Brazil 2023

Part Two

Birds and Culture of Cuiabá

Prologue…

Welcome to Part Two of my blog about my August 2023 trip to Brazil with a Jeff Parker tour.  Part One of my blog covers the first six days (August 15-20, 2023) of my trip which were spent in the Amazon Basin region of Brazil in search of Harpy Eagles.  This blog covers Monday, August 21, 2023, a very full day that I spent exploring Cuiabá on my own. The second part of my tour with Jeff Parker did not start until the welcome dinner that evening, so I left the hotel at 5:30 a.m. bound and determined to experience as much as Cuiabá had to offer!

A Day On My Own In Cuiabá (Monday, August 21, 2023)

Our tour group returned from the Amazon Basin region on Sunday evening, August 20, 2023.  Our new Southwild guide Lailson Marques (“Liko”) picked us up at the Cuiabá Airport and took us over to the Slaviero Slim Hotel to get checked in for our two night stay there.  I knew from the trip itinerary that I would have a free day on Monday the 21st, so I asked Liko where he would recommend I go for some birdwatching the next day.  He recomended Parque Mãe Bonifácia near downtown, so that is where I went, early on Monday morning.  I took a cab from the hotel (leaving at 5:30 a.m.) to the park and arranged with my driver Jose Antonio to be picked back up later that morning.  When I arrived, Parque Mãe Bonifácia was already being enjoyed by a significant number of people walking and exercising.  Over the next several hours, I walked every trail in the park and thoroughly enjoyed myself.  I saw lots of birds at this urban enclave, and eleven of the species I observed were new to me, as follows:  Straight-billed Woodcreeper, Barred Antshrike, Red-crested Finch, Common Tody-Flycatcher, White-wedged Piculet, Rufous-bellied Thrush, Bare-faced Ibis, Great Antshrike, Peach-fronted Parakeet, Buff-throated Saltator, and Rufous Hornero.  All in all, it was a wonderful morning for this old man!

In addition to the many birds I saw at Parque Mãe Bonifácia that morning, I also saw several Agoutis.  An Agouti is a large rodent that is the only animal with strong enough teeth to break open a Brazilian nut shell.  I also ran into a group of Black-tailed Marmoset monkeys, which were a lot of fun to watch and play hide and seek with.   I would love to come back to this beautiful little park again some day!

My faithful cab driver, Jose Antonio, picked me up at the park at our agreed upon time, and we headed into the center of the city of Cuiabá for some culture.  The previous day one of my travel mates said that when she visited Cuiabá on a previous trip she stayed at a hotel downtown.  She also said the hotel cautioned them about walking around downtown because it was very dangerous.  I didn’t heed this warning, and I am glad I didn’t!  I saw nothing during my walks in the central district that gave me cause for alarm.  Anyway,  my first stop after leaving the park was Museu Do Morro Da Caixa D’agua Velha, commonly called the Water Museum.   I had Jose Antonio drop me off in front of the museum and we agreed that he would pick me up two hours later.  I spent about 30 minutes in the Water Museum, which was built in 1882 as a water reservoir for the Cuiabá water system.  The facility originally had underground water tanks that could store one million liters of water, which was pumped up to the tanks from the river using a steam engine.  Since the facility was located at one of the highest points in Cuiabá, the water was distributed across the city using gravity.  In 2007 the city transformed the old facility into a beautiful underground museum, using the water reservoir tunnels as galleries.  I enjoyed the exhibits, which were a hodgepodge of historical items, modern art, and folk art.  As is the case with most museums I have visited in Central and South America, it was poorly curated, but quite interesting nonetheless.

From the Water Museum I walked downhill through the central historic district headed for the Catedral Bom Jesus De Cuiabá.  This church is known as the mother church of Cuiabá and was originally built in 1723.  The original structure was torn down in 1968 and the present building was constructed.  I enjoyed my walk to the church, but was disappointed to find it locked.  As is the custom, there is a plaza/park in front of the church.  While walking around the plaza in front of the church, I spotted a beautiful Pale-crested Woodpecker working on a tree near a statue.  I was able to get some pretty decent photos of this bird, which was new to me. 

After my visit to Catedral Bom Jesus De Cuiabá, I trudged up the steep hill headed back to the Water Museum.  About halfway I stopped in to a large shop to get out of the heat, buy my grandson J.D. an “um macaco” (a stuffed monkey), and flirt with the pretty Brazilian girls who were tending the shop.  The girl that helped pick out the monkey I purchased almost fainted when I gave her a $10 American bill for a tip —  what fun!  I finally made it back to the Water Museum and Jose Antonio showed up right on time.  He put on his tour guide hat and suggested we visit the Santuário Ecarístico Nossa Senhora Do Bom Despacho  (Eucharistic Shrine of Our Lady of Good Dispatch).  We drove over to the Shrine and I was delighted to find it open.  I went inside and said a few prayers for my mother-in-law Betty Dardeau.  After spending a little time in prayer and meditation in the cool solitude of the Shrine, my body felt refreshed and my mind felt soothed. 

From the Santuário Ecarístico Nossa Senhora Do Bom Despacho we drove over to another church that Jose Antonio wanted me to see.  He told me the name, but I forgot to write it down, and, unfortunately, it was locked up tight.  It was beautiful on the outside and I wish I could have seen the inside.

Jose Antonio and I finished up our afternoon explorations with a stop at the Sesc Arsenal and the River Museum.  Neither of these attractions were very impressive, but I am glad to have stopped to see them.   As best I could tell, the Sesc Arsenal is some sort of cultural arts facility that hosts workshops, films, and theater activities.  I is housed in a rustic old structure that I assume had something to do with military activity.  

The River Museum is housed in an old Fish Market constructed in 1899.  It appears to be a collection of old photographs that document the activities at the market and the nearby Cuiabá River.  As I walked around, this seemed to be a sad place of unrealized plans and dreams.  

By the time we finished up at the River Museum I was more than ready to head back to the hotel Slim.  It had been a long, but enjoyable day!  Since we were heading out in the morning for the very remote and rural Pantanal, I had Jose Antonio drop me off at the mall so I could buy some bottled water and a few personal items.  By the way, the mall across from the airport is as modern and nice as you will see anywhere in the states–  a very nice place!

That concludes Part Two of my Brazil trip blog.  To go directly to Part Three, which focuses on the two lodges we stayed at in the Pantanal, look here.  Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog–  I hope you enjoyed it!