Posted by: Jonathan
Miguel gave us curbside service, dropping us off at the bus station in Sao Paulo (13 hours crammed in the compact). We got a snazzy room near the bus station and fell asleep watching "Along Came Polly" (in Portuguese). Although I couldn't understand a word Jennifer Aniston said, I found her no less attractive - possibly slightly more. The following day we bussed to Paraty where we spent a few relaxing days exploring the old town sector and gliding between picturesque islands on kayaks. Before continuing to paint a blissful picture - I must be real with my readers and deliver some bad news. First off, Bianca (our Canon underwater camera) decided that being water proof really wasn't her thing anymore and is unoperational at the moment. This has put a strain on Oprah (the SLR Canon Rebel) as she is now accompanying us on all adventures. She used to sit out when the going got tough and let the water proof, shock proof, and freeze proof Bianca handle business, but not anymore. Secondly, we had our first run-ins with a few unsavory characters...
We were staying in one of the more homey feeling hostels we have been in thus far so we ended up letting our guard down a bit. We retired early the first night donning our beds with mosquito nets unaware of the danger of another predator lurking in the shadows. Upon waking up the next morning we realized we were the unfortunate victims of...Bed Bugs. Several others staying in the same room also had bites (there were 4 bunk beds in one room). We told the hostel owner about the issue who said he would spray the beds and it would all be ok...right. Normally, I would have left the hostel in a hurry but it was a national holiday and all transport and hostels/hotels were fully booked. So we were forced to spend a second night with the beasts. It was a psychological battle to climb into bed knowing the sinister outcome of the darkness. The third night we changed rooms to some beds that other travelers had slept in without a midnight war waged on their flesh. Ok, back to painting a picture perfect visit of Paraty. The old town (situated against the bay) was built so that at each high tide the water would flood the streets, giving them a twice daily cleaning. By day it hosted fine dining and boutiques - by night it boasted an impressive night life.
We spent the first day exploring the downtown and setting up an epic kayak journey. You could go on a 1/2 day guided tour of the mangroves or a 1/2 day guided tour of some islands - we opted for renting the kayaks for a full day minus the guide and do both of the 1/2 day tours in one day. The shoulders were a bit sore but it was well worth it.
The next day we explored a few beaches in Trindade. We wondered two to three beaches away from the main town to an uninhabited beach. It took us about one hour longer to get there than it should due to my theory of "look, it's a trail, it must go somewhere". I wouldn't have mentioned hiking an hour out of the way for no reason if it wasn't for Jenn's most spectacular wipe out thus far. She wiped out in front of me, I instinctively reached out to lessen the blow but all I caught was her thigh. Yeah, I was there and I am still not sure how she managed to fall in a way that her thigh was at my chest level. Once we made it to the beach we ate a picnic lunch and fell asleep to the sound of the waves - it was perfect until the rain paid us a visit sending us scurrying for cover.
Although we had barely scratched the surface of Paraty's 65 islands and over 300 beaches, we were lured away by Brazil's third largest island - Ilha Grande. A short bus/ferry combo and we made landfall and began searching for a place to make camp for a few days. We stumbled upon a small group of about 15 tents - I thought score - and we began setting up the tent. It took me about a half hour to realize we had set out tent up in the middle of a gypsy settlement. Not wanting to ruffle any feathers by taking our tent down immediately after meeting our neighbors, we opted to stay for the night and keep a hawk eye on our things. We ended up getting to know one couple really well (their tent was about 2-3 inches from ours) and they turned out to be two of the most kind hearted, giving people we have met on the trip. Bruno and Simone barely had money for their next meal yet they would offer the food they cooked and tea they boiled each night. Jenn became fascinated by the lifestyle of a nomadic gypsy, following them into town to watch them sell their handicrafts. She even immersed herself by spending a night learning to make bracelets and other jewelry... [she later made a business proposition to me - wanting me to invest in supplies and she would make jewelry and sell it as we traveled to supplement the travel fund... she sipped the gypsy Kool-Aid while I wasn't watching].
I lured Jenn away from weaving trinkets for a day of hiking through lush jungles to several picturesque beaches.
The next day the sun was out in full force as was the white sand and crystal clear water. Jenn and I found a lonely stretch of sand and called it ours for the majority of the day.
We spent our last day on Golfo, a schooner that ushered us between several beaches and reefs to snorkel. Sorry no underwater photos - Oprah can't swim. Just take my word for it - the water was clear, cold, and teaming with fish.
Although the car-less island had some sand we hadn't made imprints on, we decided to hop on to Rio de Janeiro to explore the city before our flight out to Iguacu Falls.