This past weekend we had the chance to escape the city for a few days and meet up with our friend Lucio in a state park called Ibitipoca. Its about a two hour bus ride from the city to the town of Ibitipoca and then another 3k to the entrance of the park. We left last saturday morning at 7:30 for the town of Lima Duarte where we would take a second bus to the town of Ibitipoca. While waiting for the bus in Juiz de Fora we learned that the once in Lima Duarte the next bus for ibitipoca wasn’t until 3pm which meant we were going to have to wait most of the day in lima duarte and consequently not have time to go to the park. On the bus ride to Lima Duarte we decided that we would try to hitchhike to Ibitipoca from Lima Duarte. A little sidenote: We had our first practice as translators in L Duarte when we ran into a group of Israeli's that wanted us to ask a man for directions to the gas station....very exciting. After this encounter we made our way to a bridge at the end of the town that was supposed to be a good spot to hitchhike. We had only been hithhiking (called "corona" here) for a few minutes when a car came spending up behind us with our friend Lucio at the wheel. He had driven to L Duarte to pick us up because he realized that there wasnt a bus until later and he wanted to make sure we would have enough time to pass by the park that day. We continue to be grateful for all of Lucio's kindness and help....a true friend!
With Lucio driving we arrived in Ibitipoca in about 20 minutes, a drive that normally takes 45 minutes! Once there we asked around for a cheap hostel, finding a place for about 11 dollars a night....there are still cheap hostels after all! After checking in, we quickly changed and were back in the car on the way to the park to meet up with Lucio's friends. Since Lucio and his friends had done their research for their undergrad studies at the park for a summer they ended being great "tour guides", knowing all the great waterfalls and caves to pass by. Much of Saturday was spent lounging in the sun and swimming in the various natural pools throughout the park....much needed after being in the confines of the city for the past four weeks. That night we meet up with Lucio and his friends in the town of Ibitipoca because one of their friends that works at the park was having a book release party for photos she had taken throughout the park of Ibitipoca. After the book release we called it night because we were planning on waking up early Sunday to do a longer hike in the park.
Sunday, Lucio meet us promptly at 7:00 to take us up to the park. Several trips to the bakery later, we were on the road to the park. After getting a little late start, we were on the trail by around 9. The trail is a 16k loop that passes by arguably the most well know place in the park called "Janela do Ceu" which translates to something like "Window of Heaven". The trail traversed the hills bordering the park and offered great views of the surrounding valleys. All along the trail up to the Janela do Ceu there are various side trails that take you to different caves....the are around 50 caves spread throughout the park! After exploring several of these caves, we made our way up to the Janela where we relaxed for a while and had lunch before finishing the loop back to the park entrance.....great day/great hike! This park is a must visit for anyone passing through this part of Brazil and its possible to see a lot of the park in one day.
After spending all day Sunday in park we had to hop back on a bus back to Juiz de Fora because we had class on Monday. Returning rejuvenated back to Juiz de Fora was perfect to get in the mindset to study for our first test that we had yesterday in Ecology. The test ended up going really well and was less difficult than we expected. We are also taking the class pass/fail so this made it a little less stressful. Tomorrow, we're leaving for Belo Horizante, the biggest city in Minas Gerias, with the architecture department (still not sure why we were invited...). Were going to spend Saturday and Sunday there, which will hopefully be enough time to get to know a few places in the city.
Other exciting news! Lula, the president of Brazil, is visiting the university today and will be giving a speech. Part of his reason for passing by the university is to see the progress on the new construction that is going on all over campus. He is also passing through the city as part of his tour with a presidential candidate named Dilma that he has chosen to support in this election. The presidential elections are going to be in October and will be the first time in 8 years that Brazil has seen someone new in office because Lula has been president for the past two terms.
After a little hiatus from writing a blog, hopefully I will be able to stay a little more consistent in the next few weeks. Also, with more time spent traveling on the weekends there will be more to talk about and share. Ate Mais!
