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.