Lencois & Our Near Death Experience!

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Well, the end of our trip is definitely in sight now and it is getting harder and harder to keep Andi off the beaches! This is my last chance, the town of Lencois and the national park of Chapada Diamantina, an outdoor hiking mecca six hours inland from Salvador.

When we arrived in the town in the afternoon we were fairly mobbed by touts and guides offering us tours and services. It is all very friendly, but it gets wearisome to not be able to just wander along and check out the places you´ve already chosen from the guide book. Still, using the well-honed technique of leaving Andi in a cafe with the bags while I ninja´d unburdened through the shadows, we managed to get a room in a lovely place (who´s name I have totally forgotten, maybe Parador de Santiago?)

That evening we met a lovely english couple who were staying in our pousada and were due to leave the next day. We made the most of the opportunity to drain them of all of their knowledge while having a great mexican meal with them. I fear it would have turned rather boozy if it weren´t for the fact all four of us needed to be up at the crack of dawn the next day; they needed to catch their bus and we were booked on the ´Chapada Diamantina Greastest Hits Tour´...

This was a great day; lots of varied sights with not a single lame filler among them! We began with a short hike to Poco de Diablo which is a lovely pool at the base of a pretty waterfall. It is supposedly good for swimming, but as it was early, cloudy and the water is only 17 degrees, we decided to enjoy from afar! The trail was great in itself, with rickety old wooden bridges and cute monkeys in the trees. From this stop we drove to Pia Inacio, one of the highest points in the region with spectacular 360 degree views. It was a short climb to the top, but the views (and the wind) were tremendous. I nearly lost both my sunglasses and Andi when the wind blew both of them towards the edge - obviously I prioritised and dived forward to save my sunglasses. (Andi survived by clinging to a cactus.)

From here we went to the cave of Lapa Doce, a huge limestone tunnel that it is possible to walk along. Caves are caves at the end of the day, but this was refreshingly cool, impressivley big, and had the advantage that you don´t have to backtrack to get out. By now the sun was shining and Andi was craving the water. A quick stop at the Gruta Azul (Blue Groto), a cave where the sun turns the water electric blue, and we were at our final stop, a swimming hole called Pratinha. The highlight of this was the zip line that descended from the cliff into the water - a great way to overcome the trepídations that usually accompany entering chilly water. After a short swim and a much longer sunbathe (with ice cream) we headed home - so much for my hiking!

The next day we decided to do a walk mentioned in our guide book which we could do alone and which began in the village. It was Sunday and the locals were out doing their washing on the banks of the river (how do you wash in a river the colour of tea?). The walk was good fun, including a couple of swimming holes, some great views and a pair of waterfalls (one of which you could stand under for an impromtu shower). The walking was actually pretty tough as it was necessary to scramble over rocks and jump across rivulets and holes. By the time we got back to our favourite bar ar 3pm we were both ready for some lunch and some caipirinhas!

The final day was a mixture of fun and near disaster. The previous evening we had arranged to do a day hike to the Sossago waterfall - a 7km hike which is trecherous if it rains and dangerous without a guide. When we arrived at the tour office, they said that the rain the previous evening made it dangerous to go. They offered us an alternative tour, but this didn´t include the natural waterslide that Andi was desperate to try (this was one of the stops on the Sossago hike). We decided to strike out on our own and at least get as far as the waterslide, although we debated long and hard about going on the other hike.

The weather seemed a bit iffy, and our directions were vague at best, but we found the trail and headed out of town. After about 40 minutes we arrived at the natural waterslide, a slope of smooth(ish) rock that the water runs down. The whole thing looked a bit underwhelming and, with the weather still overcast, less than inviting. Andi felt terrible that her waterslide fetish had vetoed the last chance for a proper hike on the trip (as so she should!) Still, not wanting to have walked all this way to simply turn back, we took the plunge into the tea-coloured water... Actually, it was brilliant - the water wasn't too cold, the slide was great fun, and we had the place to ourselves. The sun even came out!

With our spirits buoyed by the nice weather and the fun slide, we made a (near-) fatal decision: we would try to hike up the river to the Sossago waterfall ourselves. Off we hopped, from rock to rock, over deep channels, bypassing the bigger boulders and sheer sides by hopping from stone to stone in the channel. As we ascended, it got steeper and more tricky, but we were in the swing of it now. We carried on up the canyon for about an hour and a half before our hopes were dashed.... Despite climbing trees and crawling through caves, we reached a point where we just couldn´t go on. The sides were too steep and the water too deep.

We retreated about 10 minutes down the canyon and sat on a rock for lunch. Both of us were gutted we hadn´t made it; we knew in our bones that the waterfall could only have been a few minutes further on. After lunch we debated long and hard about going to have another go (even resorting to coin tossing!), but our natural cautiousness and faith in our initial assessment of the difficulty in passing made us continue on our way back down...

Thank bloomin´ God that we did. Mere minutes after we set off it began to rain. Hard. The initial worry was that rocks which had been grippy and safe on our climb were now transformed into slime-covered death traps. We had to be so so careful going back, and I was horribly aware of some of the full length jumps we had done on the way up that would be pretty nightmarish on the way back. Then the second, and far worse, worry became apparent. Some of the rocks we had used during our trip up the canyon weren't there anymore... and there was an awful lot more water suddenly. The water level was rising at an alarming rate, and weighing up our need to get out of the canyon fast with our need to not fall to a slippery death lead to a none too relaxed scurry back down!

When we finally arrived wet, exhausted and shaking (but thankfully alive and only slightly grazed) at the natural waterslide we couldn´t believe it. The slide had been transformed completely from a gentle trickle to a roar. The full extent of our stupidity became apparent when we compared the area we had sat and swam earlier; new pools had appeared, entire pathways had become submerged and the volume of water had increased by a factor of four! Obviously we had a go on the new improved water slide, before returning to the town for a much needed beverage....

So that is it, the end of mountains and trails. Just beaches, turquoise sea and beach bars to come. It´s not a bad life really...

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Photos

On Top of Pai Inacio
Hold onto your hats folks, it sure does get windy up here!

Poco do Diabo
The first stop on the Greatest Hits tour!

The Stunning Blue Water of Gruta Azul
The water was so clear that the fish looked like they were floating in midair.

Paul Daydreaming..
..at one of the few swimming holes not being used as a washing machine

Shower Time!!
The most powerful shower in Brazil

The Natural Waterslide
Before the downpour that nearly killed us!

Hiking On All Fours..
...on the doomed Sossago waterfall hike.

Room with a View
The view of the lake from our room in Lencois.

Comments

[Sharon]

Woah!
That natural waterfall looks worth a near death experience - well done Andi for using your charms and making Paul go there rather than on an even more massive hike!!!