Far from roads, cowboys thrive in Brazil wetlands

CORUMBA, Brazil — Greener pastures grow under water in the Pantanal de Mato Grosso do Sul, an immense area of wetlands in western Brazil.

On his feet hours before sunrise, 66-year-old Joao Aquino Pereira readies the horses and wakes up the herd of oxen for a new day in the three-week pilgrimage in search of grass to graze.

“Today’s going to be one of those days,” says the old cowboy, forecasting the weather by looking up at the red skies. “It seems like it’ll be a hot one and we still need to prepare the cattle to go across the river.”

The crossing of the Taquari River requires all the skill Pereira has amassed in decades of experience. Along with five other mounted cowboys, he’ll have to line up and guide 520 oxen through the depths of the overflowing river. Each day, the men and animals traverse about 11 miles (18 kilometres), from dawn until 3 p.m., in temperatures averaging about 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius) during the day. At different moments during the trip, the men cross paths with macaws, deer and pit vipers, all seemingly unfazed by their presence.