Jungle Hike

 January 1  (part 3)

Merl was in heaven as we started on our hike to Trumpet Falls.  Trees (native and exotic) were labeled with their scientific names and brought back good memories of the botanical courses he had taken in college.  He still recognized the genus and species names of most of them.

 The jungle was so dense that you would need a machete to cut through it.  Fortunately there was a nice walking path that crossed several streams for us to use. 

It had been lightly raining so our walk was a bit wet.  Most of the trees had a layer of lichens covering them due to the high humidity.  Woody vines wound around the trunks and into the branches - like the Tarzan vines.  Patches of colorful flowers could be seen through the dense foliage and an occasional bright colored butterfly would flutter around.

We could hear the waterfalls before we could see it.  It was quite hidden behind trees so we had to take pictures between them.  It looks small in the picture, but the water fell quite a distance.  The whole setting was beautiful. 

Both Merl and David stated that if they were to "really" live in Brazil, they would find a place in the jungle in the valley.

We decided not to walk to the other falls as some had meetings that evening, so walked back to the restaurant, said our goodbyes, and piled into the car - this time with Sister Copa in the "trunk." 

The road back to Canela was not as well-traveled as the one we took from Gramado.  The car was sitting pretty low to the ground and scraped the bottom on occasion as we drove over ruts and mud holes.  We were a bit concerned about getting stuck - but we made it back around 5:00 pm.  The whole day was an unexpected experience.

To top the day off, we experienced a part of how the Brazilians celebrate new years.  Since we have been here, there have been random sounds of fireworks at night; but tonight we got the big show.  From our little balcony, we could look in all directions and see (and hear) fireworks.  They go all out for the holidays!  It was time for a good night's sleep. . . Feliz Ano Novo!!