Parque National da Chapada Diamantina

Happy Valentines Day and hello from Lencois, former diamond town and gateway to the mountainous Parque Nacional da Chapada Diamantina. This national park is home to waterfalls, natural swimming pools and large caves that you can explore or swim in. Today I spent a very enjoyable day seeing the main sights on an organised tour. In the morning we went swimming in one of the numerous natural pools fed by waterfalls and explored one of the largest caves in the area that contained a good collection of stalagmites and stalactites. Not the most spectacular cave I have visited, but certainly very large and some interesting formations, including one that looked quite a lot like Jabba The Hut! After a very nice traditional Brazilian lunch, it was off again to go swimming with the fishes at a crystal clear lake and climb one of the local mountains for a spectacular view of the park. All in all an excellent, if tiring day

Unfortunately we are back on the road tomorrow off to Brasilia, the purpose built capital city in the middle of nowhere (and when I say middle of nowhere, I really mean it). Think Milton Keynes Brazilian style.

Anthony