Travel article: Ilha Grande & Paraty

 

Last but not least in Brazil: the beautiful island Ilha Grande and Paraty.

On the boat we got a first glimpse of Ilha Grande and its lush jungle! Looks amazing.

Here there are no cars, we use our legs for great hikes.

Unfortunately the weather was not the best but we still have been able to enjoy those 3 days in paradise.

We started our discoveries with the T10-T11 hike, which transports us to beautiful landscapes: mud, hills, the jungle (it's hot, it goes up!), untouched beaches including Lopez Mendes, in the top 10 some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.

4 kilometers of white sand squeaking under our feet, few people, the jungle on all sides, the rough sea (a small storm was coming), it's beautiful.

After this long day of walking, we came back by boat that allows us to discover the coast from the sea and we realize how much the jungle is predominant on the island! By the way, many cobras live there (we did not see any!)

In the evening, deluge! Floods of water are falling on us, general power cut. We didn’t miss the powercuts!

The next day, still cloudy but at least the storm ended. We started a new hike to a waterfall this time: Feiticeira waterfall. It goes up again (the island is really steep!), It's still hot. We sweat at places we did not imagine it was possible. After 1h30 of walking we arrived to a cute waterfall of 15m high and a natural pool where we took the opportunity to cool off. Cedric goes under the waterfall, such a powerful flow!

Then we continue to walk to the beach of the same name for 20 minutes with mud up to the ankles. Very cute beach but served by boats so very touristy ...

 

We enjoyed this stop but the island seems to be in danger. Cariocas come here for the weekend and do not have the same respect for nature as we do. In addition, cruise ships are pouring in thousands of passengers who once again do not have the same environmental considerations as us ... what will Brazil do? To be continued!

To conclude, we took the local boat, then another local bus and after a 3 hours’ drive we arrived in Paraty, a small colonial town. The big difference with the other colonial cities that we love so much: the buildings are no longer inhabited by locals but invested by shops or restaurants for tourists. We are disappointed, fortunately it was only a stopover to reach Sao Paulo and fly to Ecuador! We will only remember the excellent Van Gogh burger.

Obrigado Brazil! Thank you for these incredible 5 weeks! We loved everything: the atmosphere, the kindness of Brazilians, the diversity of landscapes, food and caipirinha! We will come back for sure! We head to volcanoes now!

 

Some recommendations:

# From Rio, we reached Ilha Grande by a mini-van + boat transfer for 110 real. 5 hours’ journey in all. It is possible to get there by its own means: Rio-Angra Dois Reis for 55 real then boat (but only one or two per day for 17 real).

# We stayed in Cantinho de Ilha for 160 real nights (the accommodations are expensive on the island ...). Room ok, we enjoyed the air conditioning and the kitchen.

# To join Paraty, no need for organized transfer, just take the public boat at 10am (17 real) which goes to Angra dos reis then public bus at 16 real per person.

# Boat Lopez Mendes-Abrao: 25 real. There are plenty of organized excursions, but we preferred hiking alone!

 

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