Brazil’s Nature Wonderland

Brazil. Wham, bam, samba man! After 24 hours on a bus from Uruguay – we made it to the Flo-Flo. The city itself is on the coast and just like any other metropolis, covered in grey buildings and uninteresting streets, but we we there for the beaches and the sun! We had to get out of the city to our neighbouring, island paradise of Santa Catarina.

The island was only 30 minutes away but there had been a storm and the roads had turned to rivers – the buses were merely bystanders.

Luckily an adventurous cab driver waded through the roads, traversed flooded bridges and we just about made it to our beachside hostel

Our first Brazilian evening wasn’t your typical paradise picture – rather black skies, torrential downpours and thunder rumbling all around. However, spirits were not dampened and out came the caipirinha’s – Brazil’s sumptuous cocktail.

Soon the hostel bar was filled with Brazilian music, card games and wishing for a brighter tomorrow

Luckily the caipirinha fuelled dreams were fulfilled and out came the sun. Brazil had awoken from its stormy slumber and greeted us with sun baked beaches and luscious green hills. This was the Brazil we had dreamed of.

The view from the hostel, amazing colours and incredible scenery

Tucked away just under the hill from our hostel was a secret little beach that had the perfect soft sand and gentle waves for quick dips. Brazil’s holiday season was in full swing; families arrived in their droves, sand castles were erected, football keepy upy’s swept along the shore, beach vendors tempted us with barbecued cheese – the beach was alive with the sounds and smells of Brazil!

Desperate to get involved and bring some Scottish skills to the samba sands, Cal ventured onto to the five-a-side pitch / beach, ready to “show ’em how it’s done”. Several overhead kicks, nutmegs and generally a bit of a footballing lesson later, Cal exclaimed “but they cannee’ do it on a muddy pitch in Clapham can they!”

The Europeans trying their luck against a young Brazilian team – warm up to the World Cup?

Away from footballing embarrassments, we were succeeding in embracing other walks of Brazilian life and we were adamant to enjoy the best the island could offer. Cue a trip down South to find Lagoinha do Leste, the island’s ‘secret beach’. Only accessible by hiking through thick jungle and navigating cliff edges, it was tipped to be an adventure with an idyllic reward. This was our first hike since Patagonia but it was a far cry from boots and fleeces, instead featuring flip-flops and sweaty tshirts. After scrambling up rocky slopes, ducking leafy branches and conquering downhill fears, we felt pretty proud and exuberant with the 2 hour climb, looking upon an almost empty beach to ourselves.

Even though the clouds rolled in, we got the enjoy the beauty and peace (and sweat through the hike)

The Flo Flo was our sweltering, caipirinha fuelled introduction to Brazil and we wondered if anything could top it. But if anything could, it would be our next stop. Continuing our adventures with Magda, we arrived on the border of Brazil and Argentina. We were there to see Iguazu Falls, the natural border between the two countries and the largest waterfall system in the world.

Day 1 was spent exploring the Brazilian side with fellow traveller Mack, whom we met en route to the falls. We were all taken a back. We wandered along the riverside path, weaving around small fury creatures called Coatis (like a cross between a squirrel and a raccoon) and spotting butterflies and monkeys. Each turn in the path beheld another scene out of Jurassic Park, water carving between green, tropical cliffs.

Coatis constantly on the move looking for food from unsuspecting tourists

At the end of the path we came to a steel walkway, taking us into the heart of the river in amongst the waterfalls. We may as well have swam to the end of this walkway, we were drenched from the 5 minute dash, but the views were worth it!

Drying off, back on land, we gazed across to the Argentinian side, contemplating how much better could it be? Which side was best? Day 2 would reveal all.

Backpacking has its ways of making un-ordinary things feel very normal. Multi-cultural taxi border crossings is certainly not your standard black-cab home from the pub (this taxi featured three Germans, a bloke from the USA living in Saudi Arabia and me and Rosh, hurtling towards the Argentinian border at 8 am). We arrived full of excitement for Iguazu pt. 2

Back to Argentina for our third passport stamp. So the saying goes, good things come in 3s and Argentina had more walkways to get even closer into the waterfall, but with that came armies of selfie stick-wielding tourists. Luckily, we found ourselves a beautiful secluded part to enjoy the waterfall, although the rains swiftly rolled in and cut short the day.

Regardless of the rain and crowds, we agreed Igauzu falls were the closest natural wonderland rival to Patagonia. It was a shame, however, to see the rivers of Igauzu running a dark brown colour, as opposed to crystal clear waters that flowed a decade ago. We learned this was a result of significant deforestation around the area. The more we travelled around Brazil the more soy fields we saw, with large swathes of forests cleared to meet the growing demand of the good. It was definitely food for thought.

To continue our nature tour, we headed to an off piste destination aptly named Bonito (‘beautiful’ in Spanish). Bonito is a small town on the fringes of Brazil’s Pantanal, about 50 miles north of Paraguay’s border (pretty much right in the middle in South America). We didn’t know much about it other than Magda’s Brazilian friend had proclaimed ‘it is the most beautiful place in all of Brazil’.

We had good reason to agree with her – what the dusty town was lacking was made up for with the incredible surrounding areas. Our first day was spent snorkelling along the Rio Sucuri, a beautifully clear river home to fish, otters and a rumoured anaconda. Snorkelling along the river and seeing the animals and the untouched Amazonian setting was an unbelievable, other worldly experience.

“I thought we were doing silly faces…” Rosh

Post-swim, a few hungry tourists relied upon untried German, Indian, British gastronomic fusion to lead the way and create Bonito’s Burgers. The finest food we had eaten, possibly of the trip so far. We ate them outside our guesthouse watching purple lightning flash above us. One of the nights to remember.

The following morning we waved a temporary goodbye to Magda as she ventured to Sao Paolo for her whistle stop tour of Brazil, while we continued to explore Bonito. We set off bird watching in the morning, spotting bright red macaws in a huge sinkhole, something that could definitely be the set of a future Disney film (copyright enabled).

That afternoon, we braved the perils of the mosquitos, wandering through thick jungle in flattering wet-suits (looking very elegant and stylish I should add). Despite losing a great deal of dignity, we jumped into the Rio Plata, ready for our second snorkelling experience of Bonito. This was the most famous river in the region for it’s crystal clear water but also for the amount of fish present in the shallows. This was by far the most breathtaking experience of our Bonito expeditions.

Our final day in Bonito was spent exploring a beautiful blue lagoon, tucked away in an exposed cave. Fears of small spaces and steep downhill sections were conquered and replaced with a fear for our the upcoming journey – a 36 hour bus journey north, the longest of the trip so far.

However, the long journey was a fine opportunity to reflect on the wonders and breathtaking scenery we had seen so far. We had fallen for Brazil and couldn’t wait to head for the coast. Rio and Carnival were just around the corner!

Cocktail club: Introducing Brazil and the humble rival to the mojito – the Caipirinha! Super sweet for Cal, and ‘sin azucar’ for Rosh, it was pretty fantastic. 9/10

Jukebox joy: A few beers with our Bonito burgers led us to a tiny ‘bar’, just about big enough for a pool table with a fridge holding a handful of beers and a decaying jukebox in the corner. But we made the most of it – dancing to questionable music choices, playing pool against questionable individuals – the hallmark staples of a night on the town!

What we’re listening to: Following an early introduction to Brazilian funk in Buenos Aires, we have to shout out the infamous Bum Bum Tam Tam which makes Brazilian women dance like everybody is watching. Those hips definitely do not lie.

Love & hugs

Cal & Rosh xxx