Mercure Santa Clara Paraty

Catching up on Ilha Grande...went on walk from one side of island to other ..supposed to take 2 hour ... took 5 ... followed by friendly dog we named Ricardo ... abandoned us on way back ... beach on other side very pretty and pretty deserted ... crab chasing ... got back exhausted with sore feet. Started to rain that evening and continued for 48 hrs or more ... crazy unexpected amounts of rain. Had a chilled next day with aching limbs. That night consoled Gem after ...

... where no cars are permitted, beautiful buildings, a lovely port and mountains surrounding the entire area. Paraty first found riches after the discovery of the world's gold mines in the mountains of Ouro Preto and around, Paraty became an export port for gold to Rio de Janeiro and from there on to Portugal. After the gold rush finished the town continued its export business but with coffee instead.

When we arrived ...

... local and federal military police. My guess is that a tip of came from the bus station when locals were getting on with giant bags of goods. It added some excitement, but took a good amount of time on a journey that really was long enough already. On another bus a foreign tourist was busted for drugs bought in Paraguay and made his way to a nice Brazilian cell. Having a bunch of commandos burst into your bus with guns ready to go is pretty good advertisement to never try ...

... kept referring to us as "Divers", which was very official and expert sounding. We had previously only dove in the warm SE Asian and Australian tropical waters. The Atlantic Ocean is quite a bit cooler - 22 degrees Celsius (72 Fahrenheit) - so we had to wear full 5mm wetsuits with hoods. It was like wearing a suit of armor back in the Middle Ages, motion was incredibly difficult and the suits were really heavy. We looked like Frogmen with our hoods on; Mary was ...

... without a wall) down 70 meters to the cave bottom and then snorkeling amongst stalagmites and stalagmites and all the crazy fish and things that live down there. I’m sure the bus ride will be worth it but anyone else who has seen the film The Descent will know why I’m a little apprehensive too!

Lots more to come, tune in soon to see if our hero’s escape the cave in one piece…

Lot’s of love,

Amy and Somersaulting Steve

... palmbomen en werd het me even te veel: ik moest en zou oud-Hollands palmboomknuffelen. Aldus geschiede. En wat is het water hier warm man. Pfoe.. buiten zo'n 35 graden, dus dan zal het water ook minimaal 25 graden geweest zijn. Als je in het water piste, merkte je amper een warme golf. Betert. Sommige mensen op de boot hadden helaas geen tijd om gedurende de vijf uur durende trip rond te kijken, maar die hadden dan wel echt hele mooie ...

... damn good wedding band more than a happening rock act but still, we jumped and (attempted to) dance on our one (cobbled) stone of choice with the locals. As our last morning on board arrived, so did the sunshine (bloody typical) and we said our goodbyes with one last shot of cachaca (at 9am - brilliant) and boarded our vessel to take us back to land and to our next mode of transport- a 4 hour (6 for Reem and I) mini bus for those heading back to Rio. It ...

... rushing and roaring all around us. Saw a humming bird too. Feet aching from too much walking in flip flops, we got back to the main road, and still not seeing any sign of a bus back to town, we decided to walk back to Paratay. Very luckilly for us, a very nice brazilian family took pity on us and gave us a lift back to the hostel. More fun times to come! x

... my blog ' I DO'!!!!! Moving on the floor now babe you're a bird of paradise Cherry ice cream smile I suppose it's very nice With a step to your left and a flick to the right you catch that mirror way out west You know you're something special and you look like you're the best Her name is Rio and she dances on the sand Just like that river twisting through a dusty land And when she shines she really shows you all she can Oh Rio, Rio dance across the Rio Grande "Rio" was the ...

... in virtual luxury, except for the fact that the boat was built for sunny weather and we were crossing in torrential rain. So I landed on the island with a wet back side and a runny nose, and followed the long trail of backpackers along the beach to the infamous Aquario hostel. I think I´d heard about the hostel even before the island! Its renowned for its parties, BBQs and sea aquarium in the front yard. The hostel did live up to its reputation in all aspects ...