Just returned from Ilha Grande, a big (i guess you can tell by the name) island about 4 hrs away from Rio de Janeiro. It was a georgous scene. So much jungle, big trees, sand, regaee and hiking. The island was used to house two prisons for the past 50 years, but the second one shut down in the early ninties. Nonetheless, it was a paradise compared to the chaos that it used to be! Apparently it had a dangerous reputation until recently, as prisoners used to escape quite frequently. This place was really pretty, but also really expensive. Because it is on an island about 170 square kilometers, nothing is produced there, it all has to be shipped in. After 3 days, we had to escape or else we would be broke! Did some fantastic
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