Waterfalls and mountains

We wake early in the morning as we are going on the trek, But first we need to resolve the money issue. There is no bank here but we have been told that we will be able to get money from a little restaurant on the main street that apparently has a cash machine. We arrive at 8 AM in the morningwhich is when it is due to open but Brazil being Brazil this is not The case. There are a few guys outside the place who when i ask what time it opens tell us 830. They shout at the top of their voices repetatively until the guy opens the shop. I apologise and explain that we have a tour at 830 and we have no cash to pay but he asvises me that the machine only works with bradesco banks and i tell him i can use Bradesco, so he lets me in. It really is like a high ranked mission to get money here and when he shows me the machine its just a card reader and i know before i try thar this just isn't going to work. We make our way back to the agents and when we arrive she tells me it's not a problem and we can pay by card. I wish wed known this in the first place. We board the bus and its all Brazilians and a guy from Quebec called Paul. Our first stop is a 1 hr trek down the Mucugezinho River. Walking along the river bed our guide tells us that the river will become very fast soon as they have had 2 days of rain in the mountains and this will feed downstream. When we reach 3 km along the river is a beautiful waterfall. There is a huge pool here with a giant waterfall which is called Poco do Diablos and in years gone by slaves had been thrown in here as punishment for stealing diamonds. Mark swims under the waterfall where a beautiful rainbow is formed and i paddle my legs as its so cold. We trekk back to the bus and in the gift shop at the top they have a table and chairs made out of recycled lorry tyres. Its one of the comfiest table and chairs ive sat on, i was sad to have to get back on the bus. We make a short drive to a place called Gruta Da Lapa Doce. We trekked down hill for 10 mins before feeling the temperature drop and as we continued our guide pointed out tarantulas nests and webs. Then we saw one with a spider guarding its gate . I took a quick piccie but im amazed at how the wildlife here has such a way of camouflaging with its background. There is a cave here where locals actully still live and within the cave is a natural pool where the fish that swim here are opaque. We are allowed access to the other side of the cave created by the sunterranean river years ago. It was full of stalignites and staligtights, walking through the sandy path for nearly 2km each one having a story of what they look like. We are picked up by our bus and dropped back to the top of the cave where we hand in our torches and take lunch. The Next stop is gruta Azul another cave but this time filled with water so blue it looked like it was dyed with food colouring. For obvious reasons we are not allowed to swim here and the photo just doesnt do it justice it looks like someone has used food colouring in it. We walk back up the hill and back on the minibus to Gruta Da Pratinha where another natural pool of the clearest water this place is breath taking. We now have an hour to take a swim and have a beer so we indulge in both. Last stop is the sunset at Morro Do Pai we have a 40 minute climb but the views are unbelievable and its a perfect sunset. Ive set the phone up to do a time lapse and i think ive caught a beautiful video but the camera has blown in the wind and its filmed the top of the mountain. Back to town we collect our rucksacks and have a bowl of pasta before walking to the bus station where we have a 3 hr wait for the bus at 2330Read more