 |
| Pristine mangroves |
It is winter here in southern Brazil, warm and cloudy and I have been invited to join an expedition to go and look for dolphins off the coast of Pontal do Parana. So we head out to sea around the local islands within the Paranagua Estuarine Complex. Here are some views.
 |
| Local fisherman and egret friend. An oil platform in construction behind. |
 |
| My host Dr Camila Domit - in the background Mel (Honey) island one of the numerous small islands lush in tropical vegetation. |
 |
| Ilho do Mel with a lighthouse which used to guide vessels into the port of Parana before a new channel was made. |
 |
| Happy fishermen using a local ferry for their weekend recreation |
 |
| Nossa Senhora Dos Prazeres Fort on 'Honey Island' |
 |
| Brown boobies flying low over the wonderfully calm water |
 |
| More brown boobies in formation |
 |
| A distant small triangular fin - the Guiana dolphin |
 |
| onboard team going into action |
 |
| A local fisherman offloading his nets. |
 |
| Ilha das Pecas |
 |
| Black vultures - watched by an almost equally large gull - pick at something in the shallows. |
 |
| An vulture passes overhead |
After passing along the islands with their white sand beaches, small villages and pretty boats we head inland again, passed the mangroves and to the local major port.
 |
| In silhouette a frigate bird (left) and eagle |
 |
| Jet skis hurtling out of port |
 |
| The jet skis pass a major cargo vessel |
 |
| Huge container vessels in a line being loaded and unloaded in Paranagua Port Area |
 |
| A small light gray body against the hull of a massive container vessel (The Guinana dolphin is a little less than 2 m long and mothers with calves were feeding in this busy port) |
 |
| Lara, Liana, Pedro, Adriana and Camila |
We leave the dolphins and go back to port passed mangroves, an oil platform in construction, and some handsome small marinas.
