The Rock That Swallows (and other adventures in Trindade)

When you think of Brazil you probably think of Rio, the Amazon and maybe São Paulo. Like most gigantic countries, Brazil is also filled with a multitude of small towns that are worth visiting but not many people have the time to do so. Although there is no big statue or famous mountain, Trindade is a small vacation spot for many Brazilians; a small fishing town with a lot of charm surrounded by beautiful nature. That's a place I want to be!

I heard there were several natural wonders to see here, and as I hoped to dive a bit more into Brazilian culture and escape the backpacker's trail that we seemed to be stuck on, Trindade was added to our itinerary. A local bus runs between Paraty and Trindade and only takes about 40 minutes (and only costs R$ 3.50!). So we said goodbye to the beautiful little colonial town and found the right bus to Trindade. Once we arrived we navigated to our hostel only to find that there was no space for us. The owner had written our arrival and departure dates wrong! Although the person who was covering for the owner tried to help, we decided to forgo the mosquito infested bunk beds or depressing staff double bed room (no ensuite) and go back into town to find a place. Disaster averted with only minimal effort!

Our first full day in Trindade I was determined to find this special mini waterfall, also known in Portugeuse as 'The Rock That Swallows' because the small waterfall gets sucked into a hallowed out rock and you can slide right through it. Paul and I checked out the map then hiked up the trail into the jungly forest. After 20 minutes of hiking straight up we had to admit that we didn't actually know where we were going. So instead we spent a relaxing day on the closest beach with two gorgeous protected coves.

I was determined to find this special rock/waterfall, so on the second day I asked directions at the front desk of our hostel first. It seems the day before we hadn't crossed the river and were hiking on the wrong side of the river, and so would have never found it. Paul had decided to forgo any more climbing that made him go up, so I ventured out on my own. 15 minutes of roots and steps half my size and more climbing, I arrived at a gorgeous little waterfall that had space behind it to allow people to swim in. I climbed through the pool and up the rocks and there it was! The Rock That Swallows! 

A crowd of people surrounded several gigantic boulders, and a few of the huge men were slipping through a small waterfall to what looked like their deaths. Then a few minutes later they would pop up from under the boulder, which was the size of a small house, smiling. If there hadn't been locals the who knew what they were doing, I wouldn't have gone through for fear of dying (seriously, it looked scary) and as I was the only non-Portuguese speaker there, I couldn't even ask them anything. Shaking with a bit of nervous energy (okay, I'll admit, a bit of fear too!) I climbed down with my feet in the little waterfall and my camera on. Counting down, 3, 2, 1, and I pushed myself under the rushing water. I was terrified for a second, then slid down through the falls onto a little rock slide into a shallow pool of water in the hallowed out bottom of the rock. I swam out feeling great, and did the slide maybe 10 more times. I loved it! I even showed some of the new arrivals that it was okay and explained in my broken Portuguese/Spanish/French that it was very safe and they wouldn't drown. Still only the men tried, and only after watching me come through and alive several times.

My second time going through - a nice couple helped take my pictures!

My feet in front of The Rock That Swallows. Would you dare to go through if you didn't know what was on the other side?

 After I had had my fill of the Rock That Swallows, I climbed back down the steep rock to the cool, calm pool of water with a beautiful waterfall. Behind the waterfall was a hallowed out section that you could swim into and look out back into the pool. I went in and out a few times, enjoying the pounding white water on my head. 

 Sliding through the rock, swimming behind the waterfall and floating in the cool pool were all low key adventures, but some of the most real ones being surrounded entirely by Brazilians and communicating through gestures and smiles. We are all human after all, looking for new experiences, sometimes finding fear, and little kindnesses and empathy along the way.