- Continue north to Bom Jardim
- Discovered a cute armadillo on the roadside on the way
- Visit the wonderfully idyllic lagoon of the macaws (Lagoa das Araras) with sighting of more yellow-breasted macaws
Melons, cakes, Minas cheese, ham, bread and fruit juice are pretty much always on the breakfast buffet. Then we pack our things and drive off. The first piece leads back through the Chapada dos Guimaraes National Park. The route through the park is really nice, unfortunately the lack of alternative points and verges hardly allow you to stop. Finally we drive north through the partly intact, partly cultivated Cerrado landscape. The road, which is interspersed with deep potholes, requires great attention.
After about half way we change drivers. I will first have to get used to a manually shifted vehicle. Suddenly something small moves on the side of the road: a cute one armadillo. It scurries around the side of the road in the embankment.
Finally we reach the inconspicuous hamlet Bom Jardim. So far, there is little information about the place in travel guides and the Internet, but it is enjoying increasing popularity with ecotourists. On the one hand there is the Lagoa das Araras on the other hand the many crystal clear rivers, streams and ponds which invite you to snorkel.
Once again, communication turns out to be quite a hurdle, because this is where he speaks nobody even spoke a word of english! Somehow we manage to do it anyway and find a cozy room in the Pousada Bom Garden. The rest of the afternoon we relax in the hammock and whip up the diary.
At 5 o'clock we go then Lagoa das Araras. This wonderful, idyllic spot just a few hundred meters outside the village attracts many parrots every evening, including one some yellow-breasted macawsto stay overnight. The partly dead palm trees in the middle of the lake serve the birds as nesting and sleeping places. Unfortunately, dark clouds are coming in and it starts to rain.
In the absence of alternatives, we eat in a pizzeria. We trust the English-translated menu and get fried sausage instead of the expected pepperoni. Well, you learn to live with such surprises.
