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approached him on the street and they did a negocio on a quiet corner -- Cr 50,000/$.

The taxi driver who took us to the port was not much interested in Tom's questions about driving us to Urucum area by the hour. In fact, we passed him & his cronies (who all had empty taxis nearby) as we walked back from the cambio transaction and he showed no interest in us whatever. We went up toward the Grande Hotel looking for taxis. Found a fine vehicle with a pleasant looking driver w. steely gray, wavy hair. Tom talked with him for sometime before he began to understand what we wanted and agreed to take us to Urucum for 60,000 Cr. 

We got in & started -- passed the Ladario road &, eventually, the road to Campo Grande -- which is the one I noticed as we traveled to & from Maipu. As we drove, the rain became thicker and persistent. Clouds covered all the mountains. The air was even cold (probably ~ 75[[degrees]]f) and when we made one stop I pulled on my rain cape. We passed the road to the mines - 7 km - but could not even see Urucum. The driver said it was a pity. He said that we could get permission to drive in and that there is a road to the very top where there is a TV station and a magnificent view of the whole area. A little past the spot where we ran out of gas two days ago, we gave up and turned around. On the way back I spotted a flock of birds & stopped. They were macaws, two or 3 dozen of them arranged

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in a tree beside the road. Gorgeous - mainly green with blue tails, red in wings, yellow cheeks, and large white area around the eyes. It was a great thrill to see these wild macaws. We considered driving down to the "Rabicho" road a little way, but gave that up too. As we approached the city, the driver volunteered to show us Ladario; the old port with a military marina. Ladario looks something like Corumba 30 years ago. Little pastel houses on each side of one or 2 big streets. The port has a huge gate commemorating a hero of the last century -- closed to visitors. Back in Carumbá the driver assumed we were staying at the Santa Monica. As we got out, he asked Tom if we would like to go back to Urucum tomorrow. We surely would, but we leave for Rio in the morning. 

We never dreamed we could be roused out in Corumbá. We intended to visit the mountain yesterday but were put off by the tour man who said we could not get permission & so the tours are "acabá". He is probably right. But, instead of taking our taxi to bird & photograph the area we went to the museum. And yesterday was a matchless day. The driver told us that the rainy season is from ~ November to June. Worst in February, then dribbles off. A woman at a newspaper stand where Tom bought [[underlined]] O Globo[[/underlined]] complained about the cold. She said it has been hot every day and now, today, it is cold. (Fall is coming -- we remember being cold sometimes in July, August, Sept).

So, we did not explore the environs of Corumbá. Finished the day by having tea at the hotel at 5 o'clock and