Enjoying Paraty

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Hello! Sorry for the delay in getting this one out. We had trouble getting our hands on a computer. We´re currently waiting for a boat that leaves for Ilha do Mel so we´ve got some time to update this....
So after leaving Rio we headed straight to Parati a beautiful colonial town 4 hours south of Rio along the Costa Verde (the green coast). First a little history- Parati is a small town of 15,000 which has been named a national monument as UNESCO considers it to represent one of the world´s most important examples or Portuguese colonial architecture. Not only that - but the bay of Parati has over 300 beaches and 65 islands. It is truly a beautiful place. The old historic part of town is completely pedestrianized so the only sounds we heard from our pousada (guest house) window are the sounds of horse carriages carrying locals through the streets.
After the craziness of Rio when we first arrived in sleepy Parati we wondered what we would do for three days in the small town. We ended up having a fantastic time! We spent our first day walking around the cobbled streets enjoying all the little shops and the amazing architecture. It was funny because after an hour of walking around on these massive cobblestones you begin to crave flat pavement! But there really is none to be had in Parati!
Our second day we took a schooner tour of the surrounding islands and beaches. It was just gorgeous! The boat sailed to four different islands. At each one the boat would literally just stop in the middle of the ocean and we would just all jump off the boat
directly into the water and swim around. If you wanted you could swim onto land or just get back on the boat. The water was warm and crystal clear at one point we even saw star fish at the bottom of the sea! It was great after all the traveling to spend a day lounging on a boat sipping caipirinhas.
On our third day we decided to visit the waterfalls in the area. We took a jeep tour and luckily there were only three of us going that day so we had a guide all to ourselves which was fun. We stopped at 4 different waterfalls and got to swim in each one. One of them was a naturally formed water slide. Imagine a massive rock with water running down it falling directly into a huge pool of water surrounded by rocks. John and I were scared to test out the 'slide' at first but after some coaxing by our guide John went first. After John survived I went too. It was sooooo scary because you had no clue if you would end up in the water or on the rocks!! However due to the formation of the rock and the way the water runs you always end up in the water even if it doesn´t look like it. It was the highlight of our day! We were also able to visit a local cachaca distillery, eat lunch at a local farm and take some hikes in the surrounding forests where our guide showed us a tree that smelled like garlic and a plant that explodes in your hand when you touch it! All in all a great day.
We really have had a great time and were sad to leave Parati. Next off to Curitiba...

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Comments

[Marcela]

Relaxing
You guys look so happy and relaxed. yay!! wish I was there sliding down the rocks... :)

[Giacomo]

chevereeee
la proxima vez tenemos que irnos de viaje juntos!!!! saludos! giax