Blogs from Ilha Grande, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America - page 3

Day 93 Yesterday, we arrived at our hostel on Abraao beach at around 5pm and, unfortunately, were greeted with rain. Nevertheless, we headed down to the beach in our rain jackets and managed to have a very pleasent night under an umbrella with a fish dinner and a few caipirinhas whilst listening to some really cool live music. This morning, hoping to catch the best part of the day before the weather turned bad again, we took a speedboat to Pouso beach, then took a 40 minute walk to the beautiful Lopes Mendes beach. Despite the overcast, and showery weather, it was still 25-30 degrees and we had a nice day at the beach. Around 3pm we headed back to Abraao beach, this time by foot. It was a beautiful, but exhasting trek through the rainforest, ... read more

Not so great is how I always manage to be hungover when traveling to a different place. Makes sense in a way because the last night in a place you want to make a big one. So after a couple hours sleep I got into the mini van that would take us to Ilha Grande. We drove round several hotels and hostels to pick people up. There were about 12 of us in total, 4 of whom were hungover. There were 3 English guys who got in, didn't think it was possible but I think they were more hungover than I was. Everyone on the bus was really friendly and got on really well. Took us about 2 hours to get to the ferry which would take us to Ilha Grande. Another great experience with a ... read more

Na zes nachten Rio vinden we het allebei weer tijd voor iets nieuws. Aangezien we ons totaal niet voorbereid hebben, gaan we af op de verhalen en plannen van andere reizigers. Vele van hen gaan naar Ilha Grande omdat dat de place to be zou moeten zijn. Wij kunnen dan natuurlijk niet achterblijven en regelen vervoer. Ilha Grande (wat wij constant op de Franse manier uitspreken 'Grande' terwijl de Braziliaanse wijze 'Grandtjjje' is) is een eiland zo'n 3 à 4 uur rijden ten zuiden van Rio de Janeiro. De ene kant van het eiland wordt druk bezocht door rijke Braziliaanse jetsetters. Het andere deel is meer voor het klootjesvolk: gewone reizigers en backpackers. We hebben afgesproken dat we om 11:00 uur worden opgehaald bij ons hostel. Op Ilha Grande zijn geen pinautomaten en Tijs gaat daarom ... read more

Going to head out to Iiha Grande today, only heard good things about this so I´m expecting it to be pretty mint. I came around to Rio in the end. Copacabana beach is tidy for a run, a swim and a few drinks. Old Jesus on the hill is quite tidy as well.... read more

On monday night I arrive at the incredibly basic hotel off Copacabana beach that GAP adventures has decided to start the tour in (with the words of my travel agent ringing in my ears "oh yeah normally they put you somewhere really nice for the first night...") I meet Sarah my new roommate who i´ll be sharing with for the duration of the tour, a leggy North Londoner with Pre Raphaelite locks, a penchant for mini dresses and bubbling laugh. I have a feeling we are going to get on. Then we meet Alberto. Alberto is a half man, half Labrador Spaniard with an amiable bordering on lascivious grin and huge brown stomach that he delights in showing off at every opportunity. We discover that he has spent all of the previous night on the beach ... read more