After a few days we leave Campo Grande again. We make a detour north because I’ve read reports of a road where you can see a lot of anteaters. We want to see that. The first stop is called Rio Verde de Mato Grosso and from there a track leads south through no man’s land to Aquidauana. On the way to Rio Verde do Mato Grosso we find out that the housing unit has no electricity.

After a while I find a cable that is very strangely composed and therefore does not let any current through it. That explains the initial loose contact. While we are making our stop we also use the moment for lunch. The ladies in the restaurant are very fond of Leon. I put the child in their hands and we can eat undisturbed. Leon is so fascinated that he doesn’t even miss us.

We arrive at a nice campsite near a river that is warm and clear. Apart from us, there is no visitor on the square. When choosing the parking space, I knock over a power pole in reverse gear. It’s going to be expensive, but the owner takes it very calmly and quickly organizes a few friends and sacks of cement.

The starry sky is extraordinary again. The Milky Way fills the sky. We can see many animals: blue macaws fly overhead, frogs give their concert, large birds on long feet stride through the bushes like small predatory dinosaurs, praying mantises lurk over the toilet mirror, hummingbirds buzz from flower to flower, stick insects are difficult to approach trees and at night a monkey does gymnastics on the roof of our car.

Leon gets a fever, doesn’t want to eat and takes a long time to sleep. As always, Sara and I cannot eat together. Nevertheless, the next day promises to be relaxed. We treat ourselves to breakfast with melon and cake as well as coffee. Then we go splashing with Leon at the waterfall on the river. He now has so much water in front of him, but he still cries when he sees me jumping into the water and swimming there without him.

We are staying in the complex for a few days and we are the only guests. We chat with the owner and his family, then it’s time to continue the journey. The next destination is the way to the city of Aquidauana and the hunt for anteaters.