The photo above is of one the most iconic images of Brazil.  How I got to see it up close and personal is one of the most consequential WTDGAP (When-Things-Don’t-Go-As-Planned) moments of my journeys. On the eve  of my flight out of the US, I received a call from Abercrombie &Kent, the travel company I use, with sad news.  Once again out of control wildfires wreaked havoc – this time on the Pantanal.  Extreme drought, climate change and human error  enabled these wildfires to start earlier than usual and despite best efforts of firefighters, claimed large swaths of the Brazilian  rainforests.  According to Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE), there were nearly 25,000 fire hotspots through July 2024 the highest number for this period since 2005.  More than 26.4 million acres have burned, laying waste to vegetation and killing countless animals, insects etc and laying waste to so many villages. One of their targets was the refuge in the Pantanal where I was to stay.

I was offered a number of choices from cancelling my trip to postponing it to next year or accept a changed itinerary – instead of the Pantanal the journey would include a number of days in Rio De Janeiro.  Those who know me already guessed my choice was the last one.  I was more determined than ever to visit this country that in total represents half of South America’s landmass and in particular the Amazonia biome (more on this later) which is the largest forest formation on the planet.

The decision turned out to be one of the best decisions I have made. I hope to show you  in future posts the impact of this new itinerary.

Here is an immediate result:  let me introduce you to Vitor Marigo, my guide.

Vitor comes from an exquisitely artistic family,  particularly his father Luiz  Claudio Marigo. He  dedicated much of his professional life  to nature photography, particularly coverage of the Amazon tropical rainforest and flooded forests, as well as the Atlantic rainforest. His passions to secure the future of these areas and their inhabitants – flora, fauna and human.  He took an active role in creating sustainability villages, conservation efforts and more.  I will write more about Luiz Claudio Marigo in future posts but here are a few of my favorite photos by him:

Vitor is the next generation of this spectacular talent.  His own photographs have been showcased in prestigious exhibitions and photo festivals, and featured in books and magazines.  In fact, Vitor will be releasing his own mega photography book about Rio De janeiro’s  Tijuca National Park in November – more on  that later.  First let me introduce Vitor as he describes his passion for this book:

The idea of ​​this book is to show people that Tijuca National Park has much more to offer than just Christ the Redeemer. We have a huge green area within the city full of incredible lakes, waterfalls, mountains and caves. I believe that environmental awareness comes through knowledge and contact with nature. As my father used to say, we can only care about the things we know. I hope this book awakens people’s curiosity and their desire to explore our countless attractions.

You can see why I instantly  liked Vitor as his love of nature and desire to protect it for future generations  dovetails with mine.  I am SO EXCITED to announce that Vitor has agreed to be a guest “collaborator”  on my posts on Brazil, including his amazing photos.  Here are a few teasers:

So excited to get this started – tune in next week!

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