A very hard couple of days

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Saturday 12th July

We left Paraty on a local bus and had a very scenic 2-3 hour ride. We had to go through a turnstyle on the bus which was a bit strange - to count us on apparently. The scenery was beautiful. We were driving along the coast for pretty much the whole journey and there were so many amazing white sandy beaches. If that wasn’t enough you could instead take in the luscious green forest which looked even more stunning with the backdrop of the blue sky and sea and the white beaches.

We arrived in another little town which I've forgotten the name of and found our boat. We had a 2 hour journey to the island. I was a bit cold as I didn’t have a jumper with me (it was packed away somewhere) but the scenery was again beautiful.

There are no vehicles allowed on the island apart from rubbish trucks so we hired guys with trolleys to carry our stuff to the pousada. It was a lovely place. The owner was really friendly and they had gorgeous animals. Two lovely dogs, and a very cute kitten visited us from next door as well.

The island is so relaxed as well - lots of people around just chilling out and enjoying the beach culture (and the ice creams!)

Sunday 13th July

Went on another boat trip today with about half of the group. We went to a few islands and to see the blue lagoon. We did a little bit of snorkelling in the blue lagoon and saw a few fish and also lay around on a couple of beautiful yellow sandy beaches. Had a massive lunch - delicious chicken and the Brazilian staple of feijoa (black beans in a very rich broth, a bit like a casserole).

It wasn’t all lying around doing nothing though - I did have a kick about with a football too and we did have to walk a little way to get our lunch!!!

Did see a dead tortoise on one of the beaches too that was being eaten by vultures - it wasn’t very nice.

The beaches are beautiful though. It was a perfect day.

Monday 14th July

More relaxing today on Lopez Mendes beach - one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever been to. We had been taken to the beach by the same boat as yesterday - it was about an hours’ boat ride or a 2.5 hour walk and I knew which one I’d prefer to do! We were dropped off on the other side of the island and had to walk for about 10 minutes before finally seeing the beach.

It had squeaky white sand that creaked under foot as you walked on it; fantastic waves just right for body surfing; perfect temperatures for sunbathing; stunning views; a guy selling drinks and sandwiches; it had everything. We spent the day on the beach and it was so nice having a relaxing few days after travelling so much - and to see the sunshine and feel the warmth of it on my skin.

We got back late afternoon and went to the ‘street party’ again that we’d been to the night before. It wasn’t much of a street party. Just lots of stalls selling random foods - although the banana and chocolate cooked in a sort of pancake batter and served on a stick was pretty good. I don’t think I’d have another caipvodka though! It was a different version of a caiparinha (which I love). It was literally a few chopped strawberries and what tasted like a whole glass of vodka and nothing else. In fact, I didn’t see the guy put in any mixer or anything else - it was VERY strong.

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