Very
Brazilian, in
both its
vastness and its
frontier
culture, the
Mato Grosso
region is
essentially an
enormous plain
rippled by a
handful of small
mountain ranges.
Equally
Brazilian,
there's a firm
political
boundary, a line
on a map, across
the heart of the
Pantanal swamp
marking the
competing
ambitions of two
mammoth states:
Mato Grosso
and
Mato
Grosso do Sul
. The northern
half of the
region - the
state of Mato
Grosso - is
sparsely
populated with
the only
settlements of
any size -
Cuiabá,
Rondonópolis and
Cáceres - having
a combined
population of
little over a
million. Most of
the state of
Mato Grosso do
Sul, which is
marginally more
populous, is
either seasonal
flood plain or
open scrubland.
To the west of
Mato Grosso do
Sul there are
Bolivian swamps
and forest; the
mighty rivers
Araguaia and
Paraná
(one flowing
north, the other
south) form a
natural rim to
the east, while
the
Rio
Paraguai and
the country
named after it
complete the
picture to the
south. The name
Mato Grosso,
which means "thick
wood", is more
appropriate to
the northernmost
state, where
thorny scrubland
passes into
tropical
rainforest and
the land begins
its incline
towards the
Amazon,
interrupted only
by the beautiful
uplifted plateau
of the Chapada
das Guimarães.
The simple
road network and
the limited
sprinkling of
settlements make
getting about
within the Mato
Grosso fairly
hard work.
Distances are
enormous, and
although most of
the buses and
trunk roads are
good any journey
is inevitably a
long one. But
the variety of
landscape alone
makes the trip a
unique one and,
for the
adventurous
traveller,
there's any one
of a wide range
of fascinating
locations - from
swamps and
forests to
endless cattle
ranches,
riverine
villages or
jungle Indian
reservations.
The cities of
the Mato Grosso
are particularly
deceptive.
Although
surprisingly
modern and
developed,
they've only
recently
received the
full trappings
of civilization.
Portuguese
colonists began
to settle in the
region fairly
late, at the
time of the
great Cuiabá
gold rush of the
early eighteenth
century, though
Cuiabá town
itself remained
almost
completely
isolated from
the rest of
Brazil until its
first telegraph
link was
installed in the
1890s.
Masterminded and
built by a local
boy made good -
a down-to-earth
army officer
called Rondon -
the telegraph
lines were the
Mato Grosso's
first real
attempt to join
the outside
world. These
days, with the
completion of
Highway BR-364,
Cuiabá has again
become a staging
post for
pioneers; this
time for
thousands of
Brazilian
peasants in
search of land
or work in the
freshly opened
western Amazon
states of
Rondônia and
Acre. Cuiabá
can't exactly
claim to be a
resort town, but
it is a natural
stepping stone
for exploring
either the
Pantanal, or the
mountainous
scenery of the
Chapada dos
Guimarães.
Until 1979
Cuiabá was
capital of the
entire Mato
Grosso. Campo
Grande in
the south,
however, was
also growing
rapidly and
playing an
increasingly
important
financial and
administrative
role within
Brazil. The old
state was sliced
very roughly in
half - Campo
Grande becoming
capital of the
brand-new state
of Mato
Grosso do Sul
. This
tightening of
political
control over the
various Mato
Grosso regions
reflects their
rapid
development and
relative wealth
- a complete
contrast to the
poorer, even
more expansive
and much more
remote
wilderness of
the Amazon basin.
Topographically,
and in terms of
its tourist
potential, the
Mato Grosso will
always be
dominated by the
Pantanal
, one of the
world's largest
swamps, which
extends into
both the states
of Mato Grosso
and Mato Grosso
do Sul, and is
renowned as one
of the best
places for
spotting
wildlife in the
whole of South
America. Between
two million and
five million
cayman
alligators are
"culled"
annually from
the Pantanal,
though it's
better known for
its array of
birdlife and its
endless supply
of piranha fish
- the latter
used in an
excellent
regional soup
dish. So far
it's proved
impossible to
put a road right
through the
Pantanal, so
travelling
anywhere around
here is slow.
After Cuiabá
and Campo
Grande,
Corumbá , on
the western edge
of the swamp, is
probably the
next most
popular urban
destination. A
relatively small
city, it's only
half an hour
from Bolivia,
but seven or
eight from Campo
Grande, the
nearest
Brazilian
outpost. It is
possible to
travel through
the Pantanal by
river from
Corumbá,
directly to the
port of Cáceres
near Cuiabá,
though unless
you can afford a
luxury tour this
adventurous
fluvial route
takes at least a
week, and often
longer.
