Ilha do Mel


Advertisement
Brazil's flag
South America » Brazil » Paraná » Ilha do Mel
December 21st 2005
Published: December 25th 2005
Edit Blog Post

So after sending out the last batch of blogs, Jen and I sat around the port in Paranagua drinking some beers and waiting happily in the sun for our boat to Ilha do Mel. Not long before the boat arrived the clouds rolled in and it began to downpour. Instead of the hour and a half beautiful scenic ride to the island we expected we were met with head on winds, driving rain, thunder and lighting. The boat chugged along fine at first but after about an hour the rain started seeping in through cracks in the ceiling and everyone on the boat had to huddle in the one dry area in the front. It was kind of exciting. For awhile we wondered if we would find the port and if we would even make it there! Alas, we arrived very wet...

Ilha do Mel is a beautiful island almost the shape of a whale. It has no cars and a lot of the island is a designated nature preserve that you are not allowed to explore. The only way to get around the island is on foot or by bicycle along the sandy trails. The majority of bars and guesthouses are greatly concentrated close to the port, which on the map of a whale would be the narrow part between the tail and body.
Our time in Ilha do Mel was short and most of our time there it rained. Our first evening we spent walking along Praia Grande which is a long beach on the eastern side of the island very popular with surfers due to its large waves that apparently roll all the way from Africa. Later that evening we went to one of the local restaurants and I had my first plate of seafood since arriving in Brazil. It was great. The only thing about going out in Ilha do Mel after dark is that all the trails are unlit which meant that if you don´t carry a flashlight you can´t see once it gets dark. We ended the night wandering the dark trail home hoping we didn´t bump into anything as we blindly found our way back...(yes, more prepared travelers would have read the guidebook and brought a flashlight...ahh but not us!)

Early the next morning Jen and I decided to get up really early, partly because we were eaten alive all night by mosquito's and partly because we wanted to make the most of our short time on the Island. After breakfast we decided to walk from the Lighthouse along the beach to an old portuguese fort about an hours walk to the north. We started out ok but about half way there we started to get mauled by big green flies. We spent the rest of our walk to the fort trying to avoid incoming fly attacks instead of looking at the beautiful views around us. We finally made it to the fort itching and swearing after having been eaten alive on the walk. And yes, this time we were prepared and did have loads of deet on but these bugs were seemed attracted to the deet!

The walk home was nice though, it was a little later in the day,the sun came out for a while and the bugs decided to give us a break.
After lunch (more fish for me, chicken for Jen) we went for a quick swim during the last of the sunshine and went back to the village area for a few drinks. I later tracked down a can of raid bug spray, and fogged our room for every living mosquito. Slept well that night!!
Monday morning we caught the early boat back to the mainland, this time with no storm insight we were actually able to see out of the boat and saw two groups of dolphins in the bay. It was pretty cool.

Back on the mainland we were headed off to Florianopolis for 8 days of beach and sunshine...


Additional photos below
Photos: 10, Displayed: 10


Advertisement



25th December 2005

jessssssssssss
count us in for the next trip to the chillout lounge!! :)

Tot: 0.083s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 10; qc: 52; dbt: 0.0511s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.1mb