Paraty was, more or less, a perfect tourist town. Quiet small, with a pedestrianised and cobbled centre, and a large waterfront filled with boats offering tours of Paraty Bay. Arriving on a Saturday, I was surprised to find out how busy the town (my hostel included) was. Someone told me that it was essentially a bank holiday weekend for everyone in Sao Paulo as it was a special anniversary of the city’s foundation, so to celebrate this, a lot of middle class Paulistanos flocked to the nearby beaches. On Sunday it seemed to quieten down considerably. I only spent 2 nights in Paraty, but this was about right to explore the town, the quays, the beaches and the old fort which overlooks the town (built to guard against British pirates using canons bought from the British).
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