My extended family of six and another couple with whom we're now friends just returned from two weeks in the lower Amazon, the Pantanal and the parque Chapada dos Guimaraes. Fabiano Ficagna de Oliveira was our Brazilian guide, with U.S. guide Michael Ellis. What a amazing trip! 

I can't write highly enough of Fabiano---an astoundingly skilled naturalist, he is also warm, flexible, kind and smart. His English is excellent. Our group included a range of people from 81 years to a mature 7-1/4 years and biologists to complete amateurs. Fabiano handled us all---it was probably like herding cats---with grace and charm. We stayed on track, never felt rushed, and saw an enormous variety of birds and animals about which Fabiano is SO knowledgeable.