Some beach time.....but where is the sun?

Trip Start Apr 05, 2008
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Trip End Mar 20, 2009


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Flag of Brazil  , State of Rio de Janeiro,
Friday, January 23, 2009

Excitement starts bubbling up again as we're winding round the tropical hills gazing over the dazzling coastline below. Passing by so many beaches with great breaks and clear clean waters we can only hope that Paraty is as good. Surprisingly enough GT's back in high spirits as it feels as if we're traveling again, being back on the buses rather than dealing with the chaos and hassle of airports. Although, our adventures this time on the buses have been more interesting than usual. After arriving in Brasilia from Cuiaba we decided to gun it to the bus station to see if we could get an overnight bus to Rio. It was quite a surprise to find that only one bus company seemed to go to Rio with only two services daily, both of which we had missed. Fortunately there were alternatives to Sao Paolo and with a 7pm Leito bus (full sleeper) we were soon in our comfy beds and on our way. A 13hr journey, at 8am the following morning pulling into a bus station we naturally assumed we had arrived in Sao Paolo and grabbed our bags dashing off to find a connecting bus to Paraty Paraty
Paraty
 . We started to become alarmed when we noticed in the ticketing area that most bus services offered Sao Paolo as a destination which seemed strange as weren't we in Sao Paolo??? After locating an information desk the harsh realization was upon us that we had disembarked our bus a little early.... Sao Paolo was still an hour away and we were in some place called Campina. A mad scramble back to see if our bus was still there with no such luck. So after purchasing new tickets to Sao Paolo we sat down to wait out the next hour before our next bus departed. A little before 7pm we finally had arrived in Paraty, hoping that the centre held the quaint charm and appeal as described not only in the book of lies but also by Elizabeth, the Brazilian lady we had met in the Amazon. Once away from the bus station we came across cobble stoned streets and stone washed houses pleasingly car-free that exuded warmth and character. With a warm welcome from the English owner and a much needed ice cold shower we finally were able to relax and enjoy our first beer/Caipirinha in Paraty.

After one morning of sunshine we endured rain and sometimes torrential rain calf deep, for our three days in Paraty. I spent the time wandering all round the city and visiting every shop, so much so that I felt I was becoming a regular as I was being recognized on return visits. GT occupied himself with games, reading and hanging with the hostel crowd, in general just avoiding having to mooch round the shops with me. We meet some great people, girls from Norway, lads from ole Blighty, an Argentinean who had lived in NZ for a year and picked fruit in the Bay, amongst others. Our final night after mastering the game of 'asshole' with drinks flowing we finished up in a Samba bar, Paraty 33, and danced the morning in.
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