Grab your backpack, a story is coming.
Climb, climb, climb, drink water, eat polvilho biscuits, rest… the first challenge was done, now it’s flatter, time to meet the crew, “Hey, who are you?” There were 8 of us: 7 humans and 1 special being, Kowalski… oh, he’s different… believe me.
Walk, walk, walk, “Here’s the viewpoint,” and suddenly, the portal opens… from there on, the energy takes over.
Down, up, listen to the lichens and the endless stories that Guto’s dictionary has to tell, including the torrential rain that was supposedly coming, haha. Maju points to a hill millions of kilometers away, we blink, and voilà, we’re there.
Stop, rest, take photos with Erica’s phone, admire the vastness, wonder how we got to what seemed impossible, put the backpack on again, point to another vastness, and start all over…
Time to rest: waterfall, swim, lunch by the waterfall or on top of the hill — doesn’t matter the place, the grapes will always be sweet, and the butter cookies from the market will remain addictive. And so we wouldn’t go short, we also had tuna paste, hehe.
“What’s your sign?”, “Have you heard of Kin?”, “Can Kowalski make it?”, “Oops, he already jumped, he’s too classy,” “There might be snakes here,” “OH MY GOD HELP (Erica),” “30 bee stings,” “Yikes, crazy, who were they?”, “Kowalski, come here, drink water,” “B1, B2,” “Cica isn’t sleeping, huh?”, “WOW a spirit in the photo,” “Metaverse (?)”, “Elder, young,” “Whoa, this place is bizarre.”
I look to the side, and Guto has already built a…
A lodge with tree branches, I look the other way… wait, STOP, a turtle and a ring, “touch,” “don’t touch,” “I already touched it”… and then we continue on this delightful chaos, laughing a lot and listening to Nath share yet another of her thousand experiences around the world.
End of the afternoon, the mountain colors become enchanting, giving the final push to the day. Agnaldo’s house, cold shower, river bath — except Michael Phelps — reward beer, chat, Ju’s laughter, delicious dinner, fireflies, cold, campfire, starry sky.
The moon rose, in its fullest phase… okay then, now we can sleep.
Wake up, breakfast, grab Erica’s phone, turn on AirDrop, she complains, we ignore, return the phone, and move on… but now with a staff, we got promoted in trekking, hehe. Final descent, and suddenly… an insane sunset, we give thanks and descend to avoid the dark trail.
We arrive, it’s over, we did it! Wait, we missed a team photo, take the photo… and out of nowhere, WOW, A SHOOTING STAR… we made a wish and got into the car under an insane sky full of stars, heading for 80 four-cheese pizzas.
Now yes, we did it, it’s over, we conquered it, 40 km!
And that’s how, in 3 days, we already had the closeness of 3 years, learning and teaching each other with everything each one had to offer, and believe me, this connection was EXTREMELY rich.
When making the wish on the star, my soul was already overflowing, I didn’t even know what to say, but I wished to always be able to live moments like this and share them with my future family and loved ones.
They say that if you tell your wish to the star, it won’t come true, right? But in this place, where you get everything with the simplest things, I’m sure that silly superstition doesn’t even come close to being true.
Pati, you are a giant of a sincere hug that welcomes more than many empty hugs out there. Thank you for teaching us so much. These moments will always stay in memory because photos don’t even capture 1% of the beauty of this place.
Bahia, I don’t even know why I still get surprised by the energy I feel in every corner. I love you, and you know it, it’s not new.
Axé, family, see you next time, it was incredible!
