The landscape was beautiful and very interesting as we entered the "bowl" that is the Pantanal. We spotted many bird species along the way, and it seemed like we couldn't go 100 yards before someone spotted something new. A real highlight was seeing a giant anteater with a baby on its back just as we entered the ranch. On our orientation walk around the lodge, we saw our first hyacinth macaws and toco toucans. After a wonderful dinner, we met our guides – Thiago, Fino, Arnaldo and Victor. They showed us a slide show that told about the history of the area and got us excited about things to come.