Chal Recanto Da Praia Paraty

So we left Rio behind this morning. Feeling bold, we decided to get one of the local buses to the main coach station with our rucksacks, which was an experience. Having only been in Brazil for 4 days, I can safely say that all Brazilian bus/coach drivers are crazy! They drive at about 50mph through the busy city streets, which by the time we got out towards the station were pot-holed, and they have little respect for car drivers. Near the coach station we went through a ...

... us to take a local bus to Trinidade, a town with about 5 different beaches all along it. We were told it was stunning and again weren´t let down. It was just beautiful, lovely beaches one after the other. We walked to the furthest beach for some swimming, we had been told about this lovely spot if you continue walking through the jungle, so we decided to go for it. It was a fabulous spot which I could only describe as ...

... a position to heft myself over and around the anchor and amidst most the probing eyes of the those on-board decide I must let go and stumble backwards of course completely defeating the point of keeping my upper body dry. Jason and I discover had it not been for an older couple from from Zimbabwe -- now currently living in Santa Barbara -- that had seen us going outbound on the trail as they were returning, and then telling the boat captain ...

... I went to bed with my good friend, Benedryl. I had a lovely night´s sleep.<br><br>We, unfortunately, had to leave at 10am for the bus and ferry to Ilha Grande. I went to take some pictures of the coastline. I love these magical times when it´s just me, a place and my camera. This morning the sun was just hesitating to rise, horses grazed near the water, boatmen offered rides to the nearby islands and I just got to walk around immersing myself in this wonderful place. <br>

... a looney English guy. As it is a public holiday today we ended up paying way more than we had planned to but were happy to have found a place. <br><br>So we walked around for a bit and checked out the beach which was pretty sad tho compared to Ilha Garnde beaches. Some more people arrived in the afternoon and we all went out to a cool place that had 2 for 1 caipirinhas. But instead of sharing we all got 2 and the night ended ...

... time. It took 2 hours to get there climbing up and down hills, so it was a decent exercise and we decided to take the boat back... *lol*<br>We were gonna take it easy the next day and did a little cultural hike. When we were halfway there was a sign saying there would be a waterfall and a beach if you get off the main trail for just 20 minutes or so we thought.. Well we got to the so called waterfall about 50 minutes of climbing later and were pretty disappointed ...

... all the way into the town and then as it goes out, cleans the streets with the best rinse ever! Only problem with Paraty is that due to the nature of the cobbles (it aint like Soho!) which are huge and inconsistent, you cant actually notice your surroundings as your eyes are planted firmly on your next step. When we did stop however it was lovely, and being a Friday meant there was the local band out playing in the main square. Reminded me very much of ...

... skies and so dashed off to the nearest beach but of course it was already clouding over when we got there. Stayed out for a bit and amazingly Rob managed to burn his legs! They looked radioactive and glowed for a couple of days, ouch! Had a nice meal that night, I think the dish was called moqueca?! Can't remember but t was a fish dish made with tomatoes and coconut milk, very tasty. We left for Rio on Monday with fingers firmly crossed for clearer skies in ........

... along the way. Arriving at Trindade felt like being in a little local Caribbean enclave, with gradually less civilisation the further round the bays you go. We opted for the middle bay for our first hour of sunbathing, and Angela and I braved the freezing sea to cool off before lunch. We decided that the local Brazilian cocktail, Capirinha, was a must for our day on the beach and we then ate some fish, prawns and typical Brazilian black beans and rice ...

... distillery place and were guilted into buying some licor and fudge. Ah well, a gift for the hostel owner. Not the fudge, I´ve eaten some of that already. So tomorrow, on to Sao Paolo with a bag of clean clothes (6 hour bus) for an 11 hour overnight bus to Florianopolis. Should be eventful. Will fill you in on the next stage soo. Free internet in this place - hence the essay :) Can´t upload pics though for some reason.