Day 1 (Friday) – 17/01/2014

Already thinking about the January 20th holiday in Rio, we researched some destinations and found a very cheap flight to Cuiaba by Gol. We paid R$$192 round trip, at very optimized times. I've always wanted to know Guimarães Plateau, in fact, all the Chapadas in the country, so I thought it would be perfect for us….and it was! 🙂

We arrived in Cuiabá on Friday at around 1 am. Note: the airport is not in Cuiabá but in a neighboring city called Great Floodplain. If you want to go to Cuiabá, a taxi will take you there for about R$$50, as it is a bit far. For this one night in the capital of Mato Grosso, we chose to stay at Diplomat Hotel next to the airport with free transportation to/from the airport, since we would pick up the car on Saturday morning. When we arrived at the airport, we were amazed at the amount of construction work going on around. Everything was in chaos because of the construction work for the World Cup! We took the transfer to the hotel, checked in and went to rest. The hotel is very simple and was very cheap, of course.

 Day 2 (Saturday) – 18/01/2014

We woke up around 9am, had a very reasonable breakfast, checked out and asked to be dropped off at the hotel. Locate, which is right next to the hotel. We didn't walk because the construction really made the street chaotic, but you can walk if you don't mind the dust. We took our basic car and headed to Chapada using the map we got at the hotel. As I had already read in Backpackers website I had heard a lot about Chapada and was very excited about the trip. Celo, not so much, but he still tried to stay optimistic. I got the contact information for the guide Márcia – (065) 9241 7582 – from a guy’s story and before our trip, I made sure to call and book the tours with her. I thought it would be better to book the tours in advance, as there are places in Chapada that can only be visited with a guide. Knowing that we would only have Saturday, Sunday and Monday until 3 pm, she advised me the following schedule:

• Saturday: take the road calmly and stop at several points between Cuiabá and Chapada, namely: Rio Claro, Salgadeira (it was closed), Véu de Noiva, Cachoeirinha/Cachoeira dos Namorados and Alto do Céu.
• Sunday: Aroe Jari Cave, Blue Lagoon and Kiogo Brado Cave or Waterfalls Circuit.
• Second: Floating in a river in Bom Jardim (I had already decided this, after some research on the internet.)

We then continued on to Chapada with complete peace of mind. We had to pass through Cuiabá and found the city to be very pleasant, although we didn't stop anywhere to explore it further. The road is of good quality, the drivers drive respectfully and the view after a few minutes on the road is really cool. We had to stop in the middle to take some photos, of course:

We stopped at the first place indicated by the guide, the Rio Claro Resort. What a beautiful place, guys! You park your car, walk for about 3 minutes and come across a bizarrely clear river with lots and lots of fish. And best of all, few people are bathing. \o/ We were enchanted and soon got into the water, which was at a perfect temperature. We stayed there for an hour, resting and taking lots of photos.

We continued to the other indicated stop, the Salgadeira Spa, but unfortunately it was closed. We went to the next one, which was Bridal Veil Waterfall, postcard of Guimarães Plateau. Entrance is also free, but you have to walk about 15 minutes from the parking lot to the viewpoint. That's nothing, because the view is incredible and the energy of the place is also amazing. We were lucky enough to see several birds flying while we were at the viewpoint, especially blue macaws! Can you imagine what that's like? These animals are beautiful and they were there just a few meters away from us. It was sooo exciting.

We took advantage of the facilities of the place and bought water and some delicious fried banana cookies to stave off our hunger.

We continue to Little waterfall, which is very close to the previous tourist spot. Entrance costs R$20 (with R$10 consumption) per person and within this complex there are two waterfalls, Little Waterfall and Lovers' Waterfall, in addition to the restaurant that is quite famous in the region. We parked the car in the parking lot, walked for about 10 minutes and arrived at Cachoeira dos Namorados. We spent a good while there resting and letting the waterfall massage (or hurt, lol) our bodies. We left there hungry and went to Cachoeirinha, which is in front of the restaurant. We decided to have lunch first and then go to the waterfall, but we ended up doing only the first part of the plan. We ordered the restaurant's most famous dish (R$$125 for two people, cash only) and delicious juices. After a few minutes of waiting admiring the waterfall, our dish arrived and it was great. We left there happy, but scared by the price.

We headed towards the last tourist spot indicated by the guide, the High in the Sky. We drove along a very bad dirt road, passed a SINDACTA radar and arrived at a house, where a guy got out and charged R$$10 per person. We drove a little more, parked and walked for about 5 minutes until we reached the viewpoint. What a view! You can see several cities, pastures, plantations and feel a wonderful peace. We didn't stay there long, unfortunately, because a bizarre rain started and we were afraid of lightning (in Chapada they have a very high incidence).

We headed towards the city of Chapada, praying for the rain to stop because the plan was to camp. We found the Camping Oasis, which we had booked, but we decided not to stay there after we went in to see it. I didn't like the energy of the place...I don't know how to explain it. We tried to find the other campsite recommended on the internet, Alternative Paradise, but since no one answered the phone and no resident knew the camping, we gave up on the idea of camping and went in search of inns. We found some with cheap daily rates of R$120 with fans, but most of them didn't accept cards and we only had R$140 in cash. We realized that the city didn't have Santander or Itaú banks, where we have accounts, and we panicked. I called Marcia to ask for recommendations for other campsites and she said she lived next to Paraíso Alternativo and could take us there. Cute, isn't it? She met us in the city center and we went to the campsite. We were well received by the owner, who apologized saying he was sleeping. We set up our tent, took a shower and went out for a walk. The cool thing about the place is the main square in the city, which is surrounded by restaurants, stalls and shops. We walked around a bit, ate tapioca and went back to the campsite.

Day 3 (Sunday) – 19/01/2014

We were woken up by Júlio, a guide who showed up in Márcia's place. She called him to say she couldn't go on the tour with us and he went to introduce himself. We decided to go on the cave tour and got ready. We had breakfast at Wheat Bakery, which is in front of the square and we picked up Júlio to go to the caves with our own car.

After a few minutes on the road, we stopped at the Geodesic Center Viewpoint, which is exactly where the Center of South America is. The view from there is beautiful and you can even see Cuiabá, which is many kilometers away. The landmark itself is crude, but the view makes up for it.

We followed the road until we entered a dirt road between soybean plantations. I had never seen a plantation like this before and our guide knew everything about it! I learned that the yellower the soybean, the closer it is to harvest. We saw some animals on the road and finally arrived at the tourist base of the caves. We paid R$$30 per person to do the trail and R$$25 per person for the self-service lunch. Thank God, everything was on the card…

To do the trail, we had to wear shin guards to protect our legs from possible animal bites. Imagine my face when they told me this. =O

We put everything on and started the trail quite excitedly. After about 20 minutes of walking, we arrived at Stone Bridge and we realized that our camera was low on battery. Too bad. We went back to the car and got the GoPro. We went back to the trail and when we got back to Ponte de Pedra, Júlio realized that he didn't have a flashlight... so he went back to get one from the woman at the restaurant. We rested in the only shade we had on the way, because the heat was killing us. I put on SPF 50 sunscreen, but it didn't seem to help...

The trail is very different, because it has cerrado vegetation and forest too. We walked for more than 1 hour and finally arrived at largest sandstone cave in Brazil, Aroe Jari. Its size is impressive: it is 1550 meters long and during the dry season it is possible to enter for about 700 meters and see both exits. As we went during the rainy season, we only entered for about 100 meters which was enough for me, because it is pitch black in there and I was scared, I confess.

We were enjoying the cave until the rain started to fall. And it fell, fell, fell… we waited for it to pass, but it didn’t. After almost 1 hour of waiting, we decided to take a chance and take the trail again towards the Blue Lagoon. We walked for about 30 more minutes and arrived at the Blue Lagoon, which is incredibly beautiful. The water is clear and when it is deep enough and the sun shines, the blue tone is simply wonderful! Luckily, you can't dive in, because that way the beauty of the place remains intact. We spent a good amount of time there enjoying it. (Sorry, the photos from the time weren't very good, but you can see better pictures here)

We headed towards another exit of the Cave and saw the water coming out of there in the form of a waterfall. We walked a little further and came across the Stone of Balance, which is very interesting to see. In front of it there is another exit from the cave, which according to Júlio, is not recommended to go down. We just looked from above. And to our happiness and relief, we continued to the last cave of the tour, the Kiogo Brado, which was recently opened (July 2013) by the owner of the farm. Detail: the guy owns everything! A few more minutes of walking and we'll be there. It's beautiful too! (Again, see better pictures here if you want)

We left and the rain continued. It was amazing how it never stopped. I thought it was good, because I barely felt any heat afterwards. We walked for over an hour to the start of the trail and when we finally arrived at the restaurant, the food was already ready and served, to our delight. We changed our clothes, because we were soaked, and we satisfied our hunger with some delicious home-cooked food. It was a great feeling.

On the way back to the city, Julio mentioned that he had a house in the city center and that we could stay there, since he hadn't been able to rent it to anyone. We accepted the offer and went to the campsite to organize our things and then went to his house, which is extremely well located. It has 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, living room and kitchen and is next to the main square. It is very cozy and he said he has a reasonable price, so here is the contact of this guide who spent the whole day giving us a lesson in knowledge: (65) 9214-7711.

Day 4 (Monday) – 20/01/2014

We slept super well and woke up very early to drive to Good Garden. Some people said it would take between 2 and 3 hours, but we ended up doing it in less than 2 hours with the Celo pressing the accelerator firmly.

I scheduled the tour Floating in the Enchanted Aquarium through from this site, We paid R$1,400,000 per person and it was worth every penny!!! The place is incredible, with clear water and lots and lots and lots of fish. We spent 2 hours on the tour, 1 hour in the aquarium and 1 hour going down the river. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see as many fish in the river as we did in the aquarium, but we thought it was great to be carried along by the current. It is mandatory to wear a life jacket and diving shoes, which I thought was great, because I'm terrified of touching the bottom of a river (or sea)... lol. See some better photos than ours here.

We left the river feeling that every kilometer we had driven was worth it. We had lunch there afterwards, for R$$25 per person, a delicious home-cooked meal. We took the opportunity to take a shower and went straight to the airport. It took us almost 2 hours to get to the airport with the map we had in hand. Maybe it would have been faster with a GPS, of course, but that was what we had with us, right?

We dropped off the car at Localiza, got a ride with them to the airport (which is across the street, but the street is full of construction work) and were able to board without any problems. The airport is well organized and small. In the departure lounge, there was only one place selling snacks and it was quite expensive, like in any airport in Brazil, right? When it was time to board, we had the pleasure of walking to the plane, right along the runway. We left there wanting more, because we know that there are many cool places to visit in Chapada and that we didn't have time. In addition to Chapada, there is also the famous Pantanal, right, and I imagine many other less touristy places that must be enchanting. Ah, Mato Grosso…. <3