Mar 2009

I wanted to get some rest, especially in the morning by sleeping until I woke up. However, this Dutch kid (3) got a recorder (blokfluit) at 8 o´clock in the morning... Baddest combo: hangover and a 3 year old with a recorder. The only thing I did during the day was buying my bus ticket to salvador for the next day and hanging in the hammock finally ending ´Juresic Park´.

In the evening, when I was feeling a bit better, we went into town because there was a Capoeira play. These guys were freaking fast and bendy. Walking on hands, bending backs horizontally, and more amazing stuff. On one square meter they swung their legs over each others heads.

These guys would hold this position for some seconds!

Today was going to be exciting. We went hiking, without a car, for two days and we would sleep under a rock near a waterfall... Two english girls came along and the guides were two afro-rasta men and a rasta girl... Nice!

The very first mountain we had to walk was immediately the hardest one. Freaking steep hills what ment resting and drinking every 5 - 10 minutes for 1,5 hour. But, we made it and only that was allready rewarding. We went to see a waterfall and had lunch there. After lunch we spotted this rat-snake.

In the afternoon we went to a second waterfall, this time a broad one, and set up camp there. Camp would mean, rolled out our mats and sleeping bags... We swam around played some simple games like, what do you see in that cloud and the dilemma game. But it was fun. The rasta-girl made a 6 person dinner on a selfmade fire including; rice, pancaces, stoganoff, vegetables and cous-cous. Amazing.

As it became dark and cold after 19 o´clock we closed our eyes, we´d wake up at 6 am. as the sun would rise above the mountain. Nice view from under the rock, a red/yellow sky had a big contrast to the mountain in font of us. We packed our stuff and went to see the third and last waterfall. This time we had to climb vertical mountainwalls, crouch through little gaps and swim to actually get to the waterfall. We saw some amazing birds and I was allmost picked by a black wasp. If it did pick me, i´d be having a fever within an hour, so I was lucky.

This waterfall was AMAZING! It was a half round single drop waterfall of about a hundred meters high. And we got to swim under it! We went back, found some snake skin, had lunch and finally got back to town.

In the night there was a big party since the owner of the hostel celebrated her birthday. We drunk wine and coke (strangest combination, especially when it is with Brazilian wine), caprinha´s and beers. At 5 o´clock I finally found my bed.

Today I wanted to go for a tree day hike. However, as we were drinking beer at the square and not booking the hike last night, we were a bit too late. So I went with the US/Canadian girls and an Aussie couple on a one day hike. We went to see the entrance of the valley, went up the first hill of the valley to have a enormous view over the valley, and we saw some caves. (Vince, the caves in france were actually better, gheghe). I think you actually couldn´t call this a real hike as we walked only 2 hours during the whole day, but we saw real beautifull nature. Also we saw these monkeys with infant monkeys (not in picture), a colibrie, big birds and some big a** insects.

Today, some of the Dutch were allready hiking in the national park ´Chapada Diamantina ´. I felt more like taking it easy today as some Canadian/US girls also did. So, I went with Alia (Can), Betsy and Megan (US) to this waterslide waterfall... Swimming around in the pool, hang around on some rocks and slide from the waterslide rock. It was fun.

We had dinner in the hostel. As much food as you like for 4 euro´s. And went for a beer on the main square of the town.

I felt way better in the morning. I met Salvador as a stinking city with annoying people so as I had nothing to do until the afternoon, I went to search the nice places of the city. I found them. However the people stayed as annoying as ever, trying to make money from everything and anything. The buildings were nice and the streets were decorated as if they were from the middle ages.

Around three o´clock I had to leave to catch my bus to Lençois. A little town (7.000 inh.) with a great national park next to it. In the bus I found the very first Dutch people I´d encountered since I left Holland. 6 hours later we were in Lençois. Outside the bus there were a hand full of people waiting for us. They would try to get us to their hostel. As I saw some small groups and one big, I followed the big group, hoping it would also be the best hostel...

... It actually was. Best hostel so far. Cheap, with loads of breakfast food, nice english speaking people and some hammocks. I drunk a beer to get to know the Dutch and that was it for the day.