From Salvador we took a 6 hr coach drive inland to Lencois. Although this is a main road to the capital it is a single lane road with twists and turns and bumpy and full of large slow lorries which the driver did his best to overtake approaching the top of a hill on a blind curve and if possible when on his mobile phone. The town is on the edge of a national park, the chapada diamantina where diamonds were discovered in the early 19th century and prospectors moved in like the Gold Rush on a smaller scale. The small town of Lencois is one of a few that grew in the area as a result, with 11,000 inhabitants it has typical small 1 storey colourfully painted houses interspersed with gothic mansions which belonged to the landowners. Since diamond mining was banned as it destroyed the landscape the town thrives on tourists but has remained unspoilt.
We arrived at 2pm and our instructions were to walk the 500m from the bus stop to the hotel, fine on the map but it was 32C, searing sun with no shade and the hotel is a steep climb up rough cobbled streets with foot high kerbs to the narrow uneven pavements. We toiled up about half of it, with our heavy cases, Martin going ahead like the wagon train leader and me flagging and wilting increasingly further behind. A car bumping very slowly up the cobbled road stopped next to me. A woman rolled the window down and the driver leaned over and just said the name of our hotel. I nodded and he asked if i wanted a lift. I nodded again (beyond speech by now). Martin had got his case over the road and up another kerb and turned to c where i was. I beckoned him over and he struck a pose which suggested he wasnt giving in or taking lifts from strangers and we stood like this for a while until he gave in and trundled back over as the guy by now had his boot open for the cases. Although it was only another couple of hundred metres it was even steeper and the lift was very welcome. The guy was happy to practice a few words of English in exchange and told us the lady was the wife of the Mayor. She obviously didnt want the town's image ruined by a tourist collapsing on the main street. In fact it was typical of the warmth and helpfulness of virtually every Brazilian we have met and we arrived at the hotel in style.
The next couple of days we explored the area with our own guide climbing trails, often rocky, along the river, swimming in pools under waterfalls in clear water the colour of coca cola due to dissolved minerals and visiting a large cave with a sandy floor like a beach, one of 200 in the area. The stalactites and mites grow by only 1cm ever 33yrs as it rains so little. They put the lamps out to show just how utterly black it can be. Apparently underground there is still a river where tiny blind fish live.
In the afternoon we swam in a crystal clear river arising from another underground limestone cave with shoals of tiny silvery yellow fish and in the shallows i saw little green plants underwater like pompoms on string with tiny white and yellow flowers. The first time i have seen flowers entirely underwater.
The soil in the area is the deepest coppery red i have ever seen and we bumped in a taxi over dusty red potholed tracks past a coffee plantation and up a hill. We climbed the last 250 metres up a rocky path 600m long and were rewarded with a fantastic view of a string of sandstone cliffs from a plateau of rock where erosion has formed irregular gouges where over thousands of years plants have grown so it looks like someone has deliberately climbed up and planted a rock garden.
This hotel was a bit bigger than others we have had with a lovely pool to cool off at the end of the hot days. We left by the overnight bus and slept pretty well with the help of half a sleeping tablet so didnt have to worry about overtaking any lorries.