There is still time to take advantage of the austral summer and indulge in a trip to Brazil! But if you think that a holiday in the South American country is only in the name of the sea, palm trees and carnival (and in any case it wouldn't go badly) you are off track. In fact, the most beautiful Brazilian experience I had inside the Chapada Diamantina Park in the state of Bahia, kilometers and kilometers from the sea, immersed in a wild nature where canyons, mountains and waterfalls are the masters.
We stayed at Lencois (reachable by bus from Salvador da Bahia), strategic starting point for discovering the Park. A beautiful village with colonial buildings and a lively nightlife, with an authentic and uncontaminated flavor, but with all the services (internet point, bars, hostels) of the tourist resorts. For the overnight stay we chose the pousada "Dos Duendes”(Which in Brazilian means elves). Double or triple rooms with private or shared bathroom, rich breakfasts with Brazilian sweets and lots of fresh fruit and a mini library with travel guides left by the patrons (I left one of my Umbria). The real strength of the hostal (founded by Olivia, an English woman who came to Lencois when she was still a girl), however, is that of being the best adventure travel agency in the Park, the "H20 Travel Adventure", which offers tours for all tastes, half a day, all day or even 3 or 4 days.
We have opted for one day by jeep discovering the Pozzo del Diavolo Waterfall, the Morro del Pai Inacio (from where you can see the peaks of the Tres Ermanos), the Pratinha (a waterfall surrounded by an immense green meadow with free horses and myriads of butterflies - I felt like I was in a dream!), of the Blue Grotto and finally of the Grotta da Lapa Doce at a depth of 800 meters where we met a nice tarantula.
But the highlight was the guided hike of 3 days in the Valle do Paty, backpacking and kilometers and kilometers of walking (I recommend it only to those who practice trekking or at least have a lot of resistance because there is no going back). An experience out of time (there is no telephone line, forget about televisions, shops and any other comforts) and at the limits of space (you will walk for endless expanses, fording streams and descending over cliffs) that will not leave you indifferent.
The overnight stay during the excursion is at one Ruin where do you sleep in dormitories made in mud houses, we all eat together in makeshift canteens and play the guitar under the moonlight. As for the prices of the hostal I must say that they are definitely not low cost (in proportion to those of the country), but it really deserves them all! We are talking about 90 reais for the diary stay for two people in the hostel with breakfast included; 125 reais each for the day trip; 400 reais each for the 3-day excursion in the Vale do Paty including food, accommodation, transport and guide.
