Blogs from Paraty, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America
April 30th 2012
Little Paraty, just four hours from Brazil’s big and boisterous Rio de Janeiro, is a world away from the year round “carnival” atmosphere of its famed big city. To be brief; quaint, quiet and cobblestoned. To do it justice; a town of gorgeous colonial charm which would appeal to even the most stubborn modernist. With a pleasant community atmosphere Paraty showcases numerous charming churches, an abundance of green, open squares and a small labyrinth of delightful lanes on which the residential homes are fronted with glossy, brightly painted doors. I must admit, it charmed the pants off me (and that was before I had even seen the beaches!) and thus I invested significant energy into my sadly failed attempt at convincing Chris that we should live there, forever. So keen was I, I even browsed the ... read more
April 6th 2012
Parati est un Deauville tropical : belle petite ville, située entre Rio et Sao Paolo, elle est devenue une destination de week end pour Brésiliens des classes moyennes supérieures. Elle a ainsi perdu en authencité ce qu’elle a gagné en influx économique. Le centre historique, composé de quelques pâtés de maisons, est superbe, avec ses rues pavées et ses maisons coloniales de couleurs différentes. Dans certaines rues, on a vraiment l’impression que l’on pourrait tourner un film d’époque sans avoir rien à changer. Le charme opère immédiatement. Il est un peu terni par les multiples boutiques de fringues trendy et de bars branchés qui ont pris possession des rues entourant la place principale. A ces endroits, on est dans un havre pour touristes, et on ne sent plus la vie locale, la vie des habitants du ... read more
March 29th 2012
We woke up early and sat around until breakfast which didn't open until 8.30 am. At 8.35 am Jo complained that they hadn't yet removed the chain across the breakfast area as she could smell the coffee and we were both becoming thirsty which was when we discovered that we had 25 minutes left to wait due to Ed having the wrong time!!! A leisurely breakfast of fresh orange juice, crusty fresh rolls, really good coffee (for once) and some fruit. We walked into town which is really very nice with pretty buildings and cobbled streets, a reasonable selection of shops, some cafes, boats bobbing at their moorings all to the backdrop of forested mountains with pleasant walking weather - i.e. not raining and not too hot. We wandered around most of the morning and afternoon, ... read more
March 28th 2012
We woke up at 6.00 am, stuffed all our things back into their stuff sacks FOR THE FINAL TIME, dismantled our tent (Yea!!), sorted our clothes out for the day and got our laundry together from our bags in the locker on the bus, cooked breakfast (porridge) and heated water for hot drinks and afterwards, walked into the town twenty minutes away. (The towns are always twenty minutes walk away!!) We dropped off our washing at a local laundry for collection at 5.00 pm and walked down to the quayside where a schooner (but with pretend sails and an engine) was awaiting our group and other tourists for a boat trip to the local islands for sunbathing, swimming and beaches. Ivan and Dave went shopping previously and carted freezer boxes full of ice, beer and the ... read more
March 27th 2012
Some of the group were going White water rafting (mainly those who weren't on the previous leg of the trip so this was their first opportunity) and breakfast had to be on the table by 8.45am. We cut up melon and boiled the kettle and sorted out the cereals, after which it all had to get cleared away. There was a decent sink with proper running water so prior to breakfast, Jo washed all twenty-four or so food-encrusted bowls as they were not pleasant to eat from! Following breakfast, we walked into the town about twenty minutes away and looked round the shops. A pleasant town although nothing there of any particular interest. We then sheltered in an ice-cream parlour during a particularly fierce downpour of rain following which we found a wine shop/deli that had ... read more
March 20th 2012
So, here follows the long awaited first installment of the dreaded, I mean, highly entertaing yet informative, blog of delight - we can refer to it as the B.O.D. from now on (see title). We began our journey some hazy 3 weeks ago in sunny Miami. Well we say sunny, but unfortunately it was the most consistently windy place we´ve ever been and I don´t mean because of too much Lamb Boona. We had a lovely week there and managed to get a fair amount of sun in and a decent chunk of beach time. It was of course made all the better by meeting up with George and Morgan. Miami was exactly how we both expected it to be, nice beaches, good food and lots of ripped men and fake-boobed women. The highlights of our ... read more
February 29th 2012
We headed off to the coast for Carnival in a town called Paraty. After flying to Sao Paulo, we were chauffeured on a three hour drive through Atlantic rainforest. We checked into our pousada (small hotel), which was in the historical center of the city. Jenn wanted to test out the pool, but we went for a walk around the harbor and through the cobbled streets. The next day, we began our tour of the area, including hiking up to the old Portuguese fort when it was used in the early 1700s to ship gold from Minas Gerais to Rio (and eventually on to Europe). Although we were warned of a “high index of accdents with oystrs,” we followed a bedrock trail to the ocean, known as the “Praia do Forte” which was not really a ... read more
Carnival, Rio de Janeiro and Paraty
Published: February 28th 2012South America » Brazil » Rio de Janeiro » Paraty
February 28th 2012
The flight from San Jose to Rio de Janeiro with Taca was comfortable and included copious free alcohol and a very easy transfer in Peru (take note USA!) so I arrived on Wednesday 15th feeling relatively refreshed. Rob and I crashed out on the bus but luckily Amber was alert and we got off next to their hostel in Copacabana. I was reliably informed that mine was a few blocks away but it was actually a half hour walk in searing heat with all of my gear. I arrived and found out I couldn't check in yet so headed to the beach for a quick nap and some sunburn. After seeing barely any Brits in over a month travelling Central America I was suddenly in a room with ten others, a few of which lived in ... read more
February 27th 2012
For the last four days we have been driving from Rio to Iguazu Falls. The first three nights we spent in a beautiful little town by the name of Partay on the coast we were meant to be camping but were happy to find out that we had been upgraded to a 5 bedroom house that a lovely old lady owned, she became known as Nanna to our whole group. Nannas house was lovely looking over the beach and the rooms had private ensuites and fans!!! The first thing we all did after our 11 hour drive was get changed and run to the beach only to fine that water was warmer than any shower we had been in while in Rio and the ground was covered in a think green slim. Everyone proceeded to run ... read more
February 27th 2012
Paraty was really just a place to stop off on the way to the Iguazu falls, and is a really great place for a brief visit! Paraty is an old colonial town and has really pretty historic centre with large cobble stones (some of which are more like rocks!), horse and carts, and many brightly coloured old buildings. We stayed in the cheapest hostel we could find, Don Quixone, which is right in the centre. The hostel was basic but fine, has two free computers and provides breakfast. BUT the rooms are ridiculously hot at night! We really struggled to sleep due to the lack of air con. You cant really complain for R$25 a night though. You really don't need more than a couple of nights in Paraty unless planning to travel to Trinidade which ... read more
