Day 18: Cuiaba to Poconé – A short stop over

36° Celsius during day time, I finally arrived in Brazil, even though apparently it is winter. Yesterday, I used my day off in Cuiaba to organise another external hard drive, a white coloured long sleeve and a cap to be protected from the sun. I was ready to hit the Pantanal…

I packed my stuff and drove down South to Pocono, the Gateway to the Transpantaneira Highway. Pocone is a small town with a couple of bars, restaurants and plenty of hotels. It was the first time that I added some extra fuel to the tanks since there are no petrol station along the way to Porto Jofre and in total the drive will take me around 300 km (there and back).

When I arrived in Pocone I realised it was a Saturday and had therefore a typical Feijoada in one of the restaurants together with a fresh lime juice. The ideal start to get tired and have a break in the hotel, lol.

Unfortunately, there was no other guest who was interested to join one of the boat cruises along the Pantanal and I was not bothered to spend more than what I already paid for the Safari. I still did not find a single person to join my adventure, despite the fact I was posting several “advertisements” on TripAdvisor, LonelyPlanet and Facebook Backpacking groups. Fingers crossed that one or the other still might be interested.

Back in the hotel I took care of the organization of the next days. A border crossing into Bolivia was awaiting me and I was still not 100 % sure how it would work. Another adventure was waiting for me…

Where to stay in Poconé

I stayed at hotel Canoas which included a safe garage, a decent wifi and a small breakfast. More important, I appreciated the location of the hotel which was just at the beginning of the Transpantaneira.

Hotel Canoas in Poconé, Pictures from booking.com
Hotel Canoas in Poconé, Pictures from booking.com

Route from Cuiaba to Pocono