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| Parque Chapas Diamantinas - Cave Day |
Fri 06/06/03 |
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After an almost sleepless bus ride to Lencois we arrived at the crack of dawn where I quickly scuttled off in an attempt to escape all the "amigos" tying to help me find a tour company and/or accommodation. Followed the advice of a couple I had met on the Isla del Sol and checked into the Hotel Tradicao, which turned out to have no atmosphere, yet a very good breakfast buffet and friendly staff. (Which all in all makes it a pretty decent option I guess)
The only company that seemed to be doing a tour that day was Lentour so I booked a tour which turned out to be a guy driving us around in his Fiat, yet admittedly there was a packed lunch. Our first stop was Poco do Diabo, a set of small cascades with a natural pool to swim in. As it started to rain, none of us felt like dipping into the water so we hiked back up to the car and continued on to Gruta da Lapa Doce.
The cave was formed about 700 million years ago during which period an underground river washed out what now is called Gruta da Lapa Doce. The inside of the cave was unusually dry and warm with the ground covered in sand, quite unlike any cave I had been to in Europe. Also due to the mixture of clay and limestone soils in the region the stalagmites and stalactites formed different colours from white to red depending on the amount of calcite or clay deposited (They grow at a rate of about 1cm per 33-35 years!). Towards the end of our hike through the cave we sat down with all lights off, simply listening to the faint dripping sounds sound and marveling at the complete darkness. A very inspiring moment, as in this complete darkness bereft of any visual input your remaining senses seem more intense, which made me think how interesting it would be to eat haute cuisine and drink some excellent wine in such a setting. (I am sure other things would be very interesting as well)
The weather seemed to be improving as we exited the cave but having been inspired by this awesome experience we asked our guide to visit the Caverna da Torrinha, which is the second largest cave in the region measuring more than 17km. There we opted for the extensive 2.5 hour tour which meant about a 5km hike inside the cave.
The experience was amazing with a huge variety of different types of stalagmites and stalactites forming unusual shapes of flowers or sheets.
The subsequent and last stop was at Gruta Azul and Gruta da Pratinha, by which time the weather had turned sunny which inspired most of our group to go for a swim in the crystal clear lake.
Returned to Lencois by around 5:45 and went back to the posada for a short nap, which didn't work out as planned since I woke up at around midnight...
| Parque Chapas Diamantinas - Waterfall Day |
Sat 07/06/03 |
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During my second day tour into the Chapas Diamantinas I would visit the highest waterfall in Brazil called Cachoeira da Fumaca, dropping down about 420m from a high plateau. After a grey and drizzly start in Lecois the weather steadily improved during the 2.5 hour minibus-trip and by the time we started the hike to the top of the waterfall (about 6km) the sun was shining.
Walked in the "fast" group with 3 Frenchmen and women, arriving at the top of the waterfall about 1.5 hours later. The view and the waterfall were quite impressive, yet failed to produce the marvel and awe I felt when seeing the Tugela Falls in the Drakensberg (SA). So after a picnic break at the top we walked back and waited at the end of the trek for about 45 minutes until the last person had made it back together with our guide "Cabeza".
On the way back we stopped at some smaller cascades called Riachinho and went for a swim in the rock pool there before starting on the 2.5 hour journey.
In the evening met up with some people from our trip and after a tasty dinner at the Mexican restaurant Santa Fe tried dancing Forrho at the party of the local Capoeira school, at which I miserably failed.
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Hotel Tradicao
Col. José Florencio S/nº- Ph:(75) 334 - 1120
25 R$ Single /w Breakfast |
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| Gruta de Lapa Doce - Outside |
Gruta de Lapa Doce - Entrance Pano |
Gruta de Lapa Doce - Entrance |
Gruta de Lapa Doce - Map |
Gruta de Lapa Doce - Monster |
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| Gruta de Lapa Doce - Calcite and Clay Stalagmite |
Gruta de Lapa Doce - Stalagmite |
Gruta de Lapa Doce - "Starry" Stalagmite |
Gruta de Lapa Doce - Stalagmites |
Caverna da Torrinha - Map |
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| Caverna da Torrinha - Seam of Iron Ore |
Caverna da Torrinha - Stone Fish |
Caverna da Torrinha - Stalagmites |
Caverna da Torrinha - Stalactites |
Caverna da Torrinha - Stalagmites & Stalactites |
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| Caverna da Torrinha - Group of Stalactites |
Caverna da Torrinha - Aragonite Stalactites |
Caverna da Torrinha - Burst Aragonite Bubble |
Caverna da Torrinha - Flower of Aragonite |
Caverna da Torrinha - Aragonite Flowers |
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| Gruta Azul |
Morrao |
Cachoeira da Fumaca - Pano |
Cachoeira da Fumaca |
Riachinho |
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| Riachinho - Pano |
Riachinho Waterfalls |
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| Travel Day |
Sun 08/06/03 |
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Sundays are great days to travel in Brazil, not many stores are open, museums open later if at all and in general there is less going on. So I decided to use this Sunday to try to make my way up to Recife or down to Sao Paulo. At this point I was very undecided wether to continue up the coast past Fortaleza or to turn South to the Pantanal and Foz de Iguacu, which had been recommended to me by practically every person who had been there.
During the bus trip from Lencois to Salvador I pretty much made up my mind that I had had enough of the rain, which would undoubtedly persist in the Northern coastal regions and that I would head down South to Foz, Bonito and the Pantanal before ending my trip in Rio.
Checked back into the Youth Hostel Laranjeiras and put the first part of my Brazil trip online, after which I had dinner with Marisca a Dutch lawyer whom I had met some days earlier in Salvador and who happened to be on the same bus back from Lencois. We ate at a per kilo place, which undoubtedly is a terrifically efficient and cheap way to eat in Brazil. The concept is rather simple: you pay by weight with a selection of meat, fish, chicken etc and sometimes desserts. The beauty is that if you don't feel very hungry you could still have a snack there and only pay around 3 R$ (0.80 EUR) whereas if you are hungry you might pay 6 R$.
Whilst having a Caipirinha we were incessantly hassled by a variety of street vendors and beggars, some of which I now even recognise personally.
| Last day in Bahia |
Mon 09/06/03 |
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First stop = travel agent. So on the spot made up my mind to take a Varig flight to Foz the next morning and with a spell of surprisingly good weather in Salvador decided to head out towards Bonfim and the beaches there for the rest of the morning.
Found a nice beach some 20 minutes from Bonfim and spent a couple of hours there before having lunch at a fish restaurant and taking the wrong bus back into town.
The whole bus trip to the centre ended up being a tiny odyssey lasting a bit more than 2 hours and involving a bus change at Iguatemi! On return went to my favourite internet cafe on the first floor of a corner building of the main square and worked on my website until running out of battery power.
Had dinner with Marisca at a different per kilo place which was really cheap and on the way back to the hostel had a last drink in one of the street cafes in the Pelourinho and almost with a touch of sadness said my goodbyes to Salvador. (Of course we got hassled by the street kids and beggars again)
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Albergue das Laranjeiras
R. Inacia Acciolli 13 - Ph: (71)321-1366
19 R$ Dorm /w Breakfast |
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| Going South |
Tue 10/06/03 |
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After an early start, caught the airport bus and Varig flights to Sao Paulo and on to Foz de Iguacu where I arrived at 14:30 in the afternoon.
Whilst waiting outside the airport for the bus, met a slightly eccentric ex-German called Edgar Leiminger working as a tourist guide who counseled me to take a bus to the Brazilian side of the falls that afternoon - which I ended up doing.
The first view of the falls was very impressive, yet the bulk of tourists around spoiled the experience a little bit (despite low season). So I marveled at the number and variety of butterflies around, which landed on whatever seemed to contain moisture, as for example my hand where one stayed there for almost 15 minutes. The packs of coatis hanging around the tourists (probably having been fed by some foolish visitors in the past) made for another interesting experience, as I had never seen an animal like it before.
With the crowds dispersing and me taking in more details of the falls my enchantment grew and by the time I reached the walkway close to the water leading out to the "Garganta del Diabolo" I was truly and thoroughly impressed. At this stage I was actually considering doing the walk again and started to backtrack about half way to one of the viewing areas I had enjoyed on the first pass.
Caught a bus into town (R$ 1.5) and after some looking around finally found Evelina's Hostel which is hidden away in a residential area. Evelina, the very very friendly owner gave me another load of tips and convinced me to use her minibus transport to and from the Argentinian side of the falls. Then shared a "French/Portuguese" pizza with a French couple before finishing the work on the pictures I had taken during the day.
| Fos de Iguazu |
Wed 11/06/03 |
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Set off at 8am in the minibus with a group of 3 young Brits to visit the point where Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay border each other and the Parana and Iguazu rivers unite. Posed in front of the blue and white Argentinian marker before heading to the national park entrance.
There again spent some money on the "Full Day" pass (R$48) which included a boat ride at the base of the falls (Aquatic Adventure) as well as a leisurely paddle along the upper part of the river where one could see some typical wildlife - at least in theory. (Ecological Adventure)
Started off with the upper circuit, followed by the lower circuit, the awesome boat ride around the base of the falls, which left me completely drenched, finishing off the morning on the Isla de St. Martin. (The boat ride is much shorter and much cheaper than on the Brazilian side)
In the afternoon walked to the Garganta del Diabolo, to which most people take the train, yet by walking there I arrived some 5 minutes ahead of the train, and with most of the previous group having already left I got a fairly peaceful view of this incredible and absolutely amazing display of natural power and beauty. (I have to admit I was thinking the whole time if one could actually ride a Zorb ball down the falls - hehe)
After having returned to the train station by rubber boat, spent the late afternoon hiking the Macuco trail down to the Iguazu river, which was a much more peaceful affair as I met only 6 people in 2.5 hours along the entire trail. Whilst walking back, saw a group of 6-8 monkeys, two huge blue butterflies (which I had seen on the way there as well) and another local creature which I couldn't identify.
Returned to the hostel in our minivan at the end of this very rewarding yet slightly tiring day, and started work on the 90 or so pictures I had taken. A task which I soon grew tired of, so decided to walk into town to the Tropicana Pizza and Churrascaria which charged and unbelievable R$ 8.5 (EUR 2.70) for all you can eat grilled meat (fantastic) with a large bottle of beer and a buffet of vegetables and salads!
Having gotten truly stuffed, leisurely walked back, stopping along the way to watch some Brazilian football, (which to my surprise I actually quite liked) in one of the bars on the main road called Jorge Schimmelpfeng.
| Itapu and around Fos |
Thu 12/05/03 |
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After a long and interesting phone conversation with Holger, finished my photos of the Cataratas which in part turned out quite nice and then walked around town to the bus station - a surprisingly long undertaking as the tourist map seemed to change scale at will (I consider this a very annoying trait in maps).
Bought a ticket to Ponto Pora form where I was hoping to catch an early morning bus to Bonito, and headed back into town to catch a bus out to the Itapa Dam and power station, the largest hydroelectrical installation in the world.(Up to now as I believe the Jang Zhe Dam will be even larger than this one) There the tour was rather boring as one could not get off the bus (apart from once) and didn't get to see any of the details of the dam or the technology.
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Pousada Evelina
R. Irlan Kalichewski 171 - Ph: (45)574 3817
R$ 25 Single w/ Breakfast |
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| Iguacu Pano Brazil |
Iguacu Overview Brazil |
Coati |
Coati - Detail |
Pano Foz do Iguacu |
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| Pano Foz Iguacu |
Salto Union - Rainbow |
Salto Union - Butterfly |
Garganta del Diabolo Pano |
Salto Union y Tres Mosqueteros Pano |
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| QTVR - Salto Union y Tres Mosqueteros |
Union de las Tres Payses |
Argentinian Marker |
Union de las Tres Payses - Richard |
Butterfly - Detail |
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| Salto Bossetti - Pano |
Salto Bossetti - Pano |
Salto Bossetti - Richard |
Salto Bossetti - Pano |
Salto Bossetti - Richard |
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| Salto Bossetti - Pano |
Salto Bossetti - Pano |
Salto Bossetti - Pano |
Salto San Martin - Richard |
Garganta del Diabolo - Richard |
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| Garganta del Diabolo & Salta Union Pano |
QTVR - Garganta del Diabolo & Salta Union |
Building in Foz de Iguacu |
ITAPU - Dam |
ITAPU - Propaganda |
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| Que Bonito! |
Fri 13/06/03 |
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The overnight bus to Ponta Pora seemed to take forever, so on arrival I only had about 15 minutes to find out that there was no bus to Bonito from there but that I could catch a bus to Jardim at 6am and then from there I would be able to get a connecting bus to Bonito. The bus driver informed me right away that I would not be able to get the connecting bus at 10:30 and would have to take the 15:30 bus to my final destination - a 4.5 hour wait in Jardim, a place that doesn't even appear on my map.
It must have been my lucky day since we got to Jardim ahead of schedule, which gave me just enough time to catch the Bonito bus, where I arrived at 11:30, and checked into the Muito Bonito Hotel. (A recommendation from Pousada Evelina) The place seemed quite nice and relaxed with friendly staff, but slightly disorganised as I ended up sharing a room despite my reservation.
The afternoon I relaxed and walked around the fairly small town figuring out what to do the following day. Met Laurent and Gisele a French couple whom I knew from Foz, in the evening and ended up having dinner together.
| Caves and Rivers |
Sat 14/06/03 |
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Rented a bike and tried to obtain anything resembling a useful map of the area in the morning which seemed to be quite impossible, before cycling to the Gruta do Lago Azul (20km). There I took a tour with an elderly couple which walked so slowly, that I could barely manage to slow myself down to their pace - now just imagine having to go down 170 stairs to the cave together with them... The cave turned out to be quite nice but nowhere nearly as impressive as the ones I had seen in Lencois. On top of that our guide struck me as particularly pedantic as she kept informing me about some of the useless rules, such as one cannot use a tripod to take photographs...
Cycled back into town and continued in the opposite direction towards the Balenario Municipal, a stretch of river with lots of fish, birds, some little snack places and a volleyball field. (Here in contrast to Bahia they actually play volleyball with their hands, whereas in Bahia I had often observed people playing volleyball using football rules - heads and legs only.) Got a nice photo of one of the two huge parrots that have made the Bano Municipal their home, probably due to the abundance of food and visitors to play with.
Got back to Bonito just before sunset and after a short rest went out for food and drinks at Toblaba in town.
| Rio do Prata |
Sun 15/06/03 |
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Decided in the morning to join a group of mainly French people going to the Rio do Prata, an extraordinary river with very clear water and about 20m visibility. The river only has a length of about 1.8km before feeding into another, yet over this short distance it is fed from several over and underwater springs to a formidable size. It's extraordinary clarity stems from the high calcium carbonate content which coagulates and sediments particles, resulting in the extremely good visibility.
So much for the theory but after a 1.5 hour car journey and a 45 minute walk when we got into the water the experience was impressive. Not only does the river maintain a far above average visibility but also supports 30 varieties of fish. This biodiversity is usually only found over several hundreds of km of river, if at all. So when you get the first subaquatic glimpse you're initially amazed at the huge Dourado looking grimly at you after which you marvel at the visibility and the amazing variety of fish around.
Actually felt a little bit like flying as I slowly drifted silently and motionless downstream whilst trying to take in the many types of fish swimming with and around you. The bird and animal life above the water was also very abundant, yet not as impressive as the subaquatic marvels. The trip was definitely worth while and was a highlight of the entire stay in Bonito.
When we returned to the Rio do Prata Farm a huge and delicious lunch buffet was already waiting for us, which we thoroughly enjoyed before driving on to the Buraco dos Arras, a large practically vertical and round hole in the ground formed from the collapse of an underground cave, which had become the home of about 30 pairs of Vermehla parrots.
This little d-tour concluded our trip and pretty much our stay in Bonito as the whole group would be leaving early the next day to head into the Pantanal.
Tried some chinese food in the evening, which wasn't as good as the Tobalaba Restaurant which we had been eating at the previous couple of days.
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Muito Bonito
Cel. Pilad Rebua 1448, Bonito MS
Ph: (67)255-1645 - R$25 Single /w CM |
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| Gruta Azul |
Gruta Azul |
Gruta Azul |
Parrot in Balenario Municipal |
Rio do Prata |
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| Buraco dos Arras |
Buraco dos Arras |
Red and Green Macaos |
Tree in Buraco dos Arras |
Sunset near Bonito |
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| Laurent at Sunrise at Bus Station |
Group of French Travellers |
Rio do Prata - Dourado |
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Read on about the Trip to the Pantanal and Rio
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