Earthwalker.Moondancer: May 2019

"Don't quit your day dream."

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On February 20, 2019, Melanie and myself flew to Brazil after leaving Peru (see my previous blog on the Peruvian trip).

Brazil

Officially the Federative Republic of Brazil it's the world's fifth-largest country by area and the fifth most populous (208 million). One of the world's most captivating places, Brazil is a country of powdery white-sand beaches, verdant rainforests and wild, rhythm-filled metropolises. Brazil's attractions extend from frozen-in-time colonial towns to otherworldly landscapes of red-rock canyons, thundering waterfalls and coral-fringed tropical islands. Then there's Brazil's biodiversity: legendary in scope, its diverse ecosystems boast the greatest collection of plant and animal species found anywhere on earth. Brazil's most famous celebration, Carnival, storms through the country's cities and towns with hip-shaking samba and frevo, dazzling costumes and parties that last until sunup. We came for all of this!!!!

Map of Brazil

Our first stop was the northern city of......

Salvador

Salvador which is also known as São Salvador da Bahia de Todos os Santos, is the capital of the Brazilian state of Bahia. With 2.9 million people, it is the 4th largest city in the country.

Founded in 1549 as the magnificent capital of Portugal’s New World colony, today Salvador is the pulsating heart of the country’s Afro-Brazilian community. A sharp escarpment divides its Lower Town from its Upper Town by some 85 meters. The upper Pelourinho district's brilliantly hued centre is a living museum of 17th- and 18th-century architecture and gold-laden churches (it was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985). It is to the Pelourinho district that we came for 3 nights and it is also where wild festivals happen frequently, with drum corps pounding out rhythms against the backdrop of colonial buildings almost daily.

After getting settled away in our hotel, we go exploring the old town of Salvador in search of the making of a music video. Both Paul Simon and Michael Jackson recorded live music videos here and we quickly locate where.....

Pelourinho Square in old town Salvador was where Paul Simon recorded much of the The Rhythm of the Saints album. Recorded live, microphones were hung from windows or on telephone poles to capture the performances. According to Simon, "Hundreds of people gathered. It was an amazing day — an amazing recording experience.".......

........"The Obvious Child" was the lead single from The Rhythm of the Saints, and the song is accompanied by a performance from Brazilian drumming collective Olodum (similar to this group of Pelourinho Square drummers).......

.....the music video for "The Obvious Child" pretty much starts off right here where Melanie is standing (well that's kinda obvious isn't it child).....

.....the music video quickly settles on this very spot where Paul Simon sits and sings "The Obvious Child", which apparently is about a fear of aging and leaving behind the "boldness of youth". Not my words....I'm still basking in the "boldness of youth".

In Michael Jackson's music video, "They Don't Care About Us", which was directed by Spike Lee, some of the scenes used this church in the background......

......like Paul Simon, Michael Jackson also collaborated with the 200 member drum group Olodum, who "swayed to the heavy beat of Salvador's 'samba-reggae' music". The bulk of that video was recorded right here in this old town square!!

With the music video tour done, we spend the next two days exploring this beautiful old town.

Colourful town!

The São Francisco Church and Convent built in 1723. I just want to say that since I've been travelling in South America I can't recall seeing a single church that was constructed in the latter half of the 20th century!!

Everywhere you go there's the sound of drums.....EVERYWHERE.

The Little Drummer Boy,
Shall I play for you
Pa rum pum pum pum.

A street artist finds another canvas to paint.....

......TADA! Let's hope it's not oil paint.

Strolling the cobblestone streets.

Melanie taking a load off her feet and enjoying a free show of Capoeira.......

......Capoeira was developed by colonial slaves to look like a dance, so that the slave masters would not know they were learning self defence. We couldn't have that now could we.

Aunt Jemima.

You too can bang the drum. Simply sign up for the "Bang the Drum" lessons and you'll get to parade around Salvador banging to your hearts content!

After a hard day of drinking cold beers we head back to our hotel.

We board a bus for the 6 hour trip to the small village of........

Lençóis

Lençóis is the prettiest of the old diamond-mining towns in the Chapada Diamantina, a mountainous wooded oasis in the dusty sertão (backlands of the Northeast). While the town itself has charming cobbled streets, brightly painted 19th-century buildings, and appealing outdoor cafes and restaurants, the surrounding areas are the real attractions. Caves, waterfalls, idyllic rivers and panoramic plateaus set the stage for some fantastic adventures, with the town of Lençóis serving as a base for treks into the Parque Nacional da Chapada Diamantina and for sights outside the park.

Lençóis was our go-to spot. Our purpose here was to see the National Park which is close by, but the town itself was such a gem that we spent equal time there just a sitting, sucking on a cold beer and people watching!

Lençóis' main square, where nothing happened until dusk, at which time the heat subsided and the restaurants and bars would open.

Diamonds was what this town was founded on but the setting sun baths the place in pure gold.

Every night we'd stroll down the hill to the main town for supper and our fill of people watching. If I walk fast enough I'll catch up with that beauty ahead of me!!

At night the cobbled streets would come alive with cafes, musicians and tourist.

Since we don't speak Portuguese and since the menus were seldom in English, we would order 'whatever' and hope that we got anything but 'whatever'.

For a town of 11,000, Lençóis does not lack in their fair share of talent, however this guy is not as famous or as talented as longterm Lençóis resident Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, who settled here in 1998 with his Brazillian wife. Unfortunately, we didn't see him :(

On our first day in Lençóis we went for a hike on the municipal trail of.......

Serrano Falls

The Serrano is a short stretch of the Lençóis river, about 15 minutes from the town. The riverbed is a smooth rock surface and nature has hollowed out some very nice swimming holes in the rocks. It is a wonderful place to go swimming, it’s very close to town, easy to get to, the scenery is beautiful and the water is clear. The path continues up a steep escarpment with spectacular views over Lençóis.

Our destination is 'dem dere hills'.

This should be an easy stroll unless the 37C temps does us in first!

The place is riddled with many paths that are not marked so we always took the path that seemed to have the most wear & tear. That worked great until we arrived at this brook, at which time the path disappeared.

"B are you sure this is the path?"

It is only a 15 minute walk to Cachoeirinha waterfalls. OK so it would be a stretch to call it a waterfalls but it was pretty enough and it had a small natural pool at the base with people swimming......

.....and some guy had lugged a cooler full of cold beer and coconuts in to the waterfalls to sell. Such a civilized country!!

Continuing onwards and upwards.

Nearing the top. Nearing the end of our water supply. Nearing the end of our heat tolerance.

Termite nest. We would end up seeing hundreds of these, but for now this was our first so it warranted a picture!

TADA. The top and an awesome view of Lencois way off in the distance.

And now a moment from our sponsors, the Selfie Miesters!

As always, what goes up must go down.

Back down at the Serrano Falls area where the town's folk come to get wet.

This area is a maze of inter-connected small pools and small underwater caves carved out by the river.

You got to be careful though, one wrong step and you could disappear into a hollowed out hole!!

After some serious searching we finally managed to find English speaking guides and we were off on our first adventure in.......

Parque Nacional da Chapada Diamantina

Within the 1520 sq km of the Parque Nacional da Chapada Diamantina, waterfalls cascade over the Sincora Range’s mountains and plateaus, dropping into rivers and streams that wind their way through grassy valleys and clean swimming holes. The region’s unique natural beauty and the tranquillity of its small colonial towns have attracted a steady trickle of Brazilian and foreign travellers and hiking and nature enthusiasts, for several decades; some have never left.

Our first stop for the day was to explore the depths of the.......

Lapa Doce Cave

Considered the third largest cave in the country, the Lapa Doce has about 900 metres of accessible trail within the cave. The trail to get to the cave is equally beautiful with loads of various fruit trees along the way.

Pictures can never do any place justice. So what you don't see is the vertical drop of about 70 metres down a very large sink-hole to the cave entrance.......

........down there is where we are headed.

Melanie checking out the local Brazilian 'Umbu' fruit. Delicious little suckers. I must have ate a dozen from this tree alone!

Finally at the bottom. The temperature drops by almost 10C from the top of the sink-hole to the bottom.

Looking outside from inside.

Standing at the cave entrance. Do you feel like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders?

Our guide patiently waits at the cave opening for one of our Brazillian fellow travellers, the Glamour Girl, to take pictures of herself. Oh me nerves.

The Selfie Miesters in Lapa Doce, which is also known as the "sweet cave". Who knew? Perhaps not as sweet as us two but sweet nevertheless.

A most odd stalactite: multi-coloured. I can honestly say I've never seen one like this before!

The chandelier.

After about 40 minutes we emerge out the other end, kinda through the butt-hole as such.

And now we go up, and with each step the temperature goes up as well.

Nearing the top, but alas we have to wait as Glamour Girl needs a hundred pictures of herself.... me last nerve has been rubbed raw.

A picture of my glamour girl!!!

Our next stop for the day was to the beautiful......

Gruta da Pratinha

At the mouth of this cave an underground river emerges into a crystal clear shallow lake with water so clear it is like a giant outdoor aquarium.

Here it is possible to swim and snorkel inside the cave, although the schools of small fish only inhabit the entrance of the cave.

Mel: "So B I was thinking...."
B: "Now Mel you know what I say about thinking. We're retired, we ain't paid to think anymore."

The entrance to the cave snorkelling.

Something akin to a Garden of Eden!

Sure all ya need is a fishing rod, some cold beer, and a few draws and you'd be all set.

Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the cave snorkelling......alas c'est la vie. We are once again on the move and this time we head to the..........

Morro do Pai Inacio

Pai Inacio is the best known peak in the Chapada Diamantina, a table mountain or mesa with majestic views from the summit. It is a 20 min steep uphill clamber to reach the windy summit at 1,240m which towers 250m above the surrounding landscape and offers a 360 degree succession of beautiful panoramas across the Sincora cordillera to two other mesas, the Castle of Morrao and the camel-shaped Morro do Camelo, and more besides. It is great for photography at any time, but towards dusk the light effects are at their best.

Dat's where we be headed, dem dere hills over dere!

The climb up was relatively easy, the biggest problem being the traffic jams cause by people who felt the climb up was relatively hard.

The reward for everyone who makes the climb up is one very awesome view. In fact, it was a picture of this very view that made me want to come to Chapada Diamantina National Park!

The views aside, the top of Morro do Pai Inacio is pretty interesting as well. Pocked exposed rock with puddles of water all around and shear cliff drops on all four sides.

The trick is NOT to look down.......

.....cause if you look down, this is what you see. 250 metres of shear drop-off! YIKES!!

Sometimes you just got to go out on a limb.....I mean ledge.

Not the time to drop your camera or anything else for that matter.

I can think of no better way to end a fun-filled day.

We are up and on the go the next day to see the......

Poco do Diablo

(Devil's Well)

Not far from Lencois, a short path descends to a river where a cascade slides into into a broad pool. A further 30 minute boulder-hop along the side of the river downstream leads to the top of the Devil's Well, where a 25m waterfall plunges into a deep pool banked with layers of slate-like rock, the perfect spot for a swim.

We reach this natural pool in the river with its impressive rock slide and I thought we had reached our destination. I would have been happy with this spot, but alas we still had a good walk ahead of us.

Our route is down this nearly dry bouldered-strewed riverbed.

To move boulders the size of a house requires BIG water, but fortunately for us there was no rain in the forecast.

Which came first the tree or the rocks?

After a 30 minute walk, made even more gruelling because of the 38C temperatures, we come to the Devil's Well.

Apparently, during the high season, they set up a zipline from this point to the base of the waterfalls, 25 metres down. But alas; we were not here during the high season, so we had to walk down a very steep trail to reach the Devil's Well.

It didn't take much encouragement to hop in the water and swim out to the falls. You can actually swim under the falls, like I'm doing at the moment......peek-a-boo can you see me?

Look a mermaid!

We climb back up to our car and head for waterfalls number 2.......

Mosquito Falls

The 60m waterfalls found inside an impressive sandstone canyon gets its name Mosquito Falls from the small diamonds (mosquitoes) that are found in the sand around the falls. Unfortunately we found no diamonds, but fortunately we also found no mosquitoes!!!

Many people never go pass this point because it's quite the dandy hike to get to the waterfall base, but we are not "most" people, so we are on our way!

Mel crossing a portion of the river and heading for the shady side......any respite from the 39C temperatures.

We reach the bottom and walk along the natural sandstone ledge in total shade. WOOHOO!

We round a bend and there she is.

Over the eons the waterfalls has carved out quite the bowl in the sandstone.

Tiny Melanie at 1.5 metres is dwarfed by the 60 metre waterfalls.

A natural shower! A really really BIG natural shower.

We spend our final day in Chapada Diamantina National Park by heading to the............

Marimbus Wetlands

All the rivers from the main part of the Chapada Diamantina drain into a single area to form a massive wetland not far south on Lencois. It is a maze of slowly seeping water, criss-crossed with channels between stands of papyrus - a complete contrast to the rugged landscapes of the mountains. A paddling trip through the wetlands is capped off with a swim in the pools of one of the rivers flowing into the Marimbus!

Our starting point with our primary mode of transportation lined up and ready to whisk us off.

Laundry day in the Merimbus.

Giant lilies choke the waterways.

Not much wiggle room here.

We managed to get out ahead of the other boats but, they being a younger crowd (I was the second paddler), once the channel widened they overtook us.

Lets ponder and reflect on that for a moment.

Okay, everyone out of the boat, we walk from here.

Walking required crossing a couple of rivers. Any deeper and we'd have to swim.

We hiked up to a spot where we could go for a swim in one of the rivers emptying into the Marimbus.

These natural pools are only here during the 'dry' season when the water levels are really low.

Don't be fooled, even during the dry season, these pools average 4 metres deep.

Are you having fun yet Mel?

Got me own private hot tub. The water near the surface was very warm, whereas down by my feet it was rather cool.

A fitting way to end our time in Chapada Diamantina National Park!!

We take an overnight bus back to Salvador and catch a flight to........

Rio de Janeiro

Golden beaches and lush mountains, samba-furled nightlife, this is the Cidade Maravilhosa (Marvelous City). Simply known as Rio, the city is the second largest in Brazil (6.8 million) and the sixth-most populous in the Americas. While we would fly into Rio and subsequently spend some time there, our real destination is across Guanabara Bay to the bedroom city of.......

Niteroi

Known as the "City of Smiles", Niteroi, is just 30 minutes from Rio, but remains something of an unknown paradise as far as tourists are concerned. With a population of just over 500,000, it's a city that has no shortage of friendly people, beauty and art. Our reason for choosing Niteroi is because it is home to two of the most awesome friends and people you'll ever want to meet, Don & Denise!

Denise, our travel companion and gracious host, preparing a meal in their outdoor kitchen pavilion!

Overlooking the pool area and Don & Denise's house in Niteroi from the outdoor kitchen pavilion.

Aaaaaaah. Dat's wat I'm talking bout!!

Move over Gordon Ramsey, Big Bad B is in town.

While we were in Niteroi we celebrated Don's BIG SIX-O birthday. In true Brazilian style, Denise threw a PAR-TEE to celebrate (they like to celebrate & party a lot here)!! They hired a band and caterers and we had a time!!

Don, moving and a grooving at SIXTY. "Watch yourself Don, wouldn't want you to trip & fall. You might break a hip."

Now that Don is SIXTY, Mel & I had to be here to bring down the age average.

Must be 10:30. Now that Don is SIXTY it's his bedtime. Time to close this PAR-TEE down.

While Rio has the famous beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema Beach, Niteroi also has their fair share and we spent time as some of them.....

Pirantininga Beach is all but deserted at 10AM in the morning.

The hills of Rio can be seen way off in the distance.

At one end of Pirantininga Beach is a small inshore fishing fleet where you can purchase fish in the morning.

Mel testing the waters.

It isn't all beach in Niteroi and we did manage to squeeze in a hike up......

Costão de Itacoatiara

The Itacoatiara Coast Trail is one of the most famous trails in the city of Niterói, Costão is 217 meters high and does not require much effort to reach the summit, on average you can do this trail in a little more of 40 minutes and will have an amazing view of the whole region. We picked one of the hottest days to do this with Don & Denise and Denise's son Ciro and his wife Ivy. We must be mad!

We be going up there!

The trail started out in the cool shade of big trees, but alas all good things must pass.

A wire banister has been installed on the lower slopes to give people a false sense of security when climbing the exposed slopes.....ha ha ha, trickery I tell you!

Ciro (Denise's son) elects to climb the slopes in bare feet......not sure how you can do that young man with the sun beating down on the rock. Surely it must be a tad warm on your feet.

Melanie showing that she is made with the right stuff.

The view from across the way.

TADA! Never sweated so much in my life, but alas it is 39C out and not the bit of shade to be found anywhere. Notice Itacoatiara Beach directly below us and Pirantininga Beach off in the distance?

A simple Law of Gravity: What goes up must come down.

The ole bend down, turn around and crawl down backwards trick.

I love this country but during the summer, when they are experiencing a heatwave, it is better to stay away from climbing big rocks and rather, plank yourself on the beach.

After lazy hazy dazy days of hanging around the beach we liven it up by heading for Rio. Music is Rio's lifeblood, and the city's soundtrack comprises rock, old-school bossa nova, hip-hop, funk and Brazil's many regional styles. Above all there's samba, a rapid-fire style of music with African influences and an infectious beat that is synonymous with Rio. You can hear it all over town, but the soul of samba resides in Lapa, an edgy red-light district that's home to dozens of live-music halls and an enormous weekend street party that draws revelers from all walks of life. Not wanting to miss out on a good party this is where we head, but our first order of business is to get a good grub-job at our favourite Rio eating establishment.....

We head straight to Sardinhas Street which, as far as I can figure out, has 7 restaurants on it. It would also appear that these 7 restaurants are all owned by the same person AND they only serve one thing in all 7 restaurants: Sardines.........

.....since 1956, these 7 restaurants have thrived serving nothing but sardines. Now, I expect most people reading this have had, at least once in their lives, a tin of sardines. You either love them or hate them.......

.....but I can assure you that you've not eaten a sardine until you've eaten a manioc-encrusted-fresh-fried sardine from Sardinhas Street. These little buggers are to die for, and we consumed copious amounts of them, washed down with some of the coldest beer found on the planet. YUM YUM YUM......

.......by 9:00PM the sardine restaurants are closed and the street is deserted, so it is time to move on to the PARTEE!

This place in Lapa is our go-to joint. Always good music and good times, so why not!?!?

BEFORE PICTURE: Melanie enjoying the music and shouting out her appreciation.......

......AFTER PICTURE: The laser lights came on and the laser lined up perfectly just as Melanie was shouting out her appreciation!!! Cool or wha?

Back on the street......

Similar to the infamous George Street in Newfoundland, except on a bigger scale.

Mel: "I want to party some more."
Denise: "Ok, let's do it. Let's go."
Don: "But girls, it's 10:30 and that's ice cream time."

The beer person. Such a civilized country.

No trip is complete to Rio without an excursion up to the top of 700 mt. Corcovado Mountain to see one of the New 7 Wonders of the World......

Christ the Redeemer

Constructed between 1922 and 1931, the statue is 30 metres high, excluding its 8-metre pedestal. His arms stretch 28 metres from finger tip to finger tip.
A symbol of Christianity across the world, the Big Guy has also become a cultural icon of both Rio de Janeiro and Brazil.

It's a 20 minute train ride tthrough the Tijuca Forest National Park to get to the top.

Looking down on a small part of Rio. The track in the middle is for the Olympics.

The Big Guy.

You can scratch #2 of 7 New Wonders of the World off your list Mel.

We planned our trip to Rio to correspond with the world's biggest outdoor party........

Carnival

With nearly two million foreign visitors coming to Rio for this one event, Carnival, and the buildup to it, is the most obvious manifestation of Rio's celebratory spirit and it is the world's largest outdoor party on the planet. The official Carnival lasts for less than one week, but the preparations start months before the real event!

Samba schools start rehearsing for Carnival months in advance. The schools compete with other samba schools to have the honor of performing in front of millions at the Sambodromo. We went to a samba school to have a beer and a look.

Street parties, colourful costumes, samba schools parades and millions of people from all over the world converse on this city. Carnival is so much more than the famous samba parade that we see on television, actually most of the fun part of carnival are on the streets. For one week, Rio’s streets are packed with people, nearly two million a day hit the streets for a wild & crazy time. With over a 1,000 street parties (known as 'Blocos') happening, we dress up and hit the streets.....

Brothers Elwood and Jake Blues getting ready for the PAR-TEE.

We managed to snag these two beauties to come along with us!!

Waiting for a Bloco party to begin!!

We made two separate attempts at going to a Bloco and on both times the heavens opened and the Great Rains began....

.....when I say the Great Rains, I mean the GREAT RAINS. We were fortunate enough the second time around to have foreseen this torrential downpour and found an outdoor cafe with suitable rain cover. We were dry, had cold beer, had a place to sit and watch the not so fortunate get soaked. Sucks to be them!

Of course some dressed for the rains!! The world's biggest outdoor party became the world's biggest wet T-shirt contest!

How much rain you ask? Enough to flood the streets rain!

With the rained out Carnival behind us and the promise of the return of stifling heat, we decided to head south to cooler climes. We flew to the city of Campo Grande and boarded a four hour bus to the village of.......

Bonito

This small aquatic playground in the southwestern corner of Brazil has few attractions of its own, but the natural resources of the surrounding area are spectacular. There are caves with lakes and amazing stalactite formations, beautiful waterfalls and incredibly clear rivers surrounded by lush forest where it’s possible to swim eyeball to eyeball with hundreds of fish.

We arrived in Bonito to torrential rains and a revised forecast of more rains to come (damn), so we decided to head for the only place where it would not rain.....

Sao Miguel Cave

Located 18km from Bonito, this well-lit cave is full of interesting stalactites and stalagmites.

This was the start of the 30 minute hike to the cave. The inside of the old building had been refurbished and held the tackiest museum I had ever seen!

The mouth!

Our guide only spoke Portuguese but we had been in enough caves to know our way around.

A lit cave is a first for us, and apparently for the resident bats as well, as one nearly hit Don in the face.

Reminds me of a chocolate fountain. You know the one where liquid chocolate pours out the top and cascades down!!

And after 30 minutes we head back up and out.

We awoke the next day to sunnier skies and come rain or shine we were heading for a freshwater snorkelling experience on the.....

Rio de Prata

The marvellous Rio da Prata, 50km south of Bonito, includes a hike through rainforest and some great snorkelling. The latter involves a 3km float downstream along the River with amazingly crystal clear water that teems with fish.

Suited up and ready to hit the water.

The water is unbelievably clear and chock-a-block full of fish.

There are several species of fish in the river and they are all huge!

The area is very rich in calcium carbonate, which is deposited when rainwater erodes the limestone rocks. It filters the water in the rivers making them exceptionally clear and providing up to 50 metres of visibility.

Melanie discovered this bottom feeder resting inside an hollow log.

Space alien? Noooo, it is Denise with her space-age snorkel mask.

Move over Jason Momoa, Don Peddle is the new Aquaman!

This river is spring feed and all along the river you can see billowing sand-infused water coming up from the bottom.

Melanie diving deep for a closer look.

A large fish feeds near one of the spring vents.

We are deep in the southern Brazillian jungle here. You've heard the phrase "if a tree falls in the forest does anyone hear it?" Well, as we were swimming along a huge tree did fall and, yes, we did hear it!

Melanie hanging on to another fallen tree.

I love this picture.......half in the water and half out!

Our final day in Bonito and we decided to take advantage of the unforecasted sun and get wet at the.......

Rio de Formosa Ecological Park

The Formoso River Ecological Park is a lakeside recreation resort with many activities amid the magnificent tropical surroundings of the Formoso River. First order of business is to tube down said river!!