A bumper edition today for what has been arguably our best day so far.
Lencois is a small, delightful, colonial-era town, 6-8 hours drive inland from Salvador, and the perfect base for exploring the Chapada Diamantina (Diamond Cliffs) National Park in which it lies. It’s a long drive to get to it, but the journey is definitely (definitely) worth it.
A quick history… diamonds were discovered here lying on the ground in the 1800’s. A diamond boon ensued, and fortune seekers arrived in their thousands, setting tents up on the hills which looked like bedsheets from above. The Portuguese word for sheets is Lencois – hence the name, and it has no connection (other than the name) to Lencois Maranheses, which we also visited on this trip, and which is 1500km further north.
We stayed at the Canto das Aguas hotel, which is the best place to stay in town apparently, and while seriously overpriced, was comfortable for a couple night stay.
It’s generally recommended to use a guide to explore the park for the first time, as signposting is non-existent. You can buy maps in town, but for a remarkably reasonable $60 can have the services of a knowledgable local, who speaks english, for the whole day. We were using our own rental car which cuts the cost considerably as you need a car to explore the park, and the guides don’t like using their own cars. The alternative is hiking but we’re not the rambling type and you need more than a couple of days for this.
We arranged the guide through the hotel, and in less time than it took to eat breakfast, Hernadez had been booked by reception from the town, and was at the hotel raring to go.
I worked out a quick itinerary which included being able to watch the two big World Cup matches that were going on later in the day 😉 First though we had an ATM run to do, so we jumped in the car, and did the very short ride into the centre of town from the hotel, with Hernandez riding along in our car. We were getting to see Lencois for the first time in daylight, and it was a pretty sight indeed.
After going to the bank, we went back in the other direction on the only road out of town. Hernandez told us stories about all the different animals living in the park – including kid favourites Tarantulas, Rattlesnakes, Scorpions and Jaguars!
After 13km you get to the main road that cuts through the park. It was dramatic and stunning – one of the most scenic drives I’ve experienced.
There’s a ton of trucks on the road, which is the only downer – these have the effect of slowing you down, but otherwise it’s an awesome sight.
Soon we were off the main road and heading up a winding, dusty path
At the top was a small parking area, radio mast and a sugar cane presser squeezing freshly made juice
We all tried some – it was great – super sweet of course.
After this, we were soon hiking our way up the steep hill (Morro do Pai Inácio – Father Inácio Hill)
It was a 30 minute climb with stops to admire the scenery, and it was all very stunning – a lush, green, grand canyon basically.
We learned how plants take root on the hard rock, basically using soil made out of other decaying plants. We also saw wild orchids.
And took lots of photos…
With this amazing vista fresh in our minds, we clambered back down the hill and reached the mini plateau where the cars are. There is another trail you can take which takes a couple of hours, but we had other destinations to visit.
We got back in our car and drove along the main road for a bit and then 40 mins down a long dusty track (challenging in places in a regular car) to a place called Pratinha.
The drive to Pratinha takes you through a substantial coffee farm. We’d never seen a coffee farm before.
Hernandez suggested we stop and take a closer look…
It was great timing – the coffee was ripe for picking
We had no idea there was a fruit around a coffee bean, or that you could eat it, and that it doesn’t taste awful. The fruit is called a cherry and is red if it’s any good, green otherwise. We took a half dozen coffee beans away to roast later, and tasted the fruit.
With the unusual taste of the coffee fruit still in our mouths (it doesn’t taste like coffee), we were back in the car and driving alongside row after row of coffee plants
Hernandez pointed out a large area to the left where coffee fruits (cherries) were spread out in their hundreds of thousands to dry in the sun. He explained that this kind of operation doesn’t produce the best coffee, as they don’t sort the red fruits from the (unripe) green ones. Still – simplicity and volume make up for it I guess, for this farmer.
After this surprise lesson on coffee we arrived at our destination Pratinha – which consists of a few huts and a small cafe in a rocky and scenic area among the farms. We paid a small entry fee to get in, it’s leased by the government to local entrepreneurs.
Eli immediately set his sights on some… stones!
There was some confusion initially over what we could do at Pratinha, we were being asked to pay (reasonable amounts) for various things if we wanted to do them, and it seemed there were a few options – cave diving, swimming, zip lining among them.
Hernandez suggested taking us on a recce to show us around. We clambered down some steps towards a cave…
… reaching a naturally filled cave with incredibly clear water.
We learned that you can swim a long way into the cave, but it gets dark and cold deep inside the cave and is not generally suited for those under 10. It’s about a 20 minute swim in and 20 min back apparently, and you wear flippers, snorkel, carry a torch etc.
Eli is a strong swimmer for his age – equivalent to some 10 year olds – and we were tempted. We decided to defer the decision and take another look at the zip line which we’d passed on the way to the cave.
There was a nervous lady who was preparing to jump off the zip line, which takes you across a natural pool and plunges you into the aquamarine water.
We decided we’d watch her experience, and make a decision!
Decision… made
Lots of fun!!
It was soon time for the Germany v France game, and we were getting hungry, so we dried ourselves off in the sunshine, and sat down for some Brazilian buffet… and a game.
After the game we had a small window to do a (mini) snorkeling cave adventure. We’d decided to not venture in too deep and stay near the entrance.
The reason we didn’t have much time was because there was another cave, Blue Cave (Gruta Azul), a short walk away, that at the right time of day has the sunlight fall directly on the water creating a dramatic effect.
We made it just in time (the sunlight disappeared a couple of minutes after we arrived) and the effect was indeed amazing. You could see up to 60 feet deep through the ultra clear water like it was head height. The large rocks in the photo below are 20 feet below water.
We walked back up the creaking wooden staircase leading to the cave, marveling at the Tarzan style vines
An amazing afternoon, and no rambling involved.
The big game between Brazil and Cameroon was coming up and it was time to head back to Lencois to watch it in the old market building alongside the town square. There were lots of people gathered to watch the game.
It was one of the most exciting games we’d watched! It had a fantastic, small town, community-vibe atmosphere. Thiago Silva scored early and it lifted the roof!
At half time everyone went outside into the square to mingle, and be entertained by a troupe of local drummers
The second half was even more exciting, with a brilliant free kick by David Luis making it 2-0!
The game ended 2-1 and it was party time in Lencois. Literally the whole town filled the square.
I rushed back to the hotel with Eli to grab Semma, and bring her to the party!
It had grown into a full-fledged spontaneous, synchronous… rave. This video gives a flavour… it was utterly spectacular (must watch).
Everywhere people were hanging out on the streets, playing games, doing capoeira (martial art dancing), kids hanging out, playing football (Eli got a game started and a bunch of Brazilian kids joined in) – fantastic.
There were small stands selling fresh (and very strong) cocktails, and we hung out with the rest of the town, taking it all in.
We finished off with a spot of pizza in the adjoining square, marveling at what an amazing evening (and day) we’d had.
If you ever get the chance to come to this part of the world, I can’t recommend Lencois enough as a fun loving town to spend a couple of nights. If you can get here when the national team is playing… even better!