Blogs from Paraty, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America - page 10

Hey Guys, Well after a short bus ride we arrived in Paraty, which is a small colonial town on the Coast. We lucked out in the fact that the day we arrived was Corpus Christi and the locals cover the roads throughout the colonial part of town in amazing artwork made out of coloured sand and woodchips(see photos). It was pretty cool. Later that evening we watched the church procession and as they proceed to walk over all the artwork I guess it turned out well that we didn't wait to take pics;) Aside from the colonial town the other main attraction to Paraty is it's beaches, unfortunately for us the weather was not cooperating for any beach time. The next day we awoke to a super rain storm so we opted to catch up on ... read more

In a state of disarray, Chrissy and I had no idea we would end up in Paraty until our boat arrived back at the mainland from Isla Grande. We ran into Roey and Nero, Israli travelers we kept crossing paths with :) and they described a quiet colonial town on the Costa Verde (green coast) only a short bus ride from the port of Angra Dos Reis. Since we had no other plans it sounded perfect! Paraty (pronounced Para-che) is a historic town with fresh seafood restaurants, large cobble stone streets, and picturesquely restored Portuguese colonial buildings dating back to the 1500's. We found a quaint little place to stay, the Paraty Bed and Breakfast, and enjoyed the peace and quiet of the hotel and its location just outside of the low lights of the historic ... read more

In search of a little quiet time we headed down the coast to Paraty, a cute little town that was once central in the gold route from Minas Gervais mines to Portugal. The drive down was one of the most stunning of the trip as we swerved our way round jungle-clad bends, overlooking peaceful inlets with golden sand, picturesque rocks and waves that gently lapped the shore. We arrived in the evening and quickly settled in to our hostel where we met some friendly faces from our time in Florianopolis. A short walk along the beach as the sun set and our rumbly tummies demanded attention. Bring on the Pizza rodilla.... all you can of varying flavours with the convenience of never having to leave your table. I love Brazil. Next morning we awoke to fresh ... read more

So after an uneventful journey, albeit some fantastic scenery, we arrived in Paraty. I have to say that the bus service would put England to shame. It was the equivalent of the English National Express except that the buses run on time and the seats have loads of room. In fact they we had more leg room than on the 12 hour flight from London!!! We soon arrived in Paraty bus station so with the page from the lonely planet with a map of the town in hand and bags on our back we set of for our hostel. Unfortunately for us after 10m we got accosted by a guy trying to tell us he was from the local tourist board and wanted to help us find our accommodation. Despite getting a curt response fro me ... read more

Well, here we go again! We took a boat to a little town an hour and a half away to catch a bus to Paraty. The boat was great fun on the way to the town. Esteban colleague happened to be a on holidays with his girlfriend. He had a little guitar. We played and sang on the boat accross to the town. The time flew in. Tunes from Oasis to Ocean Colour Scene and Johnny Cash were sung. Great craic altogether. So we got a public bus to Paraty. The journey lasted 2 hours. We witnessed amazing views of the coast. Breathtaking is probably the better word to describe the views. We arrived in Paraty at approx 4pm. We all had a walk around the town. Esteban organised us for a bike ride into the ... read more