DAY 231
It was the shittiest bus we had so far in South America. It had no AC, we were bored to death but we made it to Bonito. No complains! The rest of the day is spent tour shipping... As is tradition ;)
Fun fact : the accent of the region sounds like a English speaker speaking Portuguese... Weird! I first though they were Americans or Englishmen speaking really good Portuguese but unable to do a proper Portuguese "r". But it was just their accent!
DAY 232
We need many of those days recently but today is once again dedicated to resting! Our only productive activity of the day is investigating the ice cream shops in town... Very important!
DAY 233
Bonito is a playground for adults. Most of the activities involve water but not only. The Aquarium natural is one of these. It's about snorkeling in a river with extra clear water and teaming with fish. We all start with a floating class in the pool the. After a quick walk through the jungle we enter the water. The pictures and descriptions clearly didn't lie. The water is extremely clear and we're surrounded by shameless fish. There's not that many different species but it indeed feels like swimming in an aquarium. We slowly drift down river, snapping pictures for about 2 hours. It's over too soon though :/ Walking back to the center we spot a group of wild pigs, some cutias (a small capibara!) and a bunch of macaque looking for trouble (what's new?).
Back in town, we have caiman (jacare in Brazilian) for the first time. It tastes like fish with a chicken-like texture. Tasty! Then to end our very busy day, we try a 3rd ice cream shop (we're committed!)
DAY 234
Parque de cachoeiras (i.e. waterfalls park), where our driver seems to think he's on a race track. It's very unnecessary on top of that since we have to wait for a good hour before our group leaves once we get there... Yet again an activity well suited for the weather. Short walks in the jungle, hopping from one waterfall to the next. There are 11 of them, some bigger, some smaller, most of them swimmable. The landscape here is very dynamic, geologically speaking. With the sedimentation, the course of the river is evolving rapidly and creates some beautiful structures. Some of the falls even have caves underneath. It's touristy and super organized but we have a great time.
DAY 235
Day off (yes, again!). We have some planning to do for Argentina. It seems we chose our day off quite well. There's a deluge of epic proportions going on today. We borrow two gold-sized umbrellas and just brave the weather in flip flops and shorts. The streets are turning into rivers!!! Yesterday night we had to change table at the restaurant when the rain started. We're in the tropics and it's the rainy season, so... It's raining, no big deal ;)
DAY 236
Gruta do lago azul is a cave, with a lake and the blue color is describing either the lake of the cave... We'll see ;) Once again it's overly touristy and way too organized. We stop every 200m on the way down to give time to the groups ahead of us. Meanwhile our (bad) guide tells us not very interesting things about the cave to keep us from noticing. It's not working! The place is otherworldly though. We can see the intense blue of the water from the top and see more of it as we go deeper in the cave. The ceiling of the cave is another wonder. Not simple stalactites and stalagmites but complex and convoluted structures. Eventually we get to the bottom of the cave and down there, it's truly mesmerizing. The water has a gorgeous blue and is crystal clear. The cave is clearly worth it but it's sadly overrun by tourists.