Bonito, Brazil

Bonito is a little village in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Surprisingly it's main attractions are under water - the crystal clear rivers full of underwater life. The main one is Rio da Prata e.g. Silver River. Tours are organized from the village to the various attractions. Rio da Prata for example lies nearly an hours car ride away from the village itself. Typically you are obliged to purchase a full-day tour including a less interesting walk in the forest visit to a crater in the morning and the river after lunch in the afternoon. The crater has some caymans and you may see some birds around there, but generally it's not much to see. It can be annoying if you are on a tight schedule since the reason people take this tour is simply Rio da Prata and doing just that would allow for some other activity on the same day.

But then we finally get our gear after lunch. The guide asks us to avoid using sunscreen in order to protect the river. That gives and idea how many visitors this place has. We head towards the river first by a strange tourist transport and then by foot. On the path the guide checks a stop watch hanging on the side of the path. We stop for a moment to wait - the stop watch is used to separate groups into 15-minute intervals. Finally we continue and walk the remaining part to the starting point. We get into the water and the guides give a few minute course pointing out repeatedly that diving in the river is not allowed. Well that's impossible anyway with the wet suit and a floating jacket that could float an elephant.

A quick look under water at the starting pond in the river and you'll already know why it was worth all the extra touring and lunching. The water is amazingly clear and there are fish all over the place. And this is just the point of entry into the water.

Then the guide waves everybody to follow him in a line. We start swimming towards a little opening in the other end of the pond. There's a narrow stream connecting with the main river and the fun starts. We just float along with the current watching fish swim by underneath. A few times the guide stops as there are narrower rapids with rocks so he makes us go through one by one helping the ones who need by pushing them away from the rocks while they float by. We also take a break on a platform on the side of the river and we are finally allowed to dive. In the bottom sand I see some movement and dive down to check it out - it's a spring or underground stream joining the river that blows up the sand in the bottom. Very nice!

Accommodation

There are many options in Bonito from hotels to hostels. Some hostels even have pools. Prices are relatively high e.g. a double room in a hostel costs more than a room in a reasonable hotel in other places of Brazil - even Iguacu.

Cost

Bonito is very expensive for Brazilian standards. And don't even think about exchanging USD or other currencies in Bonito - you will pay dearly in your foreign currency for every reals you get. Supermarkets and the rest are way more expensive than elsewhere in Brazil. Use a credit card and/or have your reals before arriving to Bonito.

Eating out

Touristic as it is you know the drill. A few upscale restaurant in the best locations of the main street. Other places like pizzerias etc around them and the typical places further away. Ask for the local fish specialty dish which is really delicious. Don't expect to find wine on the menu - beer is the thing in Bonito and as usual in Brazil it's very good.

How to get there

There is an airport connecting with the Campo Grande airport. Otherwise shuttles and buses are available from Campo Grande and Corumba - depending where you are coming from. Coming from Bolivia like I did the cheapest option is the bus from Corumba, but it leaves at 6 AM and doesn't run on Sundays or public holidays. I crossed the border later than 6AM and it was a Saturday so I booked a shuttle for the next day with one of the travel agencies across the street from the bus terminal and stayed one night in Corumba.

Note that Campo Grande has a brand new bus terminal outside the city. The old one near the city center is not in use although many travel web sites still refer to it.