Trip to the Canyons

For another P-day activity we took the Egberts for a visit to the canyon lands.  It is about a two and a half hour drive from Gramado to where the river has created some beautiful canyons.  About an hour before getting to the canyons we passed through a little town called Cambara do Sul where we stopped and had lunch before driving on up to the canyons.

 

The paved road ends and the last 45 minutes or so we had to drive on a dirt road.

 

 

There is a sign that says to stay on the main road, but the main road is so bad I can't imagine anyone wanting to go off it to something worse.

 

When we finally arrived at the park entrance we saw how primitive it was.

 

 

As we drove on to the parking area we were greeted by some small fox like animals that wanted a treat, so we shared some popcorn.

 

 

From the parking area we could see the bluff off in the distance where we had to hike to see the best views.

 

It was a beautiful hike and we enjoyed it, even though it was rough at times.

 We love seeing the quaresmeira trees with their purple and white flowers.

 

On the way up we met a couple that were going to be married and had gone up there to take pictures.  The bride had made the hike in her wedding dress.

 

The views from up on top were magnificent.

While up on the top we saw a lizard and though about how our grandsons would have loved to catch him.

After returning to the car we went back to where a branch of the river pours over the canyon wall down into the bottom of the canyon.  We had to walk along the very edge of the waterfall where the river drops off.  In the U.S. they would never let people go onto such a dangerous area.  We enjoyed it, and no one fell over the edge.

 

After crossing the river we could look back and see part of the falls.  In some of the pictures you can see the top of the falls where we crossed the river

 

On the drive back we took pictures of the tree farms that they plant and harvest.

 

Across the road the state has built monkey bridges so the monkeys can cross the road without getting hit by cars.  Unfortunately we did not see any monkeys.