“The universe is an interesting place. It’s crazy to think that there is symmetry in everything. Roots of trees, running streams in mountains, blood vessels in our eyes, neurotransmitters in our brains, lightning shooting across the sky, and veins in a tiny leaf.
Everything is in everything. We are all connected. We are made up of the universe!
This very morning our alarms went off at 3 am, drowning out the frog’s rhythmic lullaby that echoed throughout the night. We used our cellphones as torches and set out to the sand dunes. Engulfed by the darkness and ceiling of stars above us. The raindrops continued to drip from my hair and every now and then, as a bolt of lightning would ignite the sky.
Then slowly, tiny ribbons of light began to escape through the clouds like golden lanterns. Speckles of glitter reflecting off the emerald pools of water. An immensely multicolored and luminous rainbow greeted us as the rain finally ceased. The moment was unreal. This is the exact moment when I realized that we are all made up of the universe. We are all made up of these magical moments. We are all made up of sparkle and glitter. We are all made of magic!

I jotted this down in my journal, shortly after experiencing this surreal moment, all thanks to Antonio.”

Antonio’s Story:

I had the pleasure of meeting Antonio on a 4 day and 3 night hike through the beautiful sand dunes of Lencois. The journey there was not an easy one! It took 3 local buses, a 4x4, and an entire 2 days to reach our destination. When Antionio picked me up, he saw my tired eyes and said, “Don’t worry, you’re in good hands. I promise this will all be worth it. You are experiencing something that many people have never even heard about or can imagine”, as our little 4x4 barely trudged through the bumpy terrain in the pouring rain, half way covered by water.

Antonio has been a guide, working with Chapada Backpackers for 9 years. He was born and raised in Lencois and has always had a passion for sharing the beautiful landscape of his home town with visitors from around the world. He barely spoke English but we were able to communicate via Google Translate for the entire journey and shared many stories, laughed under the stars, and cooked many meals together while we watched the sunrises over the stunning views together.

He shared so many stories of the history of the Brazilian people, gave me an insight into the lives of the local people in Lencois who allowed us to spend the night in the homes, as we slept comfortably in hammocks, sometimes in a hut shared with other groups of like-minded travelers. This guide is one that I will never forget.