Our inaugural Mt.Bike tour of Fazenda Cachoeira and surrounding region was simply a BLAST! The weather was beautiful, the food was amazing, the cycling was gorgeous, the local cultural events were rich and the beer was cold!
Each day started with a large breakfast consisting of fresh coffee, fresh tropical fruit (mangoes, papayas and pineapples), granola, yogurt, milk, fresh breads with an assortment of homemade jams, and literally 'just' squeezed orange juice. Breakfast was usually followed by an hour walk to different parts of the farm where the group was taught all about coffee, from the harvest and roasting process to environmental, social and sustainability issues.
The cycling varied from moderate to very challenging days. Without a flat spot around we cycled anywhere from 20 miles (with 2,000ft of vertical gain) on an easier day to 65miles with 6,000ft of climbing on the longer days. We biked amidst coffee plantations, open fields, potato fields, Eucalyptus forests as well as lush native forests, macadamia nut plantations, small towns and villages and much more varied terrain.
The lunches varied from sandwiches at view points to full course meals hosted by my family at different farmhouses. The lunch with the best view goes to 'Pico do Gaviao' (hawks point) at elevation 5,350ft, where the brave local men and women where taking off on colorful hang-gliders and Para-gliders.
Coming home to Fazenda Cachoeira after a longs day ride was sweet. It was hard to choose between the fresh fruit and juices to snack on, or goodies such as cookies, coffee and beer. Dinner was served family style at 7:30pm every night, and both the food and the conversations was so good that nobody got off the table before around 10pm! A sample dinner menu includes: Rice, beans, zucchini, broccolis, roasted potatoes, Filet Mignon Steaks, and Salad. Followed by a desert of fresh fruit, fruit preserves, doce de leite (dolce de leche) and cheese.
Besides the daily routine everyone got treated to massages and a healing bath of sulfurous water at a local, historic bath house. The bath was particularly nice after the long hilly day of cycling. All things that are good come to an end, and so it was with sadness that everyone packed up their bikes and got on the bus to the airport. But Fazenda Cachoeira will always be there and we'll hopefully be leading a few more awesome tours.
Our inaugural Mt.Bike tour of Fazenda Cachoeira and surrounding region was simply a BLAST! The weather was beautiful, the food was amazing, the cycling was gorgeous, the local cultural events were rich and the beer was cold!
The cycling varied from moderate to very challenging days. Without a flat spot around we cycled anywhere from 20 miles (with 2,000ft of vertical gain) on an easier day to 65miles with 6,000ft of climbing on the longer days. We biked amidst coffee plantations, open fields, potato fields, Eucalyptus forests as well as lush native forests, macadamia nut plantations, small towns and villages and much more varied terrain.
Coming home to Fazenda Cachoeira after a longs day ride was sweet. It was hard to choose between the fresh fruit and juices to snack on, or goodies such as cookies, coffee and beer. Dinner was served family style at 7:30pm every night, and both the food and the conversations was so good that nobody got off the table before around 10pm! A sample dinner menu includes: Rice, beans, zucchini, broccolis, roasted potatoes, Filet Mignon Steaks, and Salad. Followed by a desert of fresh fruit, fruit preserves, doce de leite (dolce de leche) and cheese.