After almost a week in Rio and Brasilia, we were ready for some nature. When Pavel told about the Brazilian Chapadas - green highlands with creeks and waterfalls (cachoeiras in Portugese) - we were sold. We took a bus to Alto Paraiso.
Alto Paraiso
In Alto Paraiso, we were staying with Kirti, a happy man from Holland, who’s lived in Brazil for 25 years, of which he spent 5 years living in the bush. We had an incredible time staying at his house. How’d we spend our days?
In the morning, round 7-8am, green parrots woke us up by flying around and screaming. For breakfast, we usually had coffee with some fruits (papaya or passion fruit or mango or banana). 
During the day, we either went to a cachoeira - there were about 30 of cachoeiras on the map and many more not yet located and in fact, you can still buy a waterfall in Brazil..! We visited the Cachoeira Dos Cristais and it really was amazing. It was a small creek nested in a valley, featuring a cascade of waterfalls with small pools below each, ideal for diving in and swimming. Otherwise, we just chilled at the house and chatted with a cool Aussie Ryan or with a Spanish swimmer Tina who had a baby with a Brazilian shaman and they were spending 2 weeks together before she’d go back Spain. 
For lunch, we were cooking a lot of rice with random veggies.. Or we cooked and ate some veg with George who was vegan. We spent the afternoon reading or looking for something on wifi.
We had fun in the evenings getting high with the residents of the house and later baking a bábovka from corn flour (typical Brazilian cake, the corn version of Czech bábovka). Kuba also had massive allergic reactions all over his body and we believe he’s now allergic to corn or bábovka?! Kirti was a massive help as he chopped fresh aloe vera to calm it down. Stoned, we watched massive fireflies lighting up the vegetation and it felt like Christmas already.
Chapada Dos Veadoires
This amazing Chapada is located at San George, a small village where you can spot aliens and UFOs. Our highlight was that there were mango trees everywhere and you could pick as many mangos as you wanted for free. We wanted to go for a 2 day hike Travessia das Sete Quedas but you need to apply for a permit 3 days before you go on the internet - Brazilian bureaucracy stopped us this time. Also, the park was closed on Monday so we just camped out in front of the entrance and slept in the parking lot as security guards were ok with it.
The next day, we entered the park at 8am, following the 10km yellow trail to the saltos (waterfalls) and corredeiras (good spot on the river for swimming). The diversity of vegetation was enormous - the chapada was mostly covered with bushes, mid-tall trees and rocks. At the corredeira, we ate an avocado (Kuba with some chia oats) for breakfast. The water was warm and full of hungry fish craving our feet. Cheeky sun, hidden behind the clouds, had been burning our skins to tomatoes. The waterfalls were amazing, making the river fall down 120m into the valley. At the smaller one (80m), you could swim and lay down at flat stones (for more sun burn). Unwillingly, we had to leave the park before 6pm.
We really felt like in a paradise swimming under a waterfall in the chapada. Some parts like Dos Veadoires are a bit touristy and many cachoeiras have an entrance fee, but we’re sure you’d easily find your piece of paradise.
