Blogs from Ilha Grande, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

Hi, Well I had amazing 5 weeks in the UK and now that wedding fever is over I am back out in South America hoping not to develop any other kind of fever! I arrived in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday night and made it to my hostel despite the efforts of my accelerator foot heavy taxi driver. I had found a nice hostel and in the morning I got up and went for a run around the neighbourhood. I felt safe and my only annoyance was the heat! I spent the day visiting the central area of Rio and saw the Cathedral and an art museum. I then went to Santa Theresa which is a nice area with cobblestreets and arty types and nice cafes. My plan was to get the tram there but as ... read more

Five days before venturing to Ilha Grande, I had never heard of the place. Then other travellers spoke to me of an island that existed off the coast of Brazil, replete with tropical jungle and secluded beaches of soft white sand, lapped by ocean waters of varying shades of blue and aquamarine. Access was only possible by boat and cars were forbidden. With tales of partying and bonfires on the beach, this was one place that I just hadto visit. After being happily trapped by the charms of Rio, I finally set off with another backpacker who had found himself unable to leave Rio for the previous three weeks. Felix and I made our way to the bus terminal in the hope of catching the 9am bus. We arrived at 8:52, bought a ticket at 8:56, ... read more

We arrived to Angra dos Reis after a very comfortable three and a half hour bus journey from Rio. It was then a quick (45 minute) catamaran ride to the main town on Ilha Grande called Villa Do Abraao. We found our first hostel just along the beachfront, we had to stay at 3 because of availability, and were welcomed to the sight of a 9 person dorm. Where there were 3 sets of bunk beds stacked 3 beds high!!! We decided to go for a meal this night, as there was no kitchen available. An extremely nice looking restaurant on the beach caught our eye (Pe Na Areia), where we had an amazing fish dish accompanied by caipirinhas and live music. Day 1- The next morning we had to move to our second hostel, which ... read more

I am now on my organised GAP tour which I booked a few months before I left home, it starts from Rio and goes to Ilha Grande, Paraty, Iguassu Falls, Salto, Montevideo, Colonia and finishes in Buenos Aires. The start of the tour was an arrival day so I just had to make it to the starting hotel by 7pm for a welcome meeting and meet my new travellers for the next 17 days. Rob and Anna the kiwi couple that I met in Rio where on the same tour so I waited for them at the Rio hostel in Ipanema so we could share a taxi to the arrival hotel. They were doing the city tour which was late in finishing so I hung around till they arrived, we then mate out way to the ... read more

The last bit of our tour. Day 43 (continued):- In the evening we decided to split from the group, with Craig and Claire, to splurge (rather than face more all-you-can-eat meat and carb fare again). Had a great meal with a couple of bottles of wine followed by a few beers in a bar. Most enjoyable. Day 44:- We traveled a few hours to a port where we hopped on a boat to Ilha Grande. Claire was feeling a tad ropey from the night before, which wasn’t surprising as she had the lions share of Craig’s wine. Spent the afternoon lazing on the beach with Ailsa, rather than tackle the trek up to a waterfall (we figured that it wasn’t gonna beat Iguazu anyway!). We only managed an hour’s sunbathing at most before the beach was ... read more

Now we had been to the Rio boat party the night before so the journey to Ilha Grande was not a happy one as you can imagine! However, when we got on the boat and began the trip across the sea to the island my hangover was soon forgotten! Ilha Grande is literally paradise! Its such a big island but only a very small part of it is inhabited and there are no cars only bikes! The island has white sandy quiet beaches touched by the chilled out sounds of reggae coming from small number of beach front bars and restaurants! Its so incredibly chilled out and relaxing there! We were so lucky as we got a room in the hostel facing the sea with our own balcony and hammock which was pretty special! It was ... read more