Lencois

Lencois is the hub of the Chapada Diamantina region, protected as a national park. Its name means "Diamond Plateau". It was the site of diamond mining in the 19th century. Located in central Bahia state, Chapada Diamantina is a serene, sparsely populated region dominated by semi-arid scrub in the lowlands and tropical forest in the highlands. It belongs to Sincora Range, with elevation up to about 2200 metres (7200 feet).

With my friends Fernando and Valdeck we took a 6-hour bus trip from Salvador-da-Bahia to Lencois, a little former diamond mining town in the hills. We settled into a elegant gay-owned guesthouse, formerly a colonial mansion. It was truly idyllic. We wandered the sloping cobblestone streets lined with mansions surrounded by stone walls, luxuriant tropical trees and flowering bromeliads. In the evening country bands in the town would attract small crowds dancing and singing, but otherwise the place seem almost deserted. This place was more peaceful than any town I've been to for a long time.

The next day we arranged a driver to take us to some local natural wonders. First we did a short hike along the Mucugezinho river to Poço do Diablo (Devil's Pool), a large green pool beneath a 100' tumbling water fall. Later we hiked up a prominent hill (Morro do Pai Inacio, 1120 metres or 3675 feet elevation) to see gorgeous views of the surrounding land, almost devoid of signs of humans. It was a short hike over large granite blocks, surrounded by low, scrubby plants, with an open view of the rolling terrain beneath. The mesas looked like southwestern US except the hills and plains were green instead of red. At Pratinha (Little Silver Creek), a large pool with connection to an underground river through a cave, we hiked down to the pool and saw millions of small fish swimming in the cave. We enjoyed swimming in the warm pool and sunning on the sand around it. Even the weather couldn't be more perfect.