Day Six: Ilha Grande - The Beach!!!

A BEAUTIFUL beach that we visited. Probably my favorite.

On day six we got up around 8:30am and had breakfast before walking to the beach in the village. Here's us ready to go!



Felipe relaxing in our first bit of (real/uninterrupted) sun!

When we got to the beach, Felipe's uncle Chico arranged for us to have another private boat for the day (this is about $300 for the whole day - divided by that 8 of us - quite a deal!), this time a motor boat, super new and very nice! The man who owned the boat - Oldair from Cariocas Tour, took us from beach to beach and it was the best!!!


Me on the boat - ready for a sun filled, beach filled day!


The first stop was at the Lagoa Azul - there was no beach, but you could swim right off the boat. It was a perfect place for snorkeling! We saw so many fish! and cool corals and sea sponges. It was beautiful!


Felipe on the boat. He had to keep a shirt on the whole day as he got pretty burnt when we were boating around Paraty.


Ana and I taking a break from snorkeling (it's hard floating around like that!)


A pretty typical picture of Felipe's uncle Chico.


Wish you were here!!!


Almost every beach was super quiet, with hardly any people. I think our guide knew when to go to which places, so that we would beat all the big crowds from the larger boats.

On this particular beach there was a little path that led to a small church on the hill. Felipe and I walked up there together to see it...



A stone statue of an angel next to a very old grave.

We then went to another small beach where we got a bite to eat for lunch. Portions were HUGE! I ordered grilled chicken and it came with rice and beans, and french fries!



Felipe's ice cold Guarana Antarctica - a very popular soda here in Brazil. I don't like the taste at all!


A view of the beach from our table. Nice and relaxing!

The last beach we stopped at was the most beautiful, and by far my favorite. We practically had the whole beach to ourselves! It was clean and long, with crystal clear water. You can see in the photo below our boat:



By this time it was 4:30pm and we were happy to relax a bit in the shade.

I can't think of a more perfect way to have spent the day. Each place we stopped was breathtaking and I wished a hundred times that I could share it with all of my friends and family. It's something I never really anticipated having a chance to do, and am so glad that I did!

After all that sun and swimming we went back to the hotel to clean and rest for a bit. We lazed around for a while and then slowly made our way back towards the center of the village for dinner. A perfect day.

Day Five: Ilha Grande

Departing on the catamaran from Angra Dos Reis.

On day five (I am losing track of what day of the week, and the date like a true vacation!) we traveled from Paraty to Angra dos Reis where we got a boat to Ilha Grande. Ilha Grande is just that - a very large island just off of the coast.

The island is only accessible via boat, and it takes about 45 minutes on the faster catamaran to get there. You could see why they call it the Costa Verde - the water was a beautiful shade of blue green.

We arrived in the Vila do Abraão on the northern coast of the island (facing the mainland), and walked to our pousada - Pousada do Anambe, which was a little off the beaten path.

A view of the street beside the pousada.


A view from the balcony by our rooms.

The first afternoon we did a 2km hike around some of the state park, where we saw an old abandoned hospital (it used to be a quarantine for people suffering from cholera) which was later a notorious prison for political dissidents in the 1940's and 1950's. There was also a very old aqueduct that was on the trail. It was all very beautiful!

The Trail.


A window into the old abandoned hospital/prison.


Inside the abandoned building...you are not allowed in because of hazard of collapse.




A sign describing the history of the building.

We moved past the ruins and walked further on toward the aqueduct and a small portion of the river with a natural pool. Everything was so verdant! Here you can see Felipe and I at the aqueduct.




When we got to the natural pool, there was a portion of the trail that broke and we had to cross the large rocks that the river passed over - very slippery rocks!


Fortunately we all made it over safely, and enjoyed a bit of the refreshingly cool water!






We had a great time walking around the forested trails, which I think was perfect because the day was very overcast and rainy at times. I think it really made the green that much more impressive! After the walk we all went back to the pousada and changed/rested. We spend the majority of the rest of the evening walking around the small village visiting the little shops, eating pastels (very large empanada type food), and enjoying the scenery. We had dinner at a little restaurant called Rapala, where the food was terrific and the service not so much. Are orders all came out at different times and at least two or three things were brought out wrong. I might be guilty of enjoying it the most as I had most of the luck - all my food came right away, and it was super yummy! All was made up for by grabbing some treats from the man selling them in the cart on the street afterward.

Day Four: Paraty

Day four was great - we started out in the morning with a good breakfast at the pousada. My favorite part was the watermelon juice and felipe was happy to have some super fresh papaya.

After breakfast we all walked to the shore near the historic district. Here is where Felipe's dad and uncle bargained for us to have a boat take us around the coast for swimming. In the end we had Maestre Antonio of the Paraiso do Sol! We spent the next five hours boating from beach to beach around Paraty.

Felipe and I on the boat.




At the first beach, the water was this amazing shade of turquoise green.

Thankfully Felipe had the foresight to bring snorkeling masks, because there were some areas that had some amazing fish. Just throw a bit of crackers in the water and there were tons of them!



Ana and Sergi enjoying the "sun deck" on the top of the boat.

Unfortunately the sun didn't last the WHOLE time we were out on the boat. We weathered a few very heavy downpours. Below is a photo of the group huddled under the overhand of the boat's roof.



Although not as fun as sun, the rain did make for a really beautiful scene.

I especially enjoyed the way the water looked with all the millions of raindrops falling...


In the end we took advantage of the rain - we were all wet anyway from swimming! so we just had fun!

Felipe coming in after a rainy swim.


One last group photo after the rain let up a little bit. Our guide for the day, Antonio is in the red and blue jacket.

After five hours of swimming and boating around, we went back to the pousada for a bit of a rest. Then again in the evening we walked around the historic center, and felipe found a treat he'd not had in a long time!


Corn ice cream!!!



Sunset (kind of - it's there behind the clouds).

Day Three: Paraty, Brazil

A view of the Paraty shore.

Day three saw our arrival to Paraty, a small colonial town south of Rio de Janeiro. Unfortunately most of our time in Paraty was slightly marred by rain, but it always allowed enough breaks in the rain to enjoy the town!

We stayed at the Pousada do Principe, it was a short walk to the historic part of town, and a very nice little place to stay.




After setting our stuff down into our rooms, we took a stroll around the historic portion of the city.

They had some beautifully colored doors - not just some I suppose, but all over.


In front of the Capela de Santa Rita (Chapel of Saint Rita) - built in 1722, and it's the oldest church in the town.


Because it was raining so much, there was water flooded into the streets. This seems to be not abnormal - as they have platforms that cross the streets at some points to keep you from having to walk through the water. This was designed for when high tide hits too.

Here it was day three of my trip - and I had yet to have a coconut or see a beach! So this was my first coconut and my first Brazilian "beach" ;)



This is the man who cut the top of my coconut off with a machete. This is apparently a very popular after-beach refreshment. My first sip was less sweet than I had anticipated, but still good!

That night we went back to the pousada and just relaxed. We had dinner at the little bar they operated in the common area and talked for a few hours before going to bed.