching our spot and immediately got a hit and reeled in a 8 lb dorado.

Rogerio was reeling them in as well. Our guides knew the best spots to take us. We only went about about an hour or so down river so we didn't make it to where the really big ones are. And the river is really high right now. As the river level drops over the next few weeks, we'll be catching the 20+ lb dorado and 50+ lb pintado.




Over the next few days I'll be post more pictures and giving more information about what we experienced. I also have some video of the acrobatic leaps that dorado make trying to escape your hook. It'll blow you away. Sprinkled in the mix we'll be reporting on the history and culture of this region of Brazil.

When you are ready for a fishing experience like no other, give us a call at 1-800-582-2105.

Heading to the Pantanal!

My wife told me this morning that I am like a kid on Christmas eve and with good reason. Tomorrow Rogerio and I are heading to Cáceres, Mato Grosso for a week of meetings, research and fishing to prepare for this year's fishing season.

The season officially started last week but this is our first chance to get up there this year. We will be checking river levels and fish populations. We also have several meetings scheduled with government officials to prepare the way for an even better fishing experience for our clients.

Best of all, part of that research includes 3-4 days of nothing but fishing. Dorados, pintados, jaús, piranhas, surubins, pacu. Man, I can't wait.

I will be out of the office until the 15th but you can still call the 800 number and reach my wife. She can get in touch with us and help you plan your dream fishing trip or you can always email me at mark@fishbigfish.com

I plan on blogging throughout the trip to share everything we find along the way. There are several internet cafes in Cáceres so I should be able to keep you up to date on what's happening. We also have several big surprises in store as well that we are working on and will announce shortly after the trip.

World's largest wetland. World's heaviest sport fish population. Largest concentration of wildlife in the Americas. The Pantanal. I can't think of any other place I'd rather be.

Congrats Mike!

Mike Christian, our sales rep in the US and one of my oldest friends, went fishing with his brother last week while in Florida. He snagged this 30lb. cobia. I know he had a great time and we are all happy for you Mike.

An Apology

I want to apologize for not keeping this blog up to date over the last few weeks. Things have been very busy around here as we are getting ready for the new fishing season.

Rógerio and I will be in several meetings this week concerning a new fishing package that we will be offering in the near future. It is very exciting and I am sure that within a few days we will be able to share more details about this fantastic opportunity.

We are also planning a quick scouting trip up to the Pantanal to see how spawning went this year and what population of Dorado we can look forward to. Early estimates have been high but we want to see for ourselves. We plan to travel in the next two weeks.

Thanks for being a part of this blog. I promise a lot more info and photos in just a few days.

Mark

Pintado - Speckled Catfish of the Pantanal

At least once a week I'm going to talk a little about some of the fish we go after on our excursions into the Pantanal. One of my favorites is the Pintado or Speckled Catfish.

This is not your ordinary river cat. The Pintado, or pseudoplatystoma corruscans, is a real fighter and is known for putting up hour or more long fights. It is only found in the Prata and São Francisco Basins and is a favorite of Brazilian sport fishermen.

It is also one of the tastiest fish I've ever eaten. And the people of Mato Grosso are very creative in finding different ways to fix this versatile fish. One of the most traditional is called Peixe na Telha or Fish in a Roof Tile. The fish is literally cooked in a modified ceramic roof tile, similar to the ones that adorn most Brazilian houses.

Large fillets, together with tomatoes, onions, potatoes and a lot of seasoning, are slow cooked for hours creating a culinary sensation like you've never had before.

Now these are big fish so you are going to have to get out the heavy equipment to pull one of these in. You should use a medium to heavy rod, 20 - 30 lb test line and hooks between 6/0 and 10/0.

Most pintados are caught using live bait including river and swamp eels, minnows and the snake-like worm minhocuçu. They also hit lures, especially jigs in mid to deep water levels.

Pintados get up to over 100 lbs and in the Pantanal it is normal to catch the 40-60 pounders. I've leave you with this photo. This 110 lb pintado was caught by Johnny Hoffman in February of 2003 using an artificial lure.

Singing Fish

Singing Fish
Originally uploaded by anny's pal.

Just found this photo on Flickr. Never seen anything like it before. I can't figure out how in the world they got this picture but I still think it's pretty cool.

Independent British Conservation Group Buys Portion Of The Pantanal To Create Reserve

The World Land Trust has recently purchased 3,600 hectacres of land in the Paraguayan region of the Pantanal. The Sid Templer Reserve is designed to preserve this area as a wildlife refuge. The Paraguayan side of the Pantanal has largely been encroached on my farmers and cattlemen, destroying much of the vegetation and habitat for the region's wildlife.

Paraguay has been much more lax than Brazil in it's protection of wetlands and nature reserves. Hence private non-profit groups have had to step in.

In 1981 a federal decree was made for the establishment of the Pantanal Matogrossense National Park, preserving over 180,000 hectacres of wilderness here in Brazil. I have been to PMNP and it is absolutely gorgeous. We will accommodate any group traveling with us who desires to visit the park and you should definitely choose to do so.

Our hats are off to World Land Trust for moving forward when governments won't or can't. After visiting the Pantanal for yourself, you'll understand why this wetland must be protected for the future.

http://www.worldlandtrust.org/projects/paraguay.htm

What a Beauty!

This 17 lb Dorado was caught by Adriano Costa in March of 2006 on the Paraguay River in the Pantantal. One more example that the place to fish for this fighter is in the Brazilian wetlands.

I found this photo on the Pesca & Compania website. They are our version of Field & Stream. It's a great magazine and their website is top notch. Even though it is in Portuguese, you should check it out if for nothing more than to see what type and size of fish can be found in Brazil.

http://pesca-cia.uol.com.br/index.shtml

A Man After My Own Heart

I generally comment on what's going on around Brazil, especially in the Pantanal but I had to blog about Kenny Schneider of Illinois. Here is a man who set a goal and conquered.

Kenny decided he would try to catch at least one fish every day for the entire year 2006. And he did it.

In the article linked below, he talks about the difficulties he went through and his perseverance.

Please read this article from the Centre Daily. You won't be disappointed.

Kenny, my hat is off to you. Parabens!!

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/sports/16451345.htm

Wildlife of the Pantanal

Our guests will want to know what type and how much wildlife they can expect on one of our excursions. Simply put, more than you can imagine or even take in. It's like trying to take a drink from a waterfall.

Take the caiman crocodiles for example. I grew up in Middle Tennessee and never saw anything like them before except on the Discovery Channel. After a day or two on the Paraguay River and seeing literally hundreds of them (there are over 30 million in the Pantanal) you almost quit paying attention to them. Well, almost.

When I took this picture I had grown accustomed to them enough to get in as close as I could. I was about 5 feet away and in a boat but he still had my full respect. Caiman are slow movers unless they are attacking and then they are lighting fast.

Any photographer will love the Pantanal because of its diversity of wildlife. Take this picture for example. Two capybaras seemingly posing and saying "cheese" for me while being accompanied by a great ibis in the background. What you can't see is a caiman croc just off to the right. I didn't see him til after this photo was already taken.

Though I've been taking pictures for years, this was my first stab at wildlife photography. The Pantanal makes it easy and after you return home, you'll have plenty of National Geographic quality photos of your own to display with pride and show off to your family and friends.

You can see more of my pics from the Pantanal at my Flickr site

http://www.flickr.com/photos/westnashvillegringo/

Big Daddy Dorado

Check out this 22 lb Dorado caught in the Pantanal. This was caught using a leech as bait. The photo doesn't say who caught it but you can bet this little boy didn't reel him in. The fish is almost as big as he it.

I found this photo on a Brazilian website, Fotos de Pesca (Fishing Photos). Even though you won't understand everything, there are some pictures of some great catches.

http://www.fotosdepesca.com.br/

Just about Perfect

I am late posting to the blog late today because I have spent most of my day uploading pictures to our new Flickr site.

While rummaging through thousands of digital photos on my hard drives, I found this one that I had completely forgotten about.


I took this picture of these guys fishing on the Paraguay River in the Pantanal back in August of last year. We had spent the day just going up and down the river to see it's beauty.

This is definitely one of my favorite photos. Makes me want to be there right now. I don't think March can come fast enough.

You can see more of our pictures at our Flickr website:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/westnashvillegringo

The Big Catch

Yesterday, while we were at Ilhotas Beach, my son Lewis grabbed this trophy while swimming.

Not big enough to keep but the only thing I saw anybody catch all day. You can see more photos of the beach at my Flikr site:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/westnashvillegringo/

A Day at the Beach

Just got in from spending the day at Ilhotas Beach in Itapema. It is about 20 minutes from my house and not nearly as crowded as our beach. Took this picture of a couple of women fishing. Saw several others as well but nothing was biting. Didn't hear anyone complain, though.

Tomorrow in my personal blog, The West Nashville Gringo, I'll write more about this beautiful beach. Have a great weekend.

http://westnashvillegringo.blogspot.com

Just Beautiful

A sunset on the Pantanal is always breathtaking. Photographs don´t do it justice but these from Jason Conradt comes as close as any.

Brazilians will tell you that no place on earth has a more beautiful sunset than the Pantanal. They might just be right.

Check out Jason´s other photos at Flickr.com

http://flickr.com/photos/blue-j/