Anaconda Diving 2024 Trip Report

Bonito, Brazil
September 1 - 7, 2024

September 2, 2024 – Day one of the adventure begins!
We left the hotel at 8:30 am and headed to the dive shop to pick up tanks, sign waivers, and meet our team for the week.

This trip is logistically challenging, but Juca and his team really go above and beyond for us.

After getting our gear and signing the waivers, we hopped back into the van and made our way to the river. We'll be visiting several different rivers this week for a few reasons. The main reason is that after spending time with a snake, we prefer to give it a break, allowing it to relax and be a snake without photographers constantly trying to capture images.

The snakes in the rivers we visit are territorial, most have been living here for years. The last thing we want to do is force them to leave the places where they feel safe.

When searching for snakes the easiest place to find them is when they are basking in the sun on the edge of the river. They feel safe being close to water. If they need to get away from a possible threat, (like a jaguar), they can drop into the river and escape to one of their many hiding holes on the banks of the river.

Anacondas are difficult to find, so it’s helpful that we have several rivers to explore where we might find snakes to swim with.

When we arrived, one of our guides jumped into a kayak to do a quick scout of the area. I'm glad he did because he found a big male snake basking in the sun, warming up after a cold night.

We snapped a bunch of photos and then left it alone to continue its sunbath. We went off to find a big female for an in water encounter.

For this shoot, I was using my camera Gloria, which is my trusty Canon 5D Mark IV housed in an Aquatica housing. I use a Canon 8-15mm fisheye lens to capture the snake in its full environment.

Since most of these snakes like to hide in dark places along the river’s edge, I rely on video lights to illuminate the animal. My settings vary depending on the lighting, but I generally shoot at 1/320 shutter speed, f9 aperture, and ISO 1000. Even though the snake is often slow-moving, I use 1/320 for my shutter speed because I’m usually moving around, and I want to freeze the snake’s tongue when it flicks it out.

After a short ride in our boats, we found a young spectacled caiman in the water. We quickly geared up and swam over to it.

It spooked off quickly but only swam a short distance away. We followed the caiman. It tolerated us for a bit before moving again. We slowly approached it one more time. This time, it settled in a spot where it seemed to feel safe or sensed we weren’t a threat and stayed there for the rest of our time with it. The spot where it was resting was quite shallow and silty, so we tried hard to get a few shots without silt in the images, but it was challenging.

After a short while with the caiman, we left to search for snakes. Within 30 minutes, we found our first big snake of the trip, and she was huge!

We were slowly motoring down the river, looking for signs of a snake. Anna spotted a small, reptilian bump sticking out of the water, hidden on the side of the river. She asked us to take a closer look, and sure enough, it was a five-and-a-half-meter snake. She was incredibly big and thick!

Her head was massive, and her body was huge—easily the biggest snake I have seen in all the years I’ve been visiting this amazing place.

We geared up and got into the water. The snake left her hiding place, which was exposed, once she felt the vibrations in the water and swam in the direction of her den. The boys knew this snake; they had seen her once before and knew where her den was. The snake decided to try and hide from us under a sunken log. We watched her, snapping photos and capturing videos. It was dark where the snake was resting, so I turned on my video lights.

I wish I didn’t have to use them, but without lights, we wouldn’t have captured anything. They prefer dark places when they’re in the river.

We took a few photos of her until she tucked her head away and balled up. We backed off and gave her space. Eventually, she uncoiled and began swimming again. This time, she found a spot underneath a palm tree that was half submerged in the river. She tucked up against the roots and hid her massive body as best she could. Her face was visible, allowing us to capture images of her resting beneath the surface.

We stayed with her for over an hour, snapping photos of her in her spot. We decided to leave her and try to find another snake the boys knew about, a snake that lives a bit further up the river.

Supposedly, this snake is even bigger than the one we had just seen.

We didn’t find that snake, but no one was disappointed. Our wildlife encounters this morning far exceeded everyone’s expectations for the day. I was thrilled and so happy for everyone.

On our way back to the hotel, we still had some daylight left and decided to try to find a giant anteater. Juca took us to one of his favorite areas for anteaters.

We arrived at the area, and within 10 minutes, we found an anteater in an open field, hunting ants and termites for its dinner.

The wind was in our favor, allowing us to sneak up to this beautiful animal without it knowing we were there. Giant anteaters have terrible eyesight.

They have great hearing and a strong sense of smell, but poor vision. This one had no idea we were there until it was about ten feet away. It took a sniff and then quickly walked away. Thankfully, it only went a short distance before going back to feeding.

I was ecstatic! Every iconic animal I had hoped to show our guests appeared on day one. We still have four more days to go. The pressure of finding and seeing the animals we promised is off, and now we can all enjoy the rest of the week, happily photographing whatever nature wants to share with us.

Can’t wait for day two!

September 3, 2024 – Day Two of our trip.

We started the morning with some very friendly red and green macaws flying around outside our hotel. The hotel used to feed birds on the property, but they banned that activity a year or two ago. Such a shame—they used to have amazing birds visiting their feeders.

My favorites were the toco toucans. Such awesome birds. They still visit the property, but they’re no longer as friendly.

Thankfully, the macaws still come around and remain friendly.

It was another good day. We found a massive 6-meter snake, and I thought it was going to be a great encounter, but this snake was really shy. She swam away from where we first saw her and tucked herself deep into her hiding hole.

She didn’t understand what we were and decided she wanted no part of us. They don’t get that big in the wild by being reckless.

We hung around for a long time, hoping she would come out, but she stayed put. She popped her head out of her hole a few times, but as soon as she sensed we were still in the area, she retreated back into her hiding place.

She was beautiful, and I hated leaving her, but the only way she was leaving her home is if we forced her to come out, and there was no way we were going to do that.

So we said goodbye and off we went… the search continued.

We kept motoring down the river for hours hoping to find another snake, but unfortunately, we didn’t.

On our way back from the river, we went searching for more giant anteaters. We didn’t find any, but what we did find was so cool—a Southern tamandua, also known as the collared anteater.

These guys are tiny and ridiculously cute!

We found it crossing the road, so we pulled over and started snapping photos of this elusive animal. It knew we were there and stood up, giving us its best threatening pose.

They look like cuddly plush toys, so the "threat" wasn’t exactly intimidating.

We took plenty of photos and videos as it crossed a field and entered the forest. We watched it disappear back into its world, saying goodbye.

They are just so cute!

After that, we found a swamp deer lying in a field. I tried to sneak up on it to get a closer shot. I managed to get about fifty yards away before it got up and walked off.

We hopped back into the truck and continued driving, searching for more wildlife. Eventually, we found a rhea in a cow pasture, trying to cross the road to join its mate, who was walking far ahead.

The rhea was trying to find a gap under the fence to reach its buddy, and once it did, we were all ready and waiting to snap pictures of the giant bird as it crossed the road.

The rhea was close enough for us to get some fun shots in the last light of the day.

I’m excited for tomorrow… I can’t wait to see what we find!

September 4, 2024 – Day Three. We got skunked. We spent the entire day looking for snakes, but sadly, they eluded us, and we didn’t find any.

Everyone took it well—no sour faces. They understand that there are never any guarantees in nature. The day ended with us getting skunked, but I did manage to capture a photo of a capuchin monkey drinking water from the river. It was so damn cute.

The monkeys were drinking water by the river and they saw our boat approaching so they quickly scurried up higher in the tree for safety. The only one who did not see our boat was this very young juvenile who dipped down for a drink. I snapped a few shots, which I am very excited about. Always wanted a photo like this.

The Jr. looked up and saw us there, and exploded up the tree. Poor little guy got the crap scared out of him.

On our way back to the lodge, our driver spotted a tapir grazing by the side of the road. We stopped and snapped a few photos. The tapir just stood there, staring at us. Unfortunately, the sun had all but disappeared, so the images were blah— a "proof of life" shot.

Still, I was thrilled to finally see a tapir. It has been eluding me for a long time. Now, hopefully, I’ll get multiple sightings of these beautiful animals.

Tomorrow is day four… Game on!

September 5, 2024 – Today was a good day!

Well, it started out horribly. We woke up to high winds and cold weather. A cool front had moved in overnight, making it a chilly, overcast morning.

Over breakfast, we checked the forecast for today and tomorrow to see if our trip was over. By that, I mean with the cool front here, the snakes would likely be hiding in their dens to avoid the cold.

Thankfully, the weather was forecasted to reach the 80s by 2 PM, and tomorrow it was supposed to be in the 90s. So, nope, our trip wasn’t over—just delayed.

We made a plan for the day. Since the morning was likely to be a bust for finding snakes, we decided to focus on land activities. We visited the sinkhole, Buraco Das Araras, to photograph the red and green macaws that call this place home.

After that, we headed to a lake on a cattle ranch to check out the large population of capybaras living there. We flew our drone over the group to get a closer look, as these guys wanted nothing to do with people, so using a drone was the best way to observe them.

Around noon, we left the capybaras and headed to The Bridge, a spot on the Formoso River that has always been good luck for me. Sure enough, within five minutes, we spotted a male anaconda sunning itself on the riverbank.

We left it alone and continued. Within another five minutes, we found another snake basking in the sun—this time, a big four-meter female. She was large, but not as huge as the snakes we had encountered earlier in the trip.

We decided to look for more snakes before jumping in with these two, but unfortunately, we didn’t find any others.

There’s a really big female that lives on this river, and we were hoping to see her.

We returned to the female we’d found and had a nice, quick session with her before she disappeared into the thick foliage growing along the riverbank.

As we approached her from the water, she felt the boat touch the foliage on ther river bank and instantly dropped into the river to hide. We were there waiting for her. I managed to snap a few quick pics before she disappeared into the undergrowth.

The mud in this river is really thick, and it silts up the bottom quickly if you move at all. Between us and the snake, we made a big mess down there, and she used that “smoke screen” to slip away from us.

We tried a quick search for her but nada, so we left her and went to check on the male anaconda.

As soon as we arrived, the snake sensed us and slipped into the water. I managed to snap a few images of him before the area turned into a huge cloud of silt.

I backed off after taking a few photos. David stayed with the snake and managed to capture a great clip of it swimming away.

With that, we decided to call it a day.

It was still a bit early, so before heading back, we went to look for giant anteaters. Juca took us to a few places where they had been spotted before.

When we arrived in the area, I spotted an anteater in the distance. Juca found a road that could get us much closer.

Anteaters have very poor eyesight, and as long as you approach them downwind, they won’t know you’re there. We quietly approached the anteater and snapped image after image, along with quite a few video clips.

Today was a good day. Can’t wait for tomorrow, our final day of searching for anacondas!

September 6, 2024 – Damn, damn, damn is all I can say about today.

Our morning started with a roadside sighting of a pair of hyacinth macaws perched on a dead tree about 50-60 yards away. We decided to get as close as possible to photograph them, and the pair allowed it. It was a fun session snapping images of these chatty birds.

Afterward, we made our way to the river—the same one we floated on during day one.

On the first day, we encountered a caiman and two anacondas: a large male and a massive female. Today felt like a repeat of day one. We spotted a caiman within five minutes of leaving the port. I believe it was the same spectacled caiman we saw earlier.

We jumped into the water and took a few shots of this beautiful predator. It was a delicate balance trying not to scare it away, but we managed. We took turns photographing the caiman: Michele went first, followed by David, and then it was my turn. We repeated this process, and everyone had a great opportunity to capture some stunning images.

Afterward, we set out to find snakes, though it took a while. We even stopped for lunch before finally locating them. And what a find it was—it was the same 6+ meter snake we found on day one, resting in one of her favorite spots along the riverbank.

Our guides went straight to the area where they thought she might be, and there she was, resting beautifully in very shallow water.

We quickly got ready and jumped into the water.

As we swam over to her, just before we began shooting, our guide shouted from the boat, "Sucuri!" There was a male anaconda in the water—an unexpected surprise. We hurried over and snapped some quick shots before he swam away.

After a few minutes, we returned to our big girl. By this time, she had become aware of our presence and was watching us—or more accurately, smelling us—flicking her tongue to take in our scent.

She was so relaxed and calm, staying out of her hiding spot, allowing us to capture every kind of image imaginable.

We took photo after photo, recorded videos, vlogs—you name it. Through it all, she remained calm and composed.

Every once in a while, she would tuck her head, but for the most part, she stayed cool and mellow.

For me, it was a dream come true. There’s an iconic image online that has always captivated me—an enormous snake lying in the water, with a diver looking small beside it. That photo sparked my imagination and fueled my desire to dive with these magnificent animals.

I had always dreamed of recreating something similar, so I put it out into the universe that I wanted a moment like that.

And the universe responded! It created the perfect moment for me—and for all of us—to capture unique and beautiful images of one of the most stunning creatures on our planet.

I was overjoyed when I saw the image I had captured of David with our snake. With this snake, we had several opportunities to get the shot just right.

Sometimes the stars align, and you capture an image that excites you. This was one of those moments.

It was a magical day—she gave us an incredible gift. For me, these opportunities allow us to share with the world the story of an animal that is often misunderstood.

So many people are quick to kill snakes on sight. They have this reputation that the only good snake is a dead one.

But these creatures play a crucial role in our ecosystem, and they deserve to live, just as much as we do.

I understand that in places like Florida, where these snakes were released by humans and are wreaking havoc on the ecosystem, they need to be removed. But here in Brazil, where they naturally belong, they should be allowed to live in peace without the threat of humans killing them out of fear.

As wildlife ambassadors, it’s our responsibility to share their story and help people see the other side of these animals—how magnificent and important they truly are.

After our session with her, we left her alone. I was emotionally drained from the experience and sat quietly on the boat as we slowly motored back to port.

I felt like I was in a daze—my heart and soul were full. I couldn’t stop thanking the universe, God, and Mother Nature for this incredible week, this beautiful animal, and the amazing people who shared the experience with me.

This week was filled with magic, and it had a fairy tale ending.

I couldn’t ask for more than that!

We run our anaconda trips once a year. We bring three people with us and have one planned for next season.
If you want to learn more about joining this trip, please visit our trip page.