Transpantaneira km 0

Early in the morning after a big breakfast with Alessandra and Nobu we leave Poconè on the sturdy blue Toyota of Pantanal Trackers: the burro xucro, that means a mule that has not been worked out.
After a while the paved road abruptly ends and a red earth road links us to the Transpantaneira, the only road that runs deeply into the Pantanal. It’s a dirt road sectioned by around 125 small wooden bridges and ends 145 km south of Poconè, at Porto Jofre. Built in 1973 it was supposed to link Poconè to Corumbà but was interrupted at Porto Jofre.
White egrets observe lazily the ‘burro xucro’ proceeding slowly on the hobbling street. The first part of the road is the worst, it’s full of stones and I feel as if the Toyota will tear into pieces.
A lonesome hawk looks at us from a high tree…fiercily imperturbable. And there it is the actual starting point of the Transpantaneira. A wooden sign in 3 languages welcomes visitors to the Estrada Parque. Julinho explains to me that in the area we are heading to a Parque Estadual (Parque Estadual Encontro das 'Aguas) has been created in 2004, but only at the end of this year a management plan will be disclosed.