Chapada dos Guimaraes |
Written by sophie et jeremy |
Thursday, 19 October 2017 |
After a stop in a very nice hostel in Corumba where we drank with 2 swiss couples and ate good home-made sorbets, we give up on traveling by boat up the rio Paraguay with the car, and start a long detour on the road to the north of Mato Grosso. The only points of interests on this part were ostrich farms, cotton fields, and a tropical rain shower. Our destination in Chapada dos Guimaraes national park, a 800m mountain plateau (but it's still as hot!) supposed to be the geographical center of south america.we arrive through a beautiful road, bordered by impressive red rocks. The access of the park itself, though not so touristic, is regulated and we have to hire a guide to visit the impressive Cidade de pedra (stone city). Indeed, the guide is requiered to open the locked gate at the entrance of the site, but the walk itself is straightforward. Eventually, we spent a pleasant morning with Luizia and Heitor who makes considerable efforts to speak english with us. After the visit, we go and have lunch with them at a typical all you can eat buffet After that, we go and see Veu da Noiva waterfall (nice but it feels small after Iguacu) and the canyon Ponto Geodesico that overlooks the Pantanal. Given the unbearable heat that dissuades us from attempting another walk, we stop along the rio Claro for a short swim, as the water is very clear here too. |