Excursion to The Canyons

March 19  Thursday

When I get seriously behind on posting to the blog, it frequently means that Merl has been asked to prepare another talk or the internet is down or we are not home long enough to accomplish the task.  I think this past week was a little of all three.  David came to the rescue for today's post.  We spent the day revisiting places we went to two years ago - sharing the experience with the Copas.  It was just as enjoyable and spectacular as the first time.  So. . . . here is David!

Today we had planned to go the Buddist Temple near Três Coroas (about 45 minutes to our south); but we had met Marta our Buddist friend, Singa Darge Lama, on the street the other day; she said a special teacher from Tibet had come and we should check the website  to see if they would allow visitors .  Sure enough, the website said it was closed.  We thought about trying Tomassini Mine Park - but the web site said it was closed until 1 April for remodeling. 

The day was bright and shiny and only a few clouds predicted for the afternoon, so we decided to go to the Canyons.  We called Elder Ken and Sister Heidi Copa, and they picked us up about 9AM.  We left Canela [elevation about 800 meters [2625 ft]. Yes, Merl and three ladies in the back seat—it is a good thing they are all more skinny than I.  I got to be the navigator, with Ann’s hand on my shoulder, as she sat on the front of the seat behind me. I think it was on the road to São Francisco de Paula on RS235 that a truck passed over the center line and about ran us off the road.  Elder Copa turned sharply onto the graveled shoulder and avoided the truck but then had to turn sharply back onto the pavement.  It all happened so fast that those in the back seat wondered what had happened. We were blessed.  

 By 930AM we turned off RS235 onto RS20 and passed the Rua Getulio Vargas exit to down town São Francisco de Paula, elevation 900m [2953 ft] and about 37 km from home.  Not too much farther down the road, a large truck was coming from the opposite direction; a car pulled out from behind it in an attempt to pass it and coming right at us-head on.  Thankfully the driver of the car quickly slowed and pulled back behind the truck.  Shortly after this Elder Copa pulled over and had his wife offer a prayer of thanksgiving and asked for protection for the remainder of our trip.  We had no more near misses. 

 

Entrance to Cambará do Sul

We ate here 2 years ago - and today

After we got to the Tainhas Café [about 71km from home] we needed to get gas.  There was a sign for gas that said 500m; the next sign said 700m.  It wasn’t too far down a country road off the main traffic pattern and we gassed up.  We drove back to the main road [paved], and about 10AM headed for Cambará do Sul.  There are lots of open rolling hills with fields of grass, cattle, crops, and patches of planted pine trees.  There were many saw mills and lumber trucks.

We arrived in Cambará do Sul [105km from home] about 1020AM, stopped at the usual café, except it had been remodeled and painted and they no longer had ice cream.  We used their bathrooms and purchased some pastels and drink and candy bars, which we ate there. 

Church in center of city

Remnants of a long history



Smooth part of the road

Ranger Station

We left for the Canyons about 1040AM.  We enjoyed the pavement until the new bridge [13km out of town].  Then the road became very rough from the traffic from several clear cuttings of the forest in the area and the weather and worst of all - the road grader was working on the road ahead of us.  We all had a good laugh when we saw a sign that said “Please stay on the main road." We were on the main road and wouldn’t want to try anything worse.  After 4 more km of rough road we came to the gate of the park just after 12 noon.  We had to slow down—we were not going fast anyway—so the man at the gate could write down our license plate information and count heads.  Tough, lonely job.  

We finally caught up with the road grader and got to the parking lot after 5 more km at about 1215PM.  We unloaded for the hike to the top of the Forteleza mirante [view point] and found our friendly foxes still there from years past—yes, they were fed right in front of the sign that says not to.  Later when we came back, there were five of them coming out from somewhere to great all the guests. Beautiful creatures. . .

Ann stayed behind to rest and recuperate.  We got to the top in about 45 min [110 PM] after cutting thru the meadow filled with water and mud - it was a good short cut last time.  Merl led us on his short cut up the hill and it worked pretty good. 

We met a wedding party coming down; she was hiking in her white dress.  They were taking photos up on top, just like last time.  Up on top we met a couple from Curitiba.  They convinced us [for a little while] that the cities we could see in the distance were Florianopolis and another city farther north.  The city on the south seemed to be large with tall buildings—maybe it was Porto Alegre, but it so far away.  When the guy from Curitiba said the city was the island by Florianopolis and  Florianopolis was further - I figured he was lost, too.  When we got home and google mapped the area, I think we were looking at Torres - it does have tall buildings and the city further to the north is another city in Santa Catarina.

Lizard basking in the sun

 The view is incredible even the fourth time—the deep canyon at your feet [1100 meters on top, down to 400 meters at the river down below]—about 2300 feet down.  The view to the mountains and valleys of Santa Catarina, the state to the north and the views toward the south and inland from an elevation of about 350 feet above the rest of the countryside.  We could see for maybe 30 miles or so in each direction, even on the partly cloudy day. 

 Oh, yes we found a lizard and Kathlyn tried to pull its tail off, but I think Merl warned it and it escaped. Merl said it would grow back anyway! (Disclaimer:  It just sat there for so long, that I picked a piece of grass to tickle it to see if it would move.  It worked. . .)   After plenty of photos we hiked back down [135pm]
 

View back to where we were

Merl took his short cut again and came up in the back sides of a few cattle.  We got back to the car  and left for the Rio Tigre Preto Falls about 215PM just a 3 km back.  This is a different trail than we took last time.  It goes more thru the mato [woods, jungle, etc] andless along the r iver—Rio Tigre Preto [Black Tiger River].


We built our own road marker - to join
with many others

Along the path returning to
the parking lot, we found a patch of wild blackberries.  Most were still small and red, but there were a few turning dark.  We ate what we could find and continued on our way.  There were many little stacked piles of rocks along the way - some type of a "I've been here" marker.  Merl and I built our own.


A long look back from the road