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Published: October 17th 2009
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Ilha Grande ahoy!
About to set sail from Angra... Ilha Grande
25th September 09 - Day 19
Nearly didn´t make it to the Island as the transfer we´d arranged with the Aquario Hostel never turned up...and in true Brazilian style, didn´t call to let us know! We sat waiting for 2 hours (true British style), called a couple of times to chase and we kept being told they´re on their way and then finally told that the driver had a problem with the car, just never called to let us know! Great... so we jump in a taxi and rush to the bus station. Luckily a bus was leaving in 30 mins to Angra where we needed to catch the ferry. The 4 hour journey to Angra was interesting! The bus driver drove like an F1 driver round these windy roads on top of the mountains and I swear at one point it was on 2 wheels! By the time we arrived at Angra we were both feeling a little queasy. We had just missed the last ferry (catamaran) so had to wait 1 and 1/2 hours for another boat to take us which took double the time. By this point we didn´t care, we were just glad
A room with a view
The view from our balcony, what Lizzy woke up to on her birthday :-) we could get there!
By the time we arrived on the island it was dark, we pulled up to the dock and walked off onto the beach. The shore was lined with restaurants, shops, places selling boat trips and loads of little craft shops. There was a great feel to the place, you knew it was special...we loved it instantly. We walked about 1km along the beach to our hostel. First impressions were good. It sat right on the beach, had it´s own dock and natural swimming pool. Our room was on a balcony which overlooked the sea. Our first night we did some exploring and went to a recommended fish restaurant which was amazing!
26th September 09 - Day 20 - LIZZY´S BIRTHDAY!
Woke up to the best view ever...the sun was shining, boats docked about the sea and beautiful mountains in the background. We´d planned on hiking to Lopes Mendes, one of the best beaches in the world (according to the Times) so we got up early and went for breakfast. The people at the hostel were very apologetic about messing up our transport and offered us a free boat trip to Lopes Mendes...result! The sea
was choppy which made the boat trip more of a rollercoaster ride.
When we got there we had to hike over this mountain for what was meant to take 20 mins (but took Lizzy more like 40) to get to the beach but it was worth it!! Words do not do justice... it was breathtaking. It was by far the most amazing beach either of us had ever seen. It was the hottest day we´d had in a while and Lizzy was happy! It was pretty much deserted apart from the odd person scattered about. There was a little hut selling beer and sandwiches, a couple of surfer dudes with boards to hire and that was it.
We relaxed all day and when we were too hot, decided to have a dip...however unbeknown to us we went straight into the section where the current is strongest and drags you out to sea. The waves were huge.
We were trying to swim back to shore but kept being pulled further out. It wasn´t until we saw a ´lifeguard´ waving his arms at us looking quite concerned and another Brazilian about to swim out to rescue us that we started getting
worried! Luckily, as we´re both good swimmers we managed to spare the embarressment of having to be rescued and walked out ourselves! That was enough sea for us!
We got the boat back and as we´re walking along the beach to our hostel we bump in Bianca from Sao Paulo! We laughed about the coincidence and arranged to meet that evening for drinks.
We went for dinner at another recommended restaurant which was a small, cosy place, right on the beach. It was lovely being able to hear the waves over a candlelit meal and it was the first bottle of red wine we´d had since we arrived in Brazil.
Once we went to the bar and met Bianca and her friend, the nice, romantic, civilised part of the evening soon ended and it seemed the objective was to get Lizzy as drunk as possible...(she´d already made a start). With a mix of Caipirinhas and shots of Cachaca, soon enough Lizzy and Bianca were up with the locals attempting the Samba (there is video evidence).
It was a great 25th birthday...
27th September 09 - Day 21
HUNGOVER...
Had lunch in one of the pizza bars
Boat Trip
Blue Lagoon on the beach but made the mistake of ordering a large pizza to share...it was enough for about 10 people. Half way through and we´re both about to explode we attempt to ask for a doggy bag to take the rest with us...the waiter nods and quickly takes the pizza away. 5 mins later he comes back with clean plates and cuttlery which confuses us...another couple of minutes the pizza reappears, freshly heated. Great...our communication skills triumph again.
We were both really sunburnt from Lopes Mendes and Lizzy had a white mask from where her sunglasses and became ´The Mask of Zorro´which Rick found hilarious.
Laid on the beach next to the hostel for the afternoon...
28th September 09 - Day 22
Went on a boat trip with Bianca and Rudi to the Blue Lagoon where we could snorkle. It was a nice day and we saw quite a few fish! :-) There were 4 other stops included on the trip to beaches and historical sites around the Island.
In the evening the weather turned and a storm was heading for the Island. We´d heard rumours of people being stranded on the island during storms here. Once the worst
had passed we went out in the rain for some farewell caipirinhas.
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Jane
non-member comment
Birthday
Wonderful pictures, what a dream place to spend your birthday!!!!! Great blog.... love to you both from mum, dad and steve, jackson, luther, smokey and angus xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx