Ouro Preto - Ilha Grande – Paraty

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After the craziness of Rio at Carnaval, Tracy and I headed inland to the cooler, calmer highland town of Ouro Preto. This old mining town was once the richest place in the New World, but when the gold dried up all that were left was the beautiful buildings and the deliciously cooler climate.

We spent 2 wonderful days wondering the cobbled streets and visiting the old baroque churches built with gold money and suitably decorated.

With our batteries recharged, laundry done and overnight bus tickets in hand, we headed back to Rio and down the coast to a tropical island full of beaches and forested hills. Ilha Grande's beaches were stunning and visiting them all the more rewarding given that the best are only accessible by hiking over the lushly forested hills. The beaches were all different, some small, quiet, sandy coves, others long windswept expanses with squeaky white sand.

We tore ourselves away from Ilha Grande and traveled further south to the coastal town of Paraty. This old colonial fishing village has kept much of it's old world charm but added up-market cafes and art galleries to the mix.

As a break from lying on beaches we went to a waterfall and spent the afternoon swimming in pools and sliding down the water covered rocks.

The next day we went on a boat trip to visit some more beaches and swim in out-of-the-way lagoons.

Our final day involved a bus trip it a nearby village and a hike over some hills to an almost deserted beach with warm shallow waters.

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Photos

Ilha Grande
Hiking over the hills to beaches.

Hikeing on Ilha Grande
Take a good look at the hat because I lost it the next day.

Cachoeira Toboga water falls
The locals surfed the waterfall standing up... We sat down.