Struggling with the language

Our day started off very early this morning, at 4:15am, and our flight on Gol Airlines took off right at 6:00am. It was so different from our flights here in the U.S. Water was no problem to carry aboard and we were all still walking down the aisle of the plane, looking for our seats and stowing away our carry-ons when the plane started taxiing to the runway. Nobody seemed concerned that everyone wasn't seated, but everyone was seated when the plane actually took off. The plane stopped first in Curitiba, and there we had to get off the plane, get our luggage and switch to another airline. So, from Curitiba, we flew with Trip Airlines to Londrina, then it stopped in Rondonopolis and finally our destination of Cuiaba. From Fos de Iguazu to Curitiba, they served us cookies and a drink (Guillermo called the cookies "dog biscuits"). From Curitiba to Londrina they served us a piece of candy, then a sandwich and a drink. From Londrina they served us some cookies and a drink and from Rondonopolis they served us peanuts and a drink. So, all in all, we didn't go hungry and we arrived in Cuiaba at 11:30am.
We are now in Cuiaba and this city is a lot different from all the others we've been in. We have had to look long and hard for internet cafes and restaurants, maybe we just aren't in the best area for that kind of stuff. We've been using the computer at the hotel, although it is more expensive than at internet cafes. Guillermo and Fernando just took a bus to the airport, they are going to look into renting a car that we can use to drive around in the Pantanal. We have tried looking into getting a tour guide to maximize our visit in the Pantanal, but evidently, that needed to be arranged a lot earlier. There are pros and cons of doing it ourself, so hopefully, it will work out that they can get a car and we'll see the area as best as we can.
We have really been struggling to understand the people here, and have them understand us. No one seems to know English at all, and there are very few people that understand Spanish. We have been trying to get some help from our phrase book, but that can only do so much. So, most interactions with people, since leaving Puerto Iguazu, have been real slow and focused, trying to decipher what words they are using in the context of the situation and trying to recollect words we have already learned and have come to understand.
We might have to take a taxi to find a place to eat tonight, the only kinds of businesses that are around our hotel are clothing and furniture stores, things like that. Our hotel is nice, maybe a little TOO nice, but hopefully we'll only be here one night.
If we DO make it to the Pantanal tomorrow, it is possible that I won't be posting again until May 7th or so. So, if there is nothing new posted here for a few days, it is because we are out in an isolated area.