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Published: February 23rd 2008
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Full Moon
and very little light pollution to mess it up! With so many awesome memories of Rio, sat on the bus winging our way away from there, it was hard not to feel a little down. The carnaval was for me one of the real highlights I was looking forward to during my time out here and it certainly didn´t disappoint.
Of course im not one to dwell on the past...well except for that time I had my pants pulled down in the school library in front of everybody, unfortunately that haunting memory will stay with me forever. At least im not bitter!
So with renewed vigour we made our way to Ilha Grande, a small island off the south coast of Brazil. Time for a spot of rest and relaxation! Clearly this was too much to ask for as we ran into difficulty straight away in finding accommodation. I know what you are thinking, why didnt we book ahead....well we had thought about it, but the hostel in Rio said there would be no need this time of year. Why don´t we just go on our first instict!
I´ve composed a little ditty about our search for a place to stay, so here goes.....
we turned
up today and we had no place to stay
we checked in the hostels but were told to go away
me & brad were turned away by 8 pousadas
then we met Jose and he tried a little harder!
He led us to a room, but it only had 2 beds
if we have to, I dont mind sharing i said
lets go check with chris, we dont want a kerfuffel
when we got back, he´d let it to a Norwegian couple!
Well its called Ilha Grande
theres nowhere left to rent
does anybody know a place where we can buy a tent!
well Jose didnt stop and he said he´d help us out
I have to admit that first we had our doubts
a place on the hill with room enough for 3
its used to be owned by Jose´s granpappy
So we followed Jose to his place up on the hill
sweating so much, its like walking on a grill
when we arrived about this place we were wrong
the place was massive with a patio and air con!!!
well its called Ilha Grande
we found a place to rent
its got air
con so we dont need a tent
so as you´ve probably gathered, not for the first time our situation turned on its head and we were saved...yay!!
So on the first full day, we decided to walk across to the south of the island, to check out a surfers beach called Lopez Mendes. When the woman at the tourist information desk said you might want sturdier footwear than just flip flops as it´s a bit rocky, our response should have been....ok, we´ll go change´. Alas we are English, that means we said ´ok, thanks´....bowled out of there and thought f*** it we´ll be alright. A little bit rocky?! it was all rocky, pretty much all uphill and took about two hours!! Not impressed would be an understatement. Still it was a cool beach, not a two hour death march beach, but pretty cool.
The following day Brad and I hired snorkels, but the water was pretty damn murky...so we quickly gave up on that idea and I spent the rest of the day strumming on the beach. (my guitar, people....shame on you!) Ilha Grande is actually a very picturesque little island. It seems much more like a
Is it just me...
or will some people go to any lengths to reduce the weight of the cox in rowing! Carribbean/African island than a Brazilian one.....the perfect way to unwind or at least it should have been.....
On our final day, we decided to hike 26kms and back to the ruins of an old prison on the south of the island. They stopped using it back in 1994 and actually demolished part of it. So this time, armed with suitable footwear, we set out along a track through the woodlands towards the prison. It took about 2 odd hours to get there and in my personal opinion, it was a little bit disappointing as mosty of it has been torn down. On the way back I genuinely don´t think I have ever sweat so much...even my sweat was sweating!!
Well we´re up early the next day ready to get the ferry back to the mainland, a little too early in fact. We completely didnt realise the clocks have altered, so we have an extra hour to wait!!
When we arrive at the mainland, we jump on the bus to Sao Paulo station, which is where we say our goodbyes to Chris as he´s off down the coast to Florianopolis, whilst Brad and I check out the sprawling
Did you know.....
According to some people (you know who you are), statistically you are more likely to be killed by a falling coconut, than you are in a shark attack. Funny, coconuts dont quite have the same menacing appearance as that of a Great White!! metropolis of Sao Paulo for a few days.
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