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Published: December 2nd 2008
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I sadly left Ilha Grande and hiked down the beach in my barefeet and backpack. When I say hike it was only 10 mins but when you are carrying 20k on your back and walking on sand it is a good workout. I definitley won't need to go to the gym while I am away (not that I am much good at that in Sydney). Imagine doing squats in the gym with 20k. If that was me I would give up after just a few but when you have a place to go and you have all of your worldly possessions on your back you just have to make it!
The boat ride back to the mainland was much less uneventful. I thought I had been on the ferry the first time but this was a proper ferry and took about 1 hour compared to the 3 hours that felt like I was in a washing machine on the way there. I bumped into a couple I had done a tour with in Rio and we all went to Paraty together. This helped as they had been living in Uraguay for 9 months and he spoke excellent portuguese and she
was fluent in spanish so it made the public bus and direction bit much easier.
When we arrived in Paraty we went our seperate ways as they were at the end of their trip and wanting to stay in a nicer hotel and I just wanted a hostel for one night before I got on the 6 hour bus to Sao Paulo. I thought I knew where I was going as they had helped my find a hostel from their lonely planet but I somehow got lost again the moment I left them and ended up in a part of town that didn[t look good. I also realised I still didn[t have any cash on me (as there were no banks in Ilha Grande) so had to make a mad dash back to the bus station and queue up in a supermarket for money - this was all still with the 20k on my back.
I have realised that I am always really scared when I first arrive somewhere, if I don[t know where I am going. If people could smell the different emotions that come from your body when you sweat (like fear, excitement, general exerction) then
I am sure that my fear would be smelt for miles. All of a sudden I have this cold sweat and my heart starts racing and my top is soaking wet (sorry to be so descriptive but it is true) and then somehow it all works out.
I finally found another hostel in my lonely planet and put all of my stuff in a taxi. I was still in panic mode at this stage and the taxi driver was asking me where I wanted to go but I thought I will get in and then sort out the destination. He was looking at me strangley as I was trying to get all of my bags into his back seat (instead of the boot in case he drove off with it) when I finally told him my destination, and bless him - he told me it was a 3 minute walk away and I was better to walk. So much for them always trying to rip you off!!
I made it to my new hostel in one piece which was quite a nice place - Paratay Hostel. It was right by the river and just a few mins walk
from the old town. Paratay is a place that apparenly has about 60 beaches around there with lots of activities but also this old cobbled town. I only made it into the town bit and had a nice late lunch by myself and then home for a reasonably early night.
Now that I had got off of the beaten track a little I have met many more lone travellers. I think Rio particularly is where alot of the younger back packers go in groups. I spent most of the evening with this guy called Danny who is a very disalusioned auditor from one of the big 4 in the UK who is a musician at heart and this wonderful lady called Amanda. Amanda was almost at the end of a 6 month trip around the world but what is most amazing is that she is about 60 years old. She is a chinese lady who lives in Sydney and told me about lots of her wonderful expereinces. It was inspiring to meet someone like that!
I realised up until that point most people I was meeting where on 2 or 3 week holidays so it was really refreshing
to meet other people on long trips. In my head before I had come here, I thought I would meet someone early on and we would do a lot of the trip together but in a way that negates the idea of coming on your own in the first place. I am sure I will end up going on some routes the same as others but for now I am really enjoying the freedom of being able to go where I want to go.
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