São Felix and Cachoeira

On the way from the Chapada Diamantina back to the coast we passed through the two little towns São Felix and Cachoeira. On the photo you can see that they are right behind a very big reservoir dam.

The two towns are famous for Candomblé ceremonies. Candomblé originated among enslaved Africans who arrived in Brazil during the slave trade. It's a syncretic religion, practiced mainly in Brazil. The word Candomblé means "dance in honour of the gods" and music and dance are important parts of Candomblé ceremonies. Practitioners of Candomblé believe in a Supreme Creator called Oludumaré, who is served by lesser deities, which are called Orixás. Each deity represents a certain force in nature and is associated with certain foods, colors, animals, and days of the week. Every practitioner is believed to have their own Orixá, which controls his or her destiny and acts as a protector. In Brazil, adherents of Candomblé saw in the Catholic worship of saints a similarity with their own religion. They often concealed the sacred symbols of their deities inside figures of their Catholic saints. Today as many as two million people follow this faith. Sadly we did not visit a Candomblé ceremony and during the day the two little towns were pretty extinct, but still nice.

Chapada Diamantina

About 7 hours by bus inland from Salvador is Lençois. This cosy small city is one of the entrance gates to the huge National Park Chapada Diamantina. Sadly we didn't have a lot of time here but we did two really good day tours.

Rio Mucugezinho:

Poço do Diabo:

Morro do Pai Inácio:

Gruta da Fumacinha:

This tour included lunch in a small farmhouse. They made a buffet with lots of different and exotic vegetables like cooked cactus. We also bought some little nuts there that looked a bit like peanuts but were white inside and tasted like coconut.

Gruta Azul:

Gruta da Pratinha:

The second day we did a longer walk to the Cachueira Fumaça (translated steam waterfall). The water falls down 380 m and therefore turns into steam before it reaches the bottom. To see the waterfall we had to lay down on the edge of the cliff and look right down.