New Year's in Serra Do Cipo

In the last days of December we set out to the Serra do Cipo, where we spent a short holiday with our neighbor friends. Whereas last year's six hour road trip to Ibitipoca had me wonder whether it was worth it driving anywhere with claustrophobic young children, this year was a three hour walk in the park, north of Belo Horizonte, with four happy and playful family members enjoying the view and the music and ice-cream on the way.

We went to Serra do Cipo to swim in waterfalls, and for that we were not disappointed. In the four days that we were there, we swam plenty, in all types of places: natural pools in a stream, with hundreds of little fish nibbling on our leg, a river with sandbanks and strong currents, an artificial pool below a 10-m high waterfall, and an inflatable pool at the pousada, which turned out to be the most popular attraction for the littlest of us and quite a relief on us parents once the afternoon rain had dragged us away from the wild. Wild was the fauna around us, in particular the mosquitoes before dawn. Luckily, perhaps (can I really say that) their predators were fully there too, and that includes some spiders that build a nest in a tree and a collaborative giant web every night. I could not believe my eyes when I first saw this and felt drawn to their magnificent work as they make a web, each spider around itself, on lines spread across trees and power lines, and destroy it in the morning. The more I write on this blog, the more I realize what a fascination I have for spiders, as much as they scare me.

We also attempted hiking in the national park of the Serra do Cipo, which we regretted after carrying our children on our shoulders on muddy trails and through itchy grass. It may be another few years before we try the experience again.

A highlight of our stay was horse-back riding. Coline made it clear to me from the start that she trusted Cris a lot more than me for handling a horse, and I must admit that I was not a hundred percent confident at first. We had such fun that we can't wait to do it again.

zoom in and you will see that every little dark spot in the sky is actually a spider.