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Published: June 25th 2008
Liesel's Pansy Shell
A very happy discovery in Trindade.It's Liesel here - David has left me with a rather tough act to follow. Here goes....
After Praia de Sono we couldn't imagine finding a more spectacular beach, but Brazil is full of wonderful surprises, and the next day we stumbled upon Trindade - a rustic collection of 4 different beaches - the 4th being the most unspoilt of all, and also only reachable via a jungle trail. For me, this beach was particularly special, because despite its natural beauty, I also found to my utter delight, a perfect pansy shell tucked into the sand. For any of you who have ever spent time with me on a beach, I just love collecting shells, and my dream since forever has been to find a pansy shell, so I was truly excited by this little discovery!
We bid Parati and the wonderful people we met there a sad farewell, and headed further along the coast towards Rio, to an island called Ilha Grande. To reach the island, we took a 2 hour ferry ride from Angros dos Reis - it was a really tranquil journey as we watched the boat cutting through the perfectly flat sea and misty sky. We
Another Beautiful Brazilian Beach
David proudly wearing his (authentic Kenyan) Kikoi at Trindade. eventually docked in the port and were met by our host from Pousada Ilha Grande, Fernando. Our bags were transported in a little cart to our pousada, since there is only one car on the entire island.
The next day we set off on a fairly challenging 2 hour walk to Lopes Mendes - apparently rated as one of the top 5 beaches in the world, and particularly renowned for its surfing breaks. We made our way along the trail, across a couple of pretty little beaches, up a good few hills with some breathtaking island views along the way, and eventually ended up at a magnificent stretch of white sand (that literally squeaked under your toes) and beautiful blue breakers. We enjoyed a fantastic couple of hours of sand and surf before catching a boat back to the main port. I have a lingering memory of these 3 soggy dogs snuggling up to each other under the captain's feet with a towel over them trying to get warm - so cute.
That evening we treated ourselves to an authentic Brazilian dinner, namely a 'maqueqa' (pronounced makekka) which is basically a fish and prawn stew that is served
The Walk to Lopes Mendes
One of the beautiful views en route. in a little black potjie pot together with rice and a yam type sauce. It was really delicious and the location couldn't have been better - on the sand with the little waves lapping away just in front of us with a whole collection of brightly painted boats along the shore.
We had one last day in Ilha Grande before our trip to Rio. We went on a boat trip to a couple of beaches. What was great about this trip was that we were the only gringoes - all the others were local Brazilians, so it was great for people watching. Nobody is body conscious here, so there are string bikinis and speedos a plenty no matter what shape or size you happen to be! We stopped at a beach that had a few basic eating spots and enjoyed a simple yet delicious lunch of grilled fish, rice and salad - also a very typical Brazilian meal. Another wonderful day...
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debbie
non-member comment
Please gather some recipes while there, sounds like some good meals, we can try remake them when we have you over for dinner on your return, especially the authentic Brazilian dinner, 'maqueqa' .....yum, yum!