Brazil

As I have mentioned, our second stop was Chapada Diamantina. The way  there took around 6 hours from Salvador.

Chapada Diamantina is a deliciously unspoiled National park well of the beaten path. A pristine outdoor wonderland of rushing waterfalls, crystal blue pools, hiking trails and natural waterslides.

When you plan your trip you can either decide for one day excursions or a more day trek with a local guide. We heard that the second option is much better in order to really get the feeling of the park. However, planning in advance is really tough as many tourist agencies set the prices really high. Thanks to couchsurfing I got a contact for a local guide who was willing to acompany us to the park, but the communication was a little bit confusing so we decided to book a hostel and organize trips through them.

However, arriving to the bus station early in the morning an unexpected surprise was waiting for us. There was waiting somebody from the hostel to pick us up holding a sign with Sasa's name and next to him my couchsurfing guide calling on me hello Jana. Michael was just having a blast and at this moment I was happy that he leaves all the planning just on me and Sasa, otherwise there would probably be a third person waiting for us. We apologized for the misunderstanding and left for the hostel as scheduled.

The first day we decided for a one day tour. At the hostel they organized everything and later our guide Washington picked us up. Just driving through the park of unspoiled nature was awesome. The first stop of the tour was a Lapa Doce cave. We got funny colorful helmets and went underground to explore the 3rd largest cave in Brasil with its roof always 15 to 20 metres high and amazing limestones stalactites and stactmites with odd shapes and colors.

The next stop was a Pratinha cave. When walking there, our guide spotted a Tarantula spider and was taking him on a stick. As I am not a huge fan of spiders, I was just watching from distance. By the Pratinha cave I was really amazed because it is a mouth of underground river flowing out to the surface. We had a possibility of doing a snorkeling tour there. It was an unforgetable experience. I think I have never seen such a transparent water. When we swam to the inside of the cave, there was a complete darkness so we had to use a torch to make our way. It was a little bit frightening but exciting feeling being inside a cave in darkness and having around 20 meters of water below us. Afterwards we chilled just beyond the cave where the river forms a lake, a true oasis with crystal clear water.

The third stop was a Pai Inácio mountain. The view from the top is a 360 degree majestic scenery of the national park. It was just a short hike to get up and totally worth the effort.

Last stop was a Mucugezinho river. The river has a really interesting black color, the water is really clean though, its the iron that makes it black. After a short trail, partly wading through the river we reached a Devil's pool with an impressive waterfall.

Our guide was a really awesome one and we had an amazing day so we asked him for recommendation how to spend the following two days in the national park. He offered taking us on a 2 day trek of a part of the Pati valley trail which is considered to be one of the most beautiful treks of Brazil. It also included one night stay in the mountains in a house of locals. So of course we made a deal with him!

Returning to the hostel we cancelled the second night, packed everything and prepared just the necessary for the trek.Read more