CANELA - BRAZIL

Craving a break from the hustle and bustle of a rather dead and stinking hot Porto Alegre, I headed a few hours north to Canela, a small town located amongst the surrounding mountains. The bus tripfrom Porto Alegre to Canela was quite breathtaking in parts and I felt as if I could easily have been passing through parts of country Germany, what with all the small towns, quaint little houses, smal churches (all with typically german architecture) and to cap it all off, signs in Portuguese and German.

After arriving, I was welcomed by much more pleasant weather conditions and after checking into the local hostel, I took myself out to the Parque da Ferradura, famous for its stunning gorges and mountain scenery. After exploring all of the various walking trails in the park and managing some great shots (see below), I was lucky enough to get a lift to the entrance of another national park (Parque Estadual do Caracol) where I managed to descend and ascend the almost vertical walking track in about half the recommended time and still made it back to catch a bus into town with a few minutes to spare.

Despite only staying in the region for a little over 1 day, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in and around Canela and would definately like to revisit the town on another adventure of Brazil. It´s appeal... well not only the fact that it provided a peaceful break from the heat and city, but also I found the local people in Canela to be quite approachable and very friendly.

Photos 1-8: A number of the many stunning waterfalls around Canela.
Photos 9-11: Scenery of the mountains and gorgeous from the 2 national parks.