DAY 222
Our trek was organized online and we met with the company's owner yesterday afternoon for a quick briefing. We'll be four plus the guide. First, we pick up Phil and Alex, Belgians living in Bruxelles, then, in Palmeiras, on the other side of the park, we pick our hippie guide, Antoine. The driving is clearly wilder here but not as bad as in the Andes... but not as civilized as in the cities ;) It's not aggressive though, people keep their cool spirit behind the wheel. The park got bad forest fires last year. The rain due in October-November was nowhere to be found and that lead to the loss of almost 25% of the park to fire.
The Chapada Diamantina is a wall of mountains in front of us. After Guinè we head to a weak spot in it. Our ride gets us half way up then we're on our own. No warm up here, we start climbing right away but it's quickly over and we arrive on a wide plain surrounded by mountains. It's an alluvial plain that got pushed up then sculpted by water into the Pati valley. We cross the Rio Negro which is actually not black but reddish. The water is pure, and we'll drink from it during the whole hike, but it's an infusion. The vegetation in it gives it the color. A few groups are having lunch by the river but we push on. After a while we arrive at the edge of the valley and it's a thing of beauty. We break for lunch there basking in the view.
The way down is steep and quite rough then we follow the river. The path is not easy. We have to climb up and down on rocks and trees, ford the river multiple times... fun yeah but a bit dangerous too. We have another break at the feet of a waterfall and jump in the water. We have to cut it short though, the sky is turning threatening and rain starts not long after. It alternates between heavy and lighter rain but we arrive wet at the guesthouse. The day was long today and the hike one of the hardest and more technical we had to do. The 16-18km were well worth it though. Hikers are still passing by our guesthouse and they look miserable. The rain is not stopping and the path has turned to mud :/ The shower is very welcomed, as well as dinner. We introduce Lobo77 to our Belgian friends and play a few games before going to bed.
DAY 223
Not a great night. It rained most of the it so we didn't sleep well. And we're not looking to walking in these conditions but head out anyway. We'll have rain on and off all day. Nothing too strong though so it won't bother us much. Like yesterday we start with a climb. We end up on the hill we could see well from yesterday vista point and keep going west towards the exit of the valley. Then we walk for a bit on the plateau. Vegetation is sparser there but beautiful. The trail is a little river at the same time so we have to stay focus. The end of the plateau is dramatic, a wide half circle ending in waterfalls. They don't only fall from the top of plateau but from the cliff itself. There must be underground canals all over it. It's like the plateau is leaking ;) We check out a 2nd vista point where we can lie down on promontory and look down... wow, wow, wow! And with all the rain we had last night, the falls are huge!
There's no way down here obviously so we go back to one of the river we crossed and break for lunch. We have a swim there afterward and get a free massage under the rapid :) The trek is gorgeous and fun and varied. River fording, trees, rocks, red water, etc... Once again it's quite technical though.
We push the pace on the way back, no one wants to walk at night. The mountains surrounding the valley look like teeth. They are very green with their layers visible and clouds attached to them. The rain gives us a break finally but we can't complain too much, without the rain, no rivers or waterfall would exist in this place. Our guide tells us they just disappear without a good night of rain. The path has many gates to keep the horses and mule in their owner's territory. We meet one of these mules at one of the gate and it follows us for some time but we seem to be a bit too fast for it. Shortly after, as I'm refilling my canteen and processing the water with the Steripen, I hear a splash behind... I'm expecting to see another group of hikers but it's the mule who caught up with me and is curious to know what I'm doing.
She keeps tagging along but I've got to walk fast to catch up with the group so I loose it again. We make good time to come back to the refuge, passing two completely soaked vultures on the way. We grab our stuff and hike another hour to the next refuge, fording two more rivers. The 2nd one is not even fording, we remove our shoes and walk in the river. Thankfully, it's a stone's throw away from the refuge. Tonight we're right at the feet of the castle, a huge rock sitting in the middle of the Pati valley... impressive sight!
DAY 224
Our legs are sore this morning but we slept better. Back on the trail, we follow the valley on yet another beautiful trail. It's much drier than yesterday (yeah!) and the cicadas are singing happily. The trail is no less technical than the other days though with stones, mud and rivers but by now we know we have to avoid pink stones and orange mud... Too slippery ;) The trail leads to the bottom of the fall we saw from above yesterday. The last kilometer is beyond ridiculous. It's not hiking anymore but scrambling on rocks and trees on steep slopes. While we're at it, the cicadas sing. They are so loud they even cover the noise of the river. Eventually we get there, all of us, in one piece! The Cachoeiroa is already less intense than yesterday but it's still an impressive sight. The red pond at its feet is shallow but still deep enough for a refreshing bath. We collect some water from the fall, eat then go check out this other side of falls. It's another 40min round trip on rocks and through the jungle. The way back is easier just because we know it. We go back via the same path. In the meanwhile, the cicadas have been replaced by sonar birds (white body black head and they sound like a sonar...), maybe they sing in shifts here!?
Our 3rd refuge is nice too. The valley starts opening up a bit and keep doing so as far as the eye can see. Green fields start doting the landscape too. We won't be going there though. Our way out is up and over one side but it's for tomorrow.
DAY 225
It rained all night. We're all dreading the time when we'll have to step out and face this but there's nothing to be done about it. It's the last day and we have to get out of the valley. We have a little bit of hope because after breakfast we start seeing the wall we'll have to climb but the rain keeps on pouring and we have to go. With all the rain we had last night and the one that keeps coming down, the path is a now a river in its own right. We try our best not to step in the water at first but after a while, we're entirely drenched, shoes included and we stop caring about that.
It takes a good hour and a half to climb out of the valley (500m elevation gain) before starting the long descent to Andarai. The last vista point on the Pati and Cachoeiroa valleys is nothing but a humongous white cloud... Sad because this valley is beautiful and ironically even more when it rains. The descent is more of the same for a few more hours. Walking on stones, fording wild torrents,.. Rince and repeat. After 4 hours walking in the rain we finally get a break. We stay wet because we're still walking on the trail that doubles as a river and have to ford some more torrents. The real difference is on the upper body, the wetness does not come from rain anymore but from sweat :/ The trail is gorgeous though. We especially liked a section of dry river bed that looks like a botanical/Japanese garden. Water sculpted the rocks artistically there and the plants colonized it. During one of the stop I'm attacked by ants. I must have been standing on their territory and when I notice something's is biting me, I have dozens of them all over my legs! What a pain to get rid of them...
Our legs were feeling much better today but we're very happy to arrive, and starving! It's past 1pm, the breakfast was an awfully long time ago ;) Rain will resume, tropical style, during lunch but we couldn't care less now! We were supposed to go visit the Devil's well, a nearby attraction, but it's impassable because of the heavy rain so we head back home. We all smell like wet sheep and our gear is even worse. The only thing we can think of is a hot shower and a much needed change of clothes. The weather was tough during these 4 days but it allowed us to see the valley full of waterfalls. As we were exiting the valley we could see them all over the place, incredible sight. It was also intense physically, we covered around 75-80km and had to pass by complicated terrains. We slipped a few times but came out mostly unscathed.
After the shower and an attempt to wash a few things we join Phil and Axel for a nice good dinner at Slow Food. In case we hadn't had enough yet, we have another serving of tropical rain during dinner. We all agree to stay in the restaurant until it dies down, no way we'll get our new clothes wet! Thankfully it dies down as we finish and we hurry back to our hotel.