On our fifth night on the road we found ourselves with no place to turn the horses out. Luckily, just before sunset we discovered a large farm next to the road. After speaking to some of the workers we were given permission to tie the horses up at a nearby fence and camp next to the ponies.

As usual Emma and I set up camp next to the van after we’d fed Frenchie, Bruiser and Dude. We were munching away on some baked beans and watching the sun set when a worker approached us with a worried look on his face.

“Are you going to keep the horses tied up all night?” he asked.

“Yes we have to, otherwise they could walk onto the road,” I replied.

“Well be careful because there are a lot of jaguars here,” he said without taking a breath.

Just like that, I lost my appetite. What was set to be a nice, quiet night had fast turned into a stressful evening.

Since riding out of Corumba we had heard many stories about jaguars and how the Pantanal was full of them. As we travelled through Brazil we learnt about all of the calves that get eaten every year, how jaguars have killed fisherman in the past, and how fast they can be. But this was the first time someone had actually said we should be careful because there were so many in the area…

As we zipped up the tent I took one last look at the ponies. I asked the universe to keep them safe as I tried to get to sleep, but all I kept thinking about were the workers words. With every little noise she heard outside the tent, Emma would poke me, asking: “What was that? Filipe, go check.”

The entire night I woke up every hour on the hour to check the horses and the surrounding area.  At about four in the morning, I awoke with a jab from Emma. “Filipe listen, listen, what is that?”

As I tried to understand what was going on I heard a noise similar to that of a roar. I immediately shot up and slowly unzipped the tent. I poked my head out, shaking like the little boy from The Sixth Sense, and saw the funniest scene of the trip so far: Frenchie sprawled out on the grass snoring like an obese man.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe it!” Emma said as we watched him snoring away.

The next morning Emma and I were dead tired from the lack of sleep, but happy the horses were okay. We saddled them up and rode out towards the first town we’ll come across since Corumba, the town of Miranda.