Blogs from Ilha Grande, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America - page 5

Leaving Rio was always going to be hard, apart from kissing goodbye to the shocking driving and music taste (lady gaga is huge in Brazil, our taxi driver was mental playing her music and driving 60mph through a congested city). But did mean that we were officially on the road and traveling, cant stay in one place too long. We went to the bus station and got our first bus ticket. The 2 and a half hour bus journey was'nt a bad one but the 50 minute boat trip from the mainland to Ilha Grande was amazing. Not only had we discovered that the sun was well and truly on its way (factor 30 at the ready,) but according to the position of our hostel on the map we were going to be spending the next ... read more

After our stressful time trying to navigate the megacity of Sao Paulo, (pause) not, we headed to the beautiful, non-motorised Ihla Grande. It is known as the city dwellers of Rio's 'playground' at the weekend, which is unfortunately when we showed up. Our idea of a Brazilian Sark was definately inaccurate. We walked and explored jungle paths along the coast, trying to find remote beaches. One day, Laura walked straight through a large spiders web, equipped with a pretty massive spider. She cried like a little girl and flapped her hands around saying not to laugh, or she'll Les. Dad, if you're reading this - you would have wished you had boys! We also went on a boat trip to Lagoa Azul. Now, we know that pictures can be misleading and people selling the tours don't ... read more

Our first stop in Brazil was Paraty. This is a colonial town, one of the first towns colonized in Brazil. We camped next to the beach here but were a little unimpressed with the beach. Apparently it use to be a swamp that they cleared out so the water was a little dirty and a little to warm for comfort. The town itself was really nice though. The streets where all cobblestone streets and all the buildings were really old. We spent one day there then headed off to the beautiful beaches of Brazil. Our next stop was Ilha Grande, or should I say paradise island. We took a two hour boat ride across the ocean to a deserted island. On this island there is only one small town with no roads or cars. It is ... read more

22/12 We woke up and... shock horror... it was raining! Things were not looking hopeful for the boat trip but the weather slightly cleared up so we headed for the harbour. We saw our speedboat and everything felt a little James Bond, but like a damp version. We ploughed through the seas with a couple of aussie couples and a middle aged British couple who were hilarious. First stop off was the blue lagoon - lagoa azul - there were loads of cool yellow and black stripy fish (a common reoccurence throughout the day) and the water was amazing, flat, still, beautiful and of course warm! As we got back onto the boat a man on a canoe with is dog paddled over to us and attempted to sell us beer... which was tempting but as ... read more

After bidding farewell to Rio, we were on our way to Ilha Grande, an island off of the coast about 2 hours drive South. Our 4 days on Ilha Grande were wet wet wet!! Arriving on Sat (4th) with clear blue skies I was very excited to get some beach time as Max had described it as ¨paradise on earth¨. Our hostel, Overnativa, was lovely and really cheap! Plus we had air-con for the first time which was amazing!! The first day was spent sitting on the local beach but it was cloudy, whilst James played football with some of the local boys. The second was a wash out - literally!! Torrential rain for the entire day so we chilled out at the hostel with a film and played pool and cards. The third day was ... read more