Paraiso Perdido or Paradise Lost

Hiking in Brazil! What a great adventure! I had a fabulous time! Hiking, hiking, hiking with plenty of swimming thrown in as well.

I arrived at the home of my long-time friend Jennifer and her family on a Wednesday and we were off on a hiking adventure with a tour group by Friday afternoon. It was wonderful! So much fun! www.enigma.tur.br I didn’t even need to worry about the language difference, really, I just needed to follow along!

We headed out Friday afternoon and arrived in the city of Passos about 8:30 that evening. It is in another state in Brazil, Minais Gerais, I have now visited three different states. We checked into the hotel and walked into town for a nice supper.

The next morning we left for Vale do Ceu which is an ecological centre. (www.valedoceu.tur.br). It is beautiful! The hiking is not difficult and it wasn’t busy which was wonderful. The road to get in was steep and rough so I was a little worried but it was great. In fact if you keep going along the path there are sweet little pockets of waterfall treasures with no one else around. We hiked and hung around for the entire day. There was a restaurant so we stopped and had a lovely typical Brazilian lunch and then headed out again. It was fun just to hang out on the rocks and go swimming.

The following day we went to another park, Trilha do Sol. The hiking here was a little more difficult. Definitely doable but it was a little scary at times. Agnaldo, Jennifer’s husband and our tour guide likes to challenge people, encourages you to step outside the box and try new things. It was certainly something everyone could do but if you wanted to turn around you had the option. At more than one point we were wading through the river with our bags hiked up over our heads as the river was up to our waist. I don’t even think I was the shortest person, although I may have been. It was so much fun! I have to say that I had great shoes on so I was in better shape then others but it was still slow going as I was always worried about falling. I wouldn’t be able to run if I hurt myself, you know! Honestly, the view and the waterfalls are absolutely worth it!

Later on that day came another challenge as we hiked down a river, through a sort of short canyon, you could go back but you couldn’t climb up, and over some small waterfalls. We had to jump off some rocks over a small waterfall at one point. It was a little scary. A couple of people were very frightened and we were there a little while as we waited and encouraged them. Everyone did it though. It is a great sense of accomplishment to face a fear. It was a wonderful day!

On the third day we hiked to this great little spot where there were many small waterfalls and one relatively large one but it was such a great hang out spot. It was in another park, Castcatinha. There was a tiny cove where the water was quite a bit deeper and boats would come in from the river. You could jump off the cliffs here and the water was so, so warm. Honestly, I could have stayed all day! A few of us (girls) opted out of the afternoon hike and went into town to the shops. It was a little disappointing however, as not many of the stores were open. It is also quite expensive and of course for me, I have no room in my luggage. I already don’t know what I am going to do about my luggage for the flight to Ushuaia, I certainly can’t be purchasing anything. It was nice to wander around though and of course, I did get something.

The final day, our fourth day of hiking was at a place called Paraiso Perdido, which in English translates into Paradise Lost. It was a little paradise! It was a great hike with all these little coves & waterfalls in little, quiet pockets. At one point however, just to challenge us I suppose, it was a little like rock climbing as you had to navigate your way around the water, the rocks and the waterfall. I’m not much of a rock climber, I have to say. It was difficult, finding a spot to hold on to and a place for your feet while still holding your things. I guess if you did fall you would just land in the water so really it was safer than rock climbing. The view at the end of course made it all worth it! It was so beautiful, a little tranquil cove with small pools of water you could just float in. I could have stayed here all day as well. I don’t know if they saved the best for last as every spot was a little bit of paradise.

It was a terrific holiday!

www.enigma.tur.br