The Schrags at Salto do Yucama, about in the middle
Looking to our right (north) and to our left (south)
Mommy's girl and Daddy's girl
Barbara & Diego, one of Kevin's colleagues
Our bright Brasilian beauty, Emma Jae!!!
We took our first trip today! We loaded up the car with our friends, Diego and Barbara and caravanned with two other cars, both driven by Americans! It was about a two hour drive to Salto do Yucama, which happens to be the world's longest (not highest) waterfalls, measuring about 1800 meters in length! It was the perfect time to visit and we were in awe! Because we followed another car and had one behind us, the trip was fairly uneventful. The scenery was beautiful and I enjoyed the ride very much! Trees covered much of the landscape, but there were also several fields of soybeans and small plantations of sugarcane. Skinny, malnourished cows grazed along the shoulder of the road and shacks dotted the hillsides. I was amazed by the beauty and saddened by the poverty. People really live in those homes. It's a reality that I'm going to face every day here. People are so very poor compared to the U.S. One interesting thing about the area surrounding the waterfalls was that it was completely preserved. There was very little infrastructure and nobody was selling food, or drinks for that matter. There was no souvenir store in which to rob us of our money by purchasing a miniature model of the beauty we had just witnessed. Once we entered the park, we had to drive another 15 kilometers on a very rocky road to get to the parking lot, which was grass. Then we had a ten minute hike down a hill and across some massive rocks. It was so beautiful to walk up to the river. The falls were across the river from us and the current was very strong. We had a great time taking pictures and really enjoyed the natural beauty of the area. Everything was so untouched. . . there were no park benches, trash cans or bathrooms within ten minutes of the falls. We had a fun first trip and are excited to see more of Brasil!
2 comments:
That does look beautiful - how fun! That's nice that you have others to travel around with.
Sandi, Kevin, Emma - we missed you guys for the wedding! Always look forward to your pics and news. Please tell Emma happy birthday from Uncle Doug and Aunt Kim we love you guys! Miss ya. She is such a cutie and I love hearing what all she's said and done. It looks like you guys are living in a beautiful paradise, we will keep you in our prayers and know it hasn't been always easy adjusting and all!
Post a Comment