Many people in our Embassy community have told us about Pirenopolis. They go to the resort there with the water park. We decided to go for the waterfalls and river fun. The town itself is an old Portuguese town. It was quite hopping when we were there. My plan was to go to a waterfall with a sandy beach around it, but it was kind of far on a dirt road. We ended up finding this place, Cachoeira do Coquiero e Garganta, with two waterfalls. I am so glad we did because one of the waterfalls was unique in that you could climb to the middle of it halfway up and stand right in the middle of the waterfall.
As we were hiking back up to see the top of the waterfall, we came across an assassin caterpillar. These little fellas are responsible for several deaths a year. It was cool to see, but I am okay if I never see one again.
The second waterfall had shallow (thigh deep at most) water in front of it, but kids were tired and hungry at that point. Trexton didn't feel all that good. Josh and I got in the water, however, and I am sure if the kids were not hungry, they would have swam/walked up to the waterfall.
Our Airbnb was interesting. We were lucky that it was right across the street from a nice playground, and the house was in a gated neighborhood with a guard. We are so used to fences around houses, so it was a nice change to be able to step outside and go right to the park. It kind of felt like an American neighborhood, but the house was definitely Brazilian.
The town itself is old. Like every street is cobblestone. It was pretty busy Friday evening when we went to get dinner and walk around. I would say the town itself is not worth it to come to alone, but in combination with some nature, it is a good place to go.
Before driving home, we played in the river with some small rapids. It was shallow, but according to the littles and Avenly it was cold. I thought it felt really refreshing. The temperature didn't seem to bother Payson, either. The two of us were getting right in the rapids, attempting to go against them. Payson especially enjoyed riding the small rapids a little after he gave up going against them. We all walked down the river in the river, and back up before having a delicious all you can eat buffet style Brazilian lunch. Oh, and the place had a swimming pool, too, so the kids warmed up in the swimming pool water, which was warmer than the river. 
