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Published: January 19th 2009
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In Ilha Grande you will find abundant nature, jungle, incredible beaches, good wave etc etc....
Where is Ilha Grande
* Brazil, Southeast region, Rio de Janeiro state, Angra dos Reis district.
* From Rio de Janeiro about 180 Km - 3 hours by bus to Angra dos Reis (9€) around 10 am, then you take the ferry 1.5-2 hours by boot (2€) to Ilha Grande at 3.30 pm. To get to the ferry take the bus from the bus terminal called "Circular" (which goes the opposite way first), you can also walk but I would not recommend that in the heat 😞
The ferry was quite enjoyable but a bit too long with uncomfortable seats and gasoline smell throughout the journey. A more luxorious and faster version would be to take the catamaran for around 7€. Since it was leaving later we took the ferry.
We stayed in a lovely and highly recommended pousada
Cachoeira just 5 min walk from the center of town but yet far enough to feel almost remote. The setting of the pousada was amazing, our garden was looking straight into the jungle with a stream in the garden. So the only noise
you have are the birds, the waterstream and the sound of the jungle, if you are lucky you can see colibris. With hammocks, chairs and benches to relax the pousade was fantastic - we would have loved to stay longer. Per night we paid 46€ with breakfast - quite expensive but worth every penny. Also remember we are traveling in high seasion - where all prices almost double.
The first day we arrived late, so we went out for dinner and explored the area a bit.
On our second day (03.01.09) we took the boat to the most popular beach called Lopes Mendes. The boat brings you to Las Palmas Cove within 45 min from where you need to hike over the hill for about 20 min. You can take the bigger boats for about 6€ return -well worth every penny😉 On our boat ride to Lopes Mendes we met a brazilian guy - around 20 years old - who was travelling with his mother. As his mother didnt make the walk over the hill, Mauricio joined us. Quite an interesting and easy to talk to lad so we didn't mind. It is interesting to see brazilian society
from different angles - the lower and upper class. The latter one having the opportunity to do just anything. And what did we learn? Hm... a lot about Favelas and Brazilian politics, culture and religion but all from the view of an upper or middle class boy! Back to our beach excursion: As already mentioned it was worth coming to this beach - about 2 km white sand beach. The more you went to the western part the emptier the beach got. To hide from the scorching heat of the sun we layed underneath a tree or bush which had fruits similar to figs. And while we were relaxing I noticed a huge snake just 2 meters next to us. It was yellow with black stripes on its back and about 2 or 3 meters long and at least 3 inches thick. (Thanks to Ian. His suggestion seems right: it was a friendly Brazilian rainbow boa). How scary and yet amazing to see a snake just next to you in the wild. Upon return to the boat we got caught in a tropical rain - the boat leaves at Las Palmas Cove, so you hike back over the hill for
about 20 min. The rain was quite enjoyable, but then thunderstorm and lightening started as well. Since our boat was delayed we were allowed to take the earlier one - same company though. I have to say the brazilians seem very organized. On the boat we almost had a riot - a few brazilians got into a fight with the captain as they were refusing to buy additional tickets (they had tickets for a boat of a different company). Other passengers intervened, shouted at the captain until he banned those passenger to a non-covered part of the boat. Considering the heavy rain this was quite cruel. When we arrived at our Pousada it was quite late - we were soaked to the skin, cold, hungry and tired and fell as sleep immediately after a warm shower. But our stomach woke us up around 10pm - it seemed going for dinner around 10 pm was quite popular. The small city of Abraao was really busy - really unpleasant. Saturday night during high season, the town seemed overrun by local tourists and a few foreigners. If you can, try to come to Ilha Grande during the week and off season.
04.01.09
Got up early, had a really good breakfast and took it easy before we went hiking. The pousada is great for relaxing, it really feels like you are in a different location than in town. No noise, no smell, no crowds - just the pousada and the jungle. The weather seemed perfect to go hiking - it was rainy, quite windy and cool. We took the northern trail, you can see the differents trails and level of difficulty on
this Ilha Grande website . Our level was described as soft to medium level. But due to the rain I reckon it was a rather hard track. Anyway within just 30 min walk you are amidst the jungle. We wanted to head towards Saco de Ceu and take the boat back to Abraao. Along the trail there are two cachoeiras (waterfalls). The first one can be reached after doing Trail T1 and was quite easy. You can do it easily in flip flops. The waterfall was nice but nothing outstanding, a few people were swimming in the lagoon. The second part of the trail seemed more difficult, it got steeper and muddier, slidding seemed inevitable. We already had difficulties going downhill with proper
shoes but brazilians tourists were leaping up there like frogs, just wearing flip flops. Well and of course it had to happen - I slipped downhill and fell hard on my bum and head, making a loud bang sound 😞 Guess stubborn as I am, I had nothing but a slide headache. Of course we continued but this time with more care and slower - I have to admit I was bit anxious afterwards. With Andy climbing up front we eventually made it and reached waterfall of about 8 meters height. Nice but again nothing spectacular though a good spot to relax and enjoy the tranquility. As the weather got better - overcast with sunny spells - the jungle appeared or at least sounded different. Infact the animals of the jungle seemed to wake up, bird, frogs, cicada, the sound of the trees, bushes. While walking back the flora changed quickly: one moment you are in area with lots of ferns, then you are surrounded by bamboo tree. We scratched our initials in one of the huge bamboos amongst lots of other initials. After almost four hours we finally arrived at the beach where we got a taxi boat back
to Abraao. As we still had to pack we decided to stay in that night.
On 05.01.09 we headed to Paraty just 98 km south of Angra.
More pictures will follow, so check back if you are interested.
Read all about our next stop:
the colonial town Paraty Aynur & Andreas
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