Today the weather took a turn for the better, following several days in an Antarctic-dominated cold snap – so we decided to head out to Curitiba’s Zoológico do Parque Iguaçu.

It’s free to get in and a pretty decent size, situated a fair way to the south of Curitiba in an area called Alto Boqueirão.

There was a nice range of animals – monkeys, giraffes, toucans, lions, zebras, springboks, terrapins, parrots, llamas, bears… all of which looked well fed, which was good to see. Always reassuring – and, I think, a sign of the state of the country.

And the hordes of kids there seemed to be having a great day-out – besides the animals, there were clowns and candy floss to be enjoyed.

For a selection of photos from the trip, click the inflating ostrich below: