PARATY

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We arrived in Paraty early evening on 21st February. Overloaded with our bags we decided to take a taxi. Little did we know however that there was a taxi “mafia” in town and they fixed the prices of the taxis. The first driver quoted us the equivalent of £15 to go 5 kms which of course we would not pay. He was a bit insane (and possibly blind) too so we were glad we didn’t go with him. We then tried to negotiate but there was no way they would reduce their fares. Someone from the tourist office attempted to get a cheap driver for us, but when the car pulled up he was accosted by the taxi “mob” and quickly drove away. We had no choice but to begrudgingly pay the official taxi driver to take us to our accommodation.

About the accommodation - WOW! It’s a stunning condominium in a Marina, 4 bedrooms over 3 floors, all with huge ensuites, an enormous kitching/living area and of course a couple of large balconies for outside space. It was so lovely that we wondered if we would want to go out at all or just stay in for the next few days.

On waking the next morning we discovered the tennis court and the large swimming pool. The pool was the perfect temperature, warm enough not to take your breath away and cool enough to give you some relief from the intense heat.

On our first day we didn’t venture out, just enjoyed our temporary home.

Day two and we went to explore the historic centre of Paraty. It is a tidy colonial town with some sweet colourful buildings, uniquely all with lots of doors and windows opening out onto the cobbled streets. There were many small shops selling quaint arts and crafts which were very tempting (but the backpack is bulging already so we resisted).

The beaches around the town were pretty but the water was muddy so we just enjoyed relaxing on the beach for a bit.

Next day we took a cruise on a large schooner with about 10 other people. The boat left from the pier where there were ten or more boats just the same, along with dozens of smaller boats painted in pretty colours (many touting for business). The day was perfect, although scorching hot. They took us to a couple of islands and some beaches. We did a little snorkelling but the fish were all the same. The swimming was great though, jumping straight from the boat into the warm sea. The islands were so lush and tropical and the beaches absolutely pristine. It was one of those days that are just perfect and so relaxing that you don’t want it to stop. Just before we returned to Paraty a storm set in.

On our final day we woke to a very grey day. It had rained all night and didn’t look like easing. However, we had booked a jeep tour to waterfalls so donned our rain jackets and got on the bus to town. In spite of the rain the tour was great. We were with a couple from Santiago who spoke English so enjoyed chatting to them. We went to a couple of waterfalls, the first where Andy and Amy had a swim (while Nickie and I watched).

The second waterfall was over some smooth granite boulders which people use as a natural slide. However, due to the rain the current was far too strong to swim in so we just went for a walk in the area.
We also visited a Cachaca distillery and did a little sampling of different flavoured cachaca liquors (the chocolate one was particularly nice).

Also we had lunch at a riverside restaurant and visited a bromeliad and orchid garden.

The most memorable event of the day was crossing a river bed which was really quite flooded - our driver put his foot down and we held on tight - Andy was sitting in the front and watched in awe as the water came up to the windscreen. I watched in horror from the back at how deep we were and prayed he wouldn’t stall the jeep. Needless to say we were fine and it gave us a bit of excitement for the day.

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