When travelling through Brazil, you see horses everywhere. According to the Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute (IBGE)’s 2007 data, there are nearly 6 million horses in the country, which means Brazil has the fourth largest herd in the world. Many of these horses are of mixed origin and often used in cattle-ranching. But Brazilians also breed and enjoy riding quality horses in disciplines that range from classical dressage to horseback archery.

The present day mammal fauna of Brazil is a mixture of the descendants of ancient inhabitants of Gondwanaland and newcomers that descended from North America with the closing of the Panama land bridge about 3 million years ago. Some animals managed to reach South America after it was isolated, but before the sea became an unsurpassable barrier. These include the new world primates and the caviomorph rodents. But many of South America mammals are descendants from more recent arrivals and probably out competed species now extinct.

The mythical Amazon can only be described in superlatives. It covers an area of 5 million square kilometers of which 80% is on Brazilian territory. It is the largest and most intact rainforest region in the world. Through it flows an extensive drainage system of more than a thousand rivers and in the skies over the rainforest, you have the flying rivers that flow in the opposite direction from the ocean to the Andes. It is estimated that water is recycled as vapour and rain 5 times on this journey.

“If you want to see the Amazon first hand, if you want to support local communities in their efforts to preserve the rainforest and all of its treasures and you want to keep your footprint barely visible then look no further than the Cristalino Jungle Lodge. For over 16 years, Vitoria Da Riva Carvalho and her crew have managed to make an almost entirely self-sustainable resort that is single-handedly responsible for preserving over 200,000 hectares (and counting) of rainforest.”