Bonito - The tropical paradise

The blue cave visit was interesting. Inside the cave, the rays of the morning sun turn one corner of the lake into a sapphire blue colour. At the bottom of the lake, about 90 metres down, sabre tooth tiger remains are preserved. This discovery made the whole area famous and a tourist destination. However, the owner of the property was a fool and he used to shoot the stalactites for fun. The Brazilian government took over and made the area a National Park.

Later that day, we visited a huge number of waterfalls on a jungle walk. The viewing platform at the top extended over the cliff edge and I looked down about 100 metres below. A waterfall spilled over the cliff and we walked down many steps to swim at the pool below. It was very hot and humid in the jungle. At the pool we floated on our backs and looked up at the waterfall above.

At another pool we swam under a big rock. The pool on the other side had a waterfall and we enjoyed the sensation of the water pounding on our heads and going behind the curtain of water. It was so lovely. 

Jessica became an attraction for a beautiful green and black butterfly. I took a few photos trying to capture the moment when the wings opened, thinking it would fly away. Wrong! Jessica had to walk with it for quite a while clinging to her leg.

Another  two days in Paradise......  Bonito

We went for a walk in the forest for an hour with our wetsuits on. It was worth it to spend two hours snorkling down the river in crystal clear water with beautiful fish. Some were enormous but we were most impressed with the caiman that joined us and swam across the river. It was attracted by fish that were splashing about trying to get fruit that dropped down from a tree. From underwater, we watched it paddle and swish its tail. What a thrill!

The biggest challenge came next. Near Bonito there's a collapsed hole in the ground revealing a beautiful cave the size of a soccer field. There are two ropes going 75 metres down. Beside the hole, the ground had collapsed long ago letting rays of midday sunlight in. This place is called Abisimo Humas. 

Jessica is decending with another girl. Jessica is at the back.

Our turn to decend 75 metres!

Jessica rappelled down the ropes first with another girl. Alan and I were next. We had to face each other, lock our feet together and use our brakes to go down at the same pace. Alan's brake was easy for stopping and difficult to release. My brake was easy for going down but difficult for stopping. I would have been really scared about the height but Alan and I really had to focus on what we were doing. When he wanted a rest, I had to put a lot of pressure holding on the brake and vice versa. We were both relieved to get to the bottom. Others had the same problem.

Our wetsuits were handed out and I was given a huge wetsuit by mistake. The water was very cold so the instructor swapped wetsuits with me. Jessica's suit was a poor fit so she froze! The swim was great though. 

Underwater stalagmites rose up from the depths. Their formations were like giant cones. The luminous blue light from the sunlight created an unreal effect in the water.

 We also toured the cave in an inflatable boat and looked at curtain formations of stalactites. 

To get out of the cave, Alan, Jessica and I had to use the ratchet device to host ourselves up our long rope. It was hard work but very satisfying to achieve the 75metre climb. It took us about 45 minutes.

This cave visit was incredible!