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TESTIMONIALS

Excellent Wildlife Photography and birding trip

 

The whole experience was wonderful, from start to finish. Hellen and Paulo worked really hard to create the perfect bespoke tour for us. Not only did we get some amazing Jaguar sightings (14+ individuals!), Paulo was able to identify each one and tell us their history. We got to see Giant Ant Eater, Tapir, Giant River Otters, Caimen, Capybara, hundrends of beautiful birds species and much, much more. A highly recommended trip for any wildlife enthusiast, birder or photographer, with the best, most knowledgeable guides in the Pantanal.

GregGPhotograpy

The Perfect Guide - Pantanal

 

All the other reviews thoroughly describe the incredible wildlife-viewing experiences, so I will focus on Pantanal & Rainforests Expeditions. Our group of 10 was mostly made up of wildlife experts, which can be challenging (and we did!) for any wildlife guide. However, Paulo's knowledge and experience was phenomenal (he must be older than he looks...). He easily shared incredible insights about wildlife and Brazil in general. Yet, he was quiet, self-effacing, charming, focused on his clients, and stayed in the background unless needed. When a glitch happened, his quiet ability to deal with thorny issues came forward. Of course, the backbone of the operation must be his wife Helen: everything went off without a hitch, seeming almost luxurious. We would most assuredly hire Pantanal & Rainforests Expeditions again!

Kim Forrest   (Los Banos, Califórnia)

Experience the Pantanal with an amazing guide and naturalist

 

"A trip to the Pantanal is by itself an amazing experience. Working with Paulo and Hellen from Pantanal and Rainforests Expeditions made our visit an unforgettable lifetime event. Every aspect of our tour was expertly planned with full attention to our needs. Paulo's encyclopedic knowledge of the wildlife and the Pantanal is nothing short of mind-boggling. It's impressive enough that Paulo was able to spot wildlife that we would have easily passed by. He was then able to identify the specific type of bird or animal and then give us many details including the natural habitats, the scientific name, the migration patterns, and many other bits of information that added greatly to our experience. Who needs National Geographic when we had Paulo? Hellen and Paulo addressed every detail and contingency such that all we had to do was enjoy the beauty and wonder that is the Pantanal. In our minds Paulo and Hellen will forever be linked to our wonderful memories of the Pantanal. " 

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Wendy & Art Bori (USA)

"I want to thank you for excellent guiding during our tour to Pantanal. I think that I can say for all the group: we were very much happy! A great experience!" 

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Kaj Aarup (Denmark)

"Wish we were still in the Pantanal with you! We had a wonderful time. There can't be a better guide." 

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Val Mead (UK)

"Hi Paulo
We are back safely from a wonderful trip in the Pantanal! I would just like to thank you very much for making the trip memorable and wonderful! You are really a great and special guy!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!! You are an absolute star! 
Lots of hugs and warm regards" 

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Tanya Stone ( President of the Rotary International Club, South Africa)

"I had an excellent and relaxing few days there, seeing I saw a HUGE amount of bird and animal life both around the lodge and on the river. Paulo has several degrees, has written bird books and has guided on at least three continents, so he was a bona-fide expert on everything in the natural world. He is also an expert on a lot of things in the human world too, which made for some fascinating conversations to while away the evenings, and the hours in the car.
(...)the guide, Paulo Barreiros, was brilliant! 10/10 (...) So I'd go back in a heartbeat, I'd use the same company, I'd ask for the same guide and I would stay in the same place again. And I would take extra memory cards with me too!!!"

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Tim Barber (Australia)

"Dear Paulo,

thank you so much for being such a wonderful guide & caretaker. You have made our stay so enjoyable! Your special attention to detail made my medical “emergency” go away. We really appreciate all that you did for us. (…) We cannot praise you highly enough. So much so that we now consider you our new best friend."

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Carol Fryer (award winning nature photographer)

"Dear Paulo,
Thank so much for showing us the best of Pantanal and for taking such good care of us! We still often talk about you and the fabulous time we had. We like to think we can meet up again sometime in the future - you never know we might see you on the Amazon…"

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Barbara and Andrew Berry (UK)

"Due to my job, I have travelled virtually to every country on Earth! And I never miss an opportunity to enjoy the most amazing natural and cultural wonders of the world. Thus, over the years, I have been accompanied by many guides. Most of them were really good. I must say that Paulo Barreiros was one of the best! Pantanal exceeded my expectations!"

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Martin Elling (USA)

"Paulo Barreiros in particular was brilliant!

He is both very knowledgeable and has a friendly, engaging manner. His help did not end at the end of the cruise, as he also travelled with those of us transferring to the Just Jaguars tour and stayed with us on the flights and until we met our driver in Cuiaba.
The star for me was guide Paulo Barreiros who was always available with his encyclopedic knowledge and good humour.
Paulo is a superb spotter of birds and his knowledge of the wildlife and the region in general is extensive. He obviously has a passion for it. Paulo was very patient in that I couldn’t always remember what things were and he never minded repeating as often as needed. Paulo also coped with some unexpected changes to the itinerary very well, for example when a sudden storm hit, he very quickly found us a restaurant for dinner as the one we were booked into had no power.
Paulo has an excellent knowledge about the birds and animals of the area.
Paulo Barreiros was brilliant at making sure we were always alright.
Trip leader, Paulo, extremely knowledgeable and passionate."

Brian Dow (UK)

"We traveled to the Pantanal and other parts of Brazil during the first two weeks of August 2014. The trip was designed to maximize wildlife photography and we saw 17 species.
(…) Our group consisted of three families. (…) We left the next morning by air conditioned van, with our amazing guide Paulo Barreiros. His command of English was outstanding and his wildlife/bird knowledge was equally impressive. This trip meant a lot to our families and Paulo played a great role making it so special. I would highly recommend him as a guide.
The Transpantaneira is a wildlife and bird bonanza, with our first sitting of an Anteater just wandering across the road.
(…)Though no jaguars seen that evening, we had great close views of a group of foraging Giant Otters. Truly incredible and powerful carnivores.
(…)Over the course of the next three days we motored up and down the river and its tributaries. There were plenty of other boats looking as well and like buffalo jams in Yellowstone, the Pantanal has Jaguar “jams”. However, there were not too many boats. One morning, we found a beautiful male Jaguar and had him all to ourselves for a quite a while."

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Paul Klockenbrink (Partner in Gentry Locke's Labor & Employment law group. Virginia, USA)

"Paulo Barreiros is an excellent tour leader! We cannot give enough praise for him."

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Richard & Gillian Knight (UK)

"Paulo Barreiros is an amazing guide!

He has an admirable wealth of knowledge, loves his job and spares no efforts to show his guests a multitude of wonderful creatures. We saw so many animals that we would of never spotted without her and she helped us take great pictures."

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Susan & Graham Russell (photographic & Imaging Services)

"Paulo,
Thank you so much for sharing your extensive knowledge!
You have made our birding trip better than I could ever imagine!"

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Nick Rodenhouse (Wellesley College, USA)

"As an enthusiast for the wildlife, over the years I`ve made quite a few ecotrips to Central e South America. I finally decided to check out Pantanal and I was so amazed!!! In Pantanal I found pretty much everything that I wanted to see: most of my favorite species from previous trips (but, generally speaking, easier to spot and in larger quantities) and, above all, the most allusive ones that toped my wishing list for a long time. Jaguars were the ones I was most craving to see and I got almost an overdose of them! Unbelievable!!
Paulo [Barreiros] played a major role making our green dreams come true. We cannot praise him enough. He's a very sharp naturalist; extremely knowledgeable (not only nature smart); thoughtful; committed to please his guests and his wit can crack you laughing at any time…"

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Nazareth Gabrielian & Lynda Robertson (Canada)

"Paulo – thank you again for a fantastic trip to the Pantanal! Not only were we incredibly lucky to have such awesome sightings, but we were also incredibly lucky to be paired up with you! It was so much fun to see how much we all had in common; and your very nice list of adjectives that you generously applied to us absolutely applies to you! I hope all of our collective luck continues."

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Dr Craig Ranson & Dr Leslie polizoti's (USA)

"Paulo,
We also thought your company and birding expertise very enjoyable! I especially liked your scientific details about certain species. It was a memorable experience, one I won't ever forget. I am already preparing a powerpoint presentation of the
Pantanal wildlife to share with Birding Clubs and Audubon Societies (…) with exciting stories from wonderful Brazil!!

A Friend in Birding"

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Paul Barding (USA)

"Hi Paulo!
We had an absolutely fantastic time with you and really enjoyed the trip. (…) you do fantastic work and probably don’t get paid enough .
All the best"

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Cynthia Wardle (Australia)

"Great guides are hard to find. We have been blessed by having you."

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Professor Sir Ghillean Prance (prominent British botanist and ecologist, former Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.)

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