Peru-Brazil 2013 – Day 40 – Four-wheel driving in Tabuleiro

Our goal today is to get to a place named Tabuleiro, where there is a hostel that advertised beautiful hikes, and the third tallest waterfall in Brazil. Annie was inclined to spend the day by the pool, but I energized her and off we went. The rocks along the road were very interesting, and we saw a lithologic unconformity, lots of sandstones eroding to fantastic forms, and impressive cliffs formed on a reef limestone. After going nearly 90 km we were directed to turn left unto a dirt track, and from there started a challenging 4-wheel drive track.

We have a rental VW Fox which, being a rental, is by definition a 4-wheel drive vehicle. It may not have a lot of power on high gear, but in first gear the little car hurled itself up 45 degree slopes without a single hiccup. It was a long ride, full of uncertainty, but from time to time we found a local who assured us that yes, the Rabo de Cavahlo waterfall was down the road. Eventually we got within 5 km of a very tall cliff, where lagoonal limestones had been thrusted over a reef complex. The thrust fault was so beautifully exposed that I wished Kait would have been here to oooh and aaah. Unfortunately at this point the trail went into a creek, and I have to confess I chickened out, to the great relief of Annie, who had been clinging with nails and teeth for the best part of two hours.

To get back we decided to take a shortcut, which turned out be be even more scary than the original way in. I told my Honey I owed her a waterfall, but she was all too glad to exonerate me from that debt!