Exhausted and Revitalized
I'm not going to lie, that was an awful bus ride and lack of night's sleep. Arriving in Campo Grande, the option of heading immediately to the Pantanal was presented by the Eco-Tour operator, but the free night's stay in the hostel more than won the decision of the day. Armed with overhead ceiling fan, that functioned at a reasonable velocity, I was "out cold" for a solid six hours.
Now there was a mission for the mid-afternoon. I needed a long-sleeved shirt, running shoes, and mosquito repellent. The first item was purchased for the US equivalent of $6 from a small shop owner, who was so glad for the business he shook my hand for over two minutes. Next, I bought a pair or "no name" running shoes for use in the swamp waters. On the walk back to the hostel, I stopped for a freshly crushed sugarcane and lime juice drink. To my surprise, practically the entire sales staff of a rival shoe store were enjoying the same, behind the street cart. Despite minimal language opportunities between Portuguese, English, and Spanish, we shared many laughs and about 20 minutes of pigeon conversations. (Enough language barrier was crossed for the teenagers to give me good natured grief for buying my shoes at the "wrong store".) The people here are extremely friendly.
Continuing to make my way back to the hostel, the unprotected streets and short city buildings allowed the sun to weigh down heavily. Even when fully healthy, humid heat and I don't get along, so under the corporeal "healing burden" of my internal biological warfare it was time for a recuperative early evening "crash".
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