Sitio do Lobo Ilha Grande

Following in the recent footsteps of Blake & Saunders we headed for Ilha Grande (confusingly pronounced Graanjhay), famed for emerald seas and primitive transport.

Paid a local fisherman double the ferry fare to cross from the mainland to feel more intrepid. Ended up feeling somewhat less intrepid when joined by several other gringos all intent on the same experience. Despite going to great lengths to avoid eye ...

So i promise when i have time i will write a proper blog entry detailing what iŽve done - but for now, i wil just give you an outline!

Favela Party
Jesus Christ
Ilha Grande (where i met someone from CURRIE!!!!!!! Kinda)
Back to Rio - Lapa, Lapa, Lapa, Caipirinha,Caipirinha,Caipirinha
Nex t to Paraty then SAO PAULO!!!!

Cant wait

... variety. The other hugely popular choices are Bramha -- now distributed in the US -- and Skol. Other more watered down brands are Antarica -- same brand that offers Guarana soda as a popular alternative to Coke but ironically owned by Coke Cola -- and Itaipava. Regarding caipirinies, most are made from the ultra cheap pinga called "51" but others range into the 100s of Reals for a bottle -- but Ive only had the cheap stuff unfortunately.
Ilha Grande, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil barry0fisher

... intended), were the myriad sweets carts on the streets. These entrepreneurs of sugar, basically offer a rolling cart full of bake sale treats, and we were loyal customers.

The following day, after several days of foul weather in both Rio and Paraty, the sun came out with its warmth and glowing brilliance. After a wonderful breakfast spread that included fresh mangos and OJ, we parked ourselves by the pool to soak in some rays before hitting the old town by day ...

... bay, but across afew headlands. To my surprise, the beach had a bar and quite a few people were there, drinking Caipirinha and beer. Weekend in Brazil, I guess. You could even take a boat taxi to get there from the village for little money but I opted for the walk again as it was short enough and pretty. The next day I went for a boat trip to several places around the bay, but it was packed with mostly Brazilian ...

Week 17-18 Feb 26th - Mar 1st After the non-stop 8 day session that was carnaval in Rio it was time to settle the nerves and heal the liver somewhere a bit quieter. There were a few places to go for this but ...

... to work. Meeting all these genuine travellers was the biggest thing that happened in that year I suffered in Stockholm and wasted from the profesional point of view. With a few of these guys still around the world is easy to ...

Day One: Today I took a 2 hour bus to Ilha Grande, an island 150 km south of Rio known for its pristine beaches and having large areas of lush rainforest, the remnants of the fast disappearing Mata Atlantica ecosystem. The island has no cars or cash points so I stocked up on key supplies and upon arrival at the dock boarded a small boat for my bumpy 2 hour crossing. I was a little concerned that as I and four other passengers boarded, our weight along with our bags would ...

... but some sort of tropical forrest. Dan and I had made a couple of friends in Rio and they come to Ilha Grande with us. We deicded to all go on a walk thru the jungle type forrest. At first we thought weŽd tackle one of the harder roots... luckily we didnt as the jungle gets pretty dark, humid and hot quickly! After trekking thru the forrest, like men posseed, tired, dehydrated, delierous and dishonrinated, we met ourt spirit guides..... I ...

... on the beach which was incredibly busy, in fact too much so.

We still hadn't been given a menu after sitting down for about 10 minutes and none of the other people served before us even had any food on their tables, so we bailed and went to find somewhere else less busy.

Eventually we settled on a pizza place over by ...