Trekking in Chapada - Physical highs, emotional lows and failing to reach my everest

---

10&11/12

We took the night bus to Lençois to save on a nights accommodation and so that we could make the most of our time in Chapada Diamantis, a national park in which Lençois is the tourist town. We were knackered when we got on the bus but still failed to sleep really through the night - the air conditioning was freezing, Brazilians were snoring and the coach was generally uncomfortable... not the best start! Still, we arrived in Lençois and were guided to our hostel - Pousada Daime Sono - and the guy let us get into bed which was kind of him - got a couple of hours in before getting up for breakfast. Chapada Diamantis is beautiful and a mix of terrains - some of it almost jungle like, as a consequence there are a lot of flies here but its not too offensive and we just got on with it. In our hostel we met up with Andrew, who'd also been with us in Salvador and he had asked if we wanted to go on a two day trek with him. Amy didn't fancy it and Tasha hadnt been feeling too great so wasn't sure she would manage much trekking so I just went.

We hung around for about an hour (tempo brazilianos) and then we set off with the guides. The sun was glorious and the first part of the trek was great, headed up through the town and then through some woodland until we reached a shack-like shop about a 40 minute hike away. There the guides told us that Lençois relies heavily on tourism and that the only income coming into the town is from the government oor tourism - there is no other industry here. There are many other communities existing across Chapada which are self-sustaining, possible due to the richness of the land. In the last couple of centuries many people have also come to this area inn search of diamonds, the market in Lençois was originally built for this purpose.

So we set off and reached a river with flowing water and were told to fill up our bottles there - it was really hot but the crossing of the river was fun and reasonably straightforward - the water had a yellow tinge to it but definitely was fresh water - tasted better than the mineral stuff we get at home! So we crossed the river and headed up 'venom mountain'. The mountain was huge and is known by that name because it is remarkably energy sapping, especially with the heat, but we made it up to the top unscathed, drinking lots of water and eating polos. (I have nearly run out!)

We reached the top and began walking along the wooded plains when it started to rain, spitting first (cue 'ooh this is actually rather pleasant' comments) then is became torrential. We sped on and found shelter under a big rock and waited there for about 40 minutes, for the first time in Brazil I was genuinely cold. The guides went on a wander and found a random hut which had formerly been used by people scouring for diamonds in the area (when we left the guides came out of the window so i am pretty sure we weren't supposed to stay there). We offloaded our stuff and were told we were going nowhere until morning - at this point it was only noon! Cue being VERY pissed off.

We were soaked and annoyed, the rain was hammering it down with no sign of stopping so we shed our wet clothes in favour of the marginally less damp ones that were in our bags and ate some lunch. The rain then miraculously eased and about an hour later we were told that we could go on a 5 hour trek to a nearby waterfall but that if we wanted to go we would have to leave immediately to get back before dark. It was time for strategic dressing, so I opted for the shorts-sportsbra-anorak combo.

Positives: Relatively cool outfit - difficult to determine whether was sweaty or just wet.
Negatives: Ankles attacked by plants - had to pull up socks reducing cool factor massively.

Anyway, we ended up sprinting across the dirt tracks as we covered a range of terrains, we ended up running down rockface which is where I confronted(ish) my big fear of breaking my ankle.Now I can only blame my mother for this - she broke her ankle when I was young and always flinches if someones even slightly goes over on their ankle etc. Going downhill over the rocks wouldn't have been so traumatising if it had been dry but the rocks were very wet from the rain and there was lots of slipping and skidding down the rockface. We then went up the second mountain and had a great climb to the top - there was some amazing views of a massive waterfall in the distance - we got about ten minutes there before we were told we had to carry on to get back before dark. The way down to the base of the waterfall was a sheer vertical rockface so off we went slipping and sliding down the rock, we got about three quarters of the way down when I slipped quite badly and grazed my knee. At this point the trek defeated me, I stopped and decided that reaching the bottom wasn't worth breaking a leg for - especially given that Brazil isn't a place known for health and safety let alone rescue helicopters. So the rest of the group carried on and I decided to make my way back up to the viewpoint. It was knackering but really satisfying and amazing as a think fog moved in, so thick you couldn't see beyond arms length. We hurried back in time for sunset and we hung olut whilst the guides cooked dinner. There were 4 other people on the tour, 3 americans and a german so we caught up, discussed our lives etc. We went to bed pretty early because we only had a couple of torch lights.

The girls were 'luck' enough to get the beds which were like wallpaper pasting tables, very uncomfortable by all accounts but by this point wewere so tired it didn't matter. I woke up at 5am the next day and just sat there for a few hours waiting for daylight - it was still raining but had calmed considerably and off we trotted down to the river which was significantly more difficult to cross because opf the downpours. Got across and headed up to the original hut and back to Lençois where I spent the rest of the day chilling out.

Overall, the trek was a bit of a disappointment, a washout if you will. Arriving at the mudhut and sitting around in damp clothes was definitely my lowest point since being here, the first inklings of homesickness creeping in. I for the first time questioned whether I was doing the right thing being out here (which I have firmly snapped out of) Without the girls there it felt a bit lonelyu and I craved someone I could share the moment with so I wasn't alone - even to make a joke of it! It was nice to have the girls back.

I felt like I achieved a lot on what turned out to be a difficult trek, but missed out on what could be some amazing sights and feelings - instead of buzzing I felt mildly disappointed. But we'll do other cool stuff whilst we're still here. I feel like I pushed through some physical boundaries but encountered some unexpected mental ones. I really wasn't really prepared for. I am hoping that this trip will build both as I am challenged in everyway.

Epic blog over. x

---