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Published: April 12th 2006
Chapada Diamantina
Swimming in the waterfall...nothing quite like it.Well folks I have yet to tell you about the tours that I took from Salvador. So without further delay let us get down to it.
The National Park - Day 1
Chapada Diamantina is a national park and Lencois is one of the former diamond mining towns that is located within that park. The bus ride from Salvador to Lencois was not exactly my definition of a good night. the bus left late at 11pm and got there at around 5am with stupid stops along the way. The bus driver would just pull over in the middle of nowhere and wait for about 20 minutes and then just keep on driving. I simply don´t get it. But who am I to ask questions. We stayed in what is called a Pousada which is basically like a hotel/guesthouse with a hammock in the balcony.
The next day we left in the morning to see a huge plateau and the view was very magnificent as you will see on the picture. We had a guy on the tour who spoke english and portugese so he ended up translating everything for us since the tour was in Portugese. After we
Chapada Diamantina
The view from the Plateau came down from the plateau I had the chance to try pure sugar cane juice. It actually did not taste too bad. It does give you a lot of energy though.
The second thing we did was go to see was the river waterfalls and I got to swim in the river since for some reason I always had the urge to do. The river was also brownish but quite refreshing. Another strange occurance was that I got to see monkeys in that region as well. Funny how I went into the jungle in Manaus and didn´t see squat when it comes to monkeys..only heard a couple at night but here I was in the normal forests and got monkeys eating apples from my hand. Go figure.
The third place they took us was this huge cave. I have never seen such a big cave. It was over 850m long with all kinds of mineral formations inside so I took some pictures of that. We had to be quite careful since it was really dark for obvious reasons. One cool and unexpected thing that the tour guide did was that we all sat on a rock, then he
Chapada Diamantina
Freshly produced sugar cane juice turned off the lights and we were just sitting there in total darkness and quiet for about a minute or two. It was a really cool feeling to just absorb the nothing so to say.
We were also supposed to see another cave, which in my opinion would be one of the coolest because we were supposed to be snorkeling in it and the way the light penetrates the water in that caves is supposed to give it some special effect. HOWEVER, they had a huge rainstorm the previous day so the water was murky therefore we did not get to go there.
The National Park - Day 2
The next day we went out to see the second biggest waterfall in Brazil. Since I am such a good and knowledgable tourist, I can´t recall the name of it. I almost care. The Wayniac did not quite make it on this hike since he got plastered the night before and hit his head on the local curb...hehe. Can anyone spell headache?
The hike began after the most brutal 2 hour bus ride I have ever had. The roads were insanely rough, I can´t even call those
Chapada Diamantina
Inside the huge cave pot holes anymore. They were friggin craters. Good luck to all those who suffer from motion sickness.
So we started the climb from a local village. The climb was really scenic with natural formations that formed steps/stairs. This eventually turned into into flat plains with grass and sand with small creeks running through them. The hike is 6km altogether so it takes up most of the day. That day I decided to catch up on my tan and play the local hero. No, I don´t need any suntan lotion since I already got some base tan. SIDE NOTE - I am peeling like a snake now. Yes, I burned like a son of a bitch in other words.
When we finally arrived there after walking barefoot for a couple of hours with minor bruises the view was worth it. It was truly relaxing to just sit there and soak it all in. It sort of reminded me of a lush Grand Canyon in Nevada with vegetation and a huge waterfall. I took some pictures and movies from the edge of a cliff. I was actually getting scared when I approached the edge. Then we went around a little
Chapada Diamantina
Mineral Formation in the cave bit to see from another angle.
After that, the kentucky derby began again to get back. For some reason all the people including the tour guide we walking really fast. They seldom checked to see if anyone has fallen off pace. It was really reassuring to know that. We had to go barefoot because we walked through some parts with water coming up to our knees so hiking boots were not a good option at that point. When we came back to the rocky portion, I put my boots back on but the other italian lady was fine just walking barefoot...I don´t get it how it didn´t hurt her. On the way to the village we stopped at the local school to see what it looks like. The kids were really cute and I took a picture with them since they never had their picture taken in their lives. They haven´t even seen or knew what a camera was. They got really excited when they saw themselves in the picture. I thought it was really cute.
That same night we went back to Salvador on the late bus again only to catch a ferry to go to Morro
Chapada Diamantina
Local kids who never saw a camera before do Sao Paulo whic is a really popular island with the Brazilians. More on that tomorrow.
Morro Do Sao Paulo
So the same day we continued on in the morning for the catamaran to one of the most popular islnds in Brazil. The boat took around 2.5 hours to get there and half way through people started to puke from motion sickness. I was ok for that. We checked into our Pousada which was very close to the port. The travel agents were supposed to be waiting for us to take us to our hotel and then on the tour. They almost showed up. We asked at hotel if then came looking for us but no. So I was quite pissed off at that point because I could not even go and bitch out the travel agency since I had an early flight in two days to Buenos Aires. So me and Wayniac started to explore the island and found some nice beaches. There are about 5 in total on that side and it takes quite a while to walk to the last one but you know me. Curiosity got the better of me so off I went
by myself. The further you get away from the first two beaches the more secluded and peaceful it becomes. By the time you get to the fourth beach, there is hardly anyone there.
One thing that I screwed up was the resolution of the pictures from those beaches. They were supposed to be the hightest quality but I accidently pressed the button again so they are email quality. Oh well, good thing you are all looking at email stuff anyway. Since I am a water dweller, I felt the genetic urge to jump into the ocean and swim for no apparent reason other than to stay afloat. But then again, that is usually the case. The water was really pleasant actually.
Then people just gathered on the beach and started playing and dancing capoeira so I got some pictures of that and a movie. One thing I do love about Brazil is that people are able to just spontaneously have fun. They do not need alcohol like in the western cultures, nobody is shy and everyone loves to dance. They just simply love to have fun and I think that is why most people enjoy Brazil people they just take
Morro Do Sao Paulo
The first beach on the island you for a ride with them.
At night I was preparing from what I was told was going to be a big beach party. When I got to my room, I just laid down on my bed and said to myself that I will wake up around midnight and go out. THOSE ARE PIPE DREAMS MY FRIENDS!! Never go to bed with the hope of waking up later. I woke up at around 3 or 4am (mind you I was quite tired) and then I concluded that it was too late to go to the party so I finished off the rest of the night in my bed. How sweet it was too. =)
The next day I was just enjoying the last taste of ACAI, the tropical fruit that at least MY dreams are made of. It was quite hot as anywhere in Brazil. The island is really relaxing and I definitely had a good time. Would be better if we got the tour we paid for to see the waterfalls and all that. Maybe next time.
To conclude this, we finally got on the ferry at around 5pm and on the way to Salvador, I
Morro Do Sao Paulo
The first beach - catch of the day took some sunset pictures and my stomach did not quite make it. So I spewed on the side of the boat for good measure.
THINGS I WILL REMEMBER ABOUT BRAZIL
Caipirinha: Drink made from cachaca, lime and sugar
Carioca De Program: in short a hooker/prostitute
Guarana: The caffeine drink that will just keep you going
Acai: Tropical fruit served almost everywhere
Capoeira: Traditional dance/ martial art
Misto Quente: Grilled ham and cheese sandwich absolutely on every menu.
Frango Assado: Chicken with beans, rice, salad and some native flour
-People never having change for more than 50 Reals
-Having to put asswipe/toilet paper into a basket beside the toilet for the evergrowing concern of pluggin the toilet.
-Voce fala ingles? - do you speak english? (even though we all know the answer is the neverending no)
-REALLY BEAUTIFUL GIRLS
And this folks pretty much wraps up Brazil. The photos have been updated so check them out.
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YOUR DADDY
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TOO MUCH TALK NOT ENOUGH PICS!
WHAT IS GOING RASDISLAV?? SO YOU EXPETCUS TO READ ALL THIS AND PICTURE IT IN OURT HEAD!! C'MON MAN WHERE ARE THE PICS!!!!