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Published: January 19th 2005
Farol das Conchas (Lighthouse of the Shells)
Pete with the Farol (lighthouse) on Ilha do MelAfter a disappointing "scenic" train journey from Curitiba we hopped on a bus to Paranagua to get a boat to Honey Island or Ilha do Mel. On the way we met up with an Australian guy and an American girl who were staying at the same hostel as us, the Hostel Zorro in Encantadas town. As it was raining on the island when we arrived (it seems to rain more than it does in Ireland in Brazil at this time of the year) we decided to play a drinking game that Becky, the American 21 year-old university student, devised. Two bottles of cachaca (pron. cashasa, Brazillian firewater used in caipirinhas) went down surprisingly quickly and meant the next day was pretty much a write-off. Becky was up and about for breakfast at about 8am, knocking on our door and trying to get us to go for a walk. That morning I felt every 26 years of my age...!
The Grotto That afternoon we did however make it to the Grotto on the east side of the island. Legend has it that the grotto contains a siren that lures men in and they are never seen again. Pete seemed immune
Fishing boat on the sea
Mar de Dentro or Inner Sea to her charms...! The grotto iteself was pretty impressive, a 20m high natural grotto formed out of what looked like basalt, some of the rock was a smooth as marble from water erosion. There was a beautiful sunset that night and we watched it over a couple of drinks (mineral).
Time for some exercise Next morning, bright and early, we set off for a walk around the island, it would take us from Encantadas to the Fortaleza (Fort), about 17 km in total. The area of the island is about 27 km2 but 22 km2 is an ecological staion. The ecological station seems to have done alot of good for the island, they seem to keep it clean, try to recycle and have made attempts to prevent erosion. It is of course very touristy with lots of hostels and campsites dotted around. The north and centre of the island does however have pretty untouched jungle-like vegetation (with jungle-like soggy walking conditions). The north is the aforementioned ecological station and the centre is a national park. We set off on one of the trails across to Praia da Boia and walked along the beach. At times we had to
scramble over rocks as the sea had come inland as far as the edges of the rocks - and this was low tide. We walked up to a viewing point on a little hill over the beach and could see both sides of the island. We then continued along the beach to Vila do Farol (Lighthouse Town), we went to visit the farol or lighthouse itself after lunch. It had actually been pre-fabricated in Glasgow in 1870 by P. & W. Maclellan then assembled on the island in 1872. It is still in use today. From there, despite the clouds that had descended over much of Brazil, we had a pretty good view of most of the island. Afterwards we walked to the fort (Fortaleza Nossa Senhora dos Prazares). It was constructed in 1767 to protect Brazil from Spanish attacks. It had lots of canons around it, many of which were made in England in the 18th and 19th century. We were able to get a water-taxi back to Encantadas from Brasilia (the other main town on the island) and watched some reggae (pronounced heggae by the Brazillians, and they do love their heggae) on the beach.
Next day
Outside the Grotto
An unusual natural rock formation we headed back to Paranagua for another attempt at the "scenic" train journey back to Curitiba. It ended up being a back-breaking 5 hour journey on a train that I could have pushed in to Curitiba faster.
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Valerie
non-member comment
I was there
Hi, It was interesting to hear about the grotto. I was just there with Gecko tours staying 2 nights near the surfing beach. You should go back off season- winter like when I was there. We had no rain, perfect temperatures, and hardly no people.