Curitiba - Villa Velha - Ilha do Mel

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Our pursuit of deserted beaches was leading us to the island of Ilha do Mel, which in turn meant we had to pass through the city of Curitiba. This city wasn't a bad place but it came across as very forgettable. Tracy and I both thought it reminded us of Luton, with its shopping arcades full of discount shops and cheap chemists.

Just as Luton has great countryside and limestone hills out of town, so Curitiba has Villa Velha national park. The park is in a limestone area and has strange columns raising to the skies and sink holes that disappear into the ground. It made for an interesting afternoon's distraction and got us out of town.

We left Curitiba by train which we thought was going to be a wonderful journey through forests and take us to the port where we would cross over to Ilha do Mel. Unfortunately the curse of Luton had extended to the railway and after frequent stops the train arrived late to it's halfway point and was then cancelled due to communication problems down the line. We transfer to a replacement bus and arrived at our destination, but memories of commuting into London came flooding back. The forests were nice, although the ferry crossing was rather rocky and rainy.

Ilha do Mel did provided the empty beaches we were looking for and after a quick visit to the islands light house, we spent the day walking along beaches to a Portuguese fort. After a sunbath and swim we walked back, meeting 2, maybe 3 people on the 3 hour journey.

The next day we walked to the other side of the island where the gently slopping beaches gave way to crashing waves and ever present surfers waiting just beyond the breaks for the big one. Just as the sea was rougher, so was the land and we had to walk over a couple of hills to reach a cave inhabited by a mermaid, which looked surprisingly like Tracy ;-)

Walking back became a bit of a nightmare as the tide had come in whist we were walking and cut off the beach home. We decided to wait for the tide to go out, which wasn't of been to much of a hardship until a rain storm rolled in. In the end we scrambled over the rocks, in the rain, and spent the evening getting dry over a meal of freshly made pasta and a glass of wine.

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Photos

Villa Velha
You can just make me out at the bottom, middle of the picture.

Train ride from Curitiba
"This train will terminate here, please use the replacement bus service from outside the station."