The ones that got away! Part 3

The ones that got away! Part 3

We were on a 23 day wildlife adventure travel trip through Brazil, It was our 5th day in this beautiful country and our third day in the Pantanal. If you love wildlife and you have not heard of the Pantanal before then you really have some reading to do! Not considering South and East Africa the Pantanal is hands down the best place in the world to see wildlife.
Pantanal is the biggest tropical wetland in the world and is almost as big as England. Home to hundreds of lakes, rivers and swamps it is a paradise for wildlife. Very little people live here and those that do live a lifestyle which reminds me most of the wild west in the 1800s. Home to approximately 10 million Yacare caiman, Piranha's, the world's largest Jaguars (the size of a lioness), cougars, tapirs, giant ant eaters, howler monkeys and hundreds of species of birds

Brazil, Pantanal, July 2004
We decided to go Kayaking during our third day in the beautiful Pantanal. Being surrounded by Caiman, piranhas and other wildlife this might not seem as the best idea. We were in a party of 4, one kayak and one larger motorized boat which on that day they used peddles for instead  to make the least amount of noise.
Kayaks not being the most stable of water transportation we decided to take it slow, but as time passed we started to grow more bold. Then it happened, our strokes went out of balance, the kayak started to swing sideways and we both flipped in to the water, including our camera's.
For a moment, there was a silence. Our guide panicked thinking there goes my job, our other travel companions panicked as they thought we would surely get eaten, while both my travelling partner together with our boatman Patatas Fritas we bursted out in a laugh. I can tell you that Getting back in the Kayak with no solid ground underneath is no easy feat.
My laugh however was quickly muted remembering my camera was in my pocket while falling in the water. And there it was that I had to pass another 2 weeks on a amazing adventure without a decent camera.

Now this might be an extreme example but I have seen it happen all too often: camera's break because of water in any form, whether it be moisture, steam, rain, sweat or just a leak in your accommodation with water dripping exactly in the spot where you put your camera.
My advice for your next adventure travel trip or volunteer abroad project: take some water proof measures to protect your camera. Or risk not getting your camera to work in that once in a life time opportunity to photograph a wild Jaguar!