Bananal Hike, Itacoatiara, Brazil

Bananal Hike

Finally the weather is getting warmer (I know I will be begging for the cold when it gets sweltering here later), so Russel and I headed to Itacoatiara for a little dip in the Atlantic (the Atlantic Ocean is huge! I swam in it in NYC and now again in Brazil!). After our swim we decided to leave the jam-packed beach and go on a hike to Bananal (photos).

Bananal is basically a big rock over the water. People sometimes set up a slackline here and walk across a high gap from one giant rock to another. I have also seen videos of people rappelling down the rock.

Russ and I hiked through the forest to get there (very beautiful and green, btw) then spent some time just sitting and listening to the birds. While in NYC I bought some pastels - my girl Anne uses them and seems to like them, plus they are small enough and portable enough for traveling, so I made the investment in a new hobby. I have not been into drawing since I was in like 3rd grade, but I'm not trying to make some amazing work of art, just relaxing my mind and being present. Since we were at such a beautiful place I took some time to draw the scenery.

I liked Bananal a lot - surrounded by forest behind you, huge rocks on either side, and the ocean out in front. Peace. Those are the times when I like to feel gravity pulling me to Earth - feeling centered, grounded.

After a few hours of hiking and finding peace on the rock, the sun fell behind the mountain and we headed back.

Below you'll find a short video of the hike, and a plug for our other site, soletravelbrazil.com - which will hopefully receive a face-lift while I am in Brazil.