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
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