Partay and Ihla Grande

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Our final country to visit on the South America leg of our trip was Brazil and we were really looking forward to getting to some nice beaches along Brazils Atlantic Coast and relaxing. We found out when we arrived in Florianapolis on the Southern Coast of Brazil that conditions on the Atlantic coast here are a bit more conducive to sunbathing than on the Irish side of the Atlantic... we have 3 weeks to spend in Brazil so our plan was to travel up the coast in the direction of Rio De Janeiro.

I dont want to bore ye with too many details but suffice to see we have spent lots of our time on the beach since we arrived in Brazil. Florianopolis was our first stop in Brazil. We were staying at a place called Barra De Lagoa where we took a few days to chill out and enjoy the beach having not seen one in our previous two and a half months in South America. We were in a great location to explore some of the rest of Florianapolis as well and each of the four days we were here we took the local bus to a different beach. On Preia De Mole we did sand boarding on the massive sand dunes here. It was a good buzz going down the dune (if you could stay on the board) but hard work running back up. We fell off numerous times and Maire twisted her knee which put an end to her boarding and left her hobbling for a few days. No serious harm done thankfully.

We left Florianapolis after four days and even though its ¨winter¨ here the temperature still reaches mid twenties most days. We headed north for the Colonial town of Partay along the coast. We found Partay to be an absolute Gem of a place to visit and really enjoyed our stay. The charming walled town with its cobbled streets felt like stepping back in time and was the perfect base for travelling to just a few of its 60 Islands off the coast and the many other beaches near by. A festival was taking place at the time of our visit to Partay and the streets were a flood of colour and decoration. The Brazillians living here were so friendly to us visitors. We took a boat trip to some of the Islands off the coast of Partay and had a chance to swim in the turquoise waters.

On one of our nights in Partay our Hostel owner hosted a Barbeque which we went to. The food was good and there were Caprihanas (Brazils national drink) free all night. Partay really was one of the highlights of our trip so far. After four nights here it was time to throw the smelly sandals into the rucksack and move on again. Our final stop before Rio was the Island of Ihla Grande.

Ihla Grande, Brazils third largest Island is just south of Rio. Lots of other travellers had told us about Ihla Grande along the way so we did not want to miss it. The Island has just over three thousand Inhabitants. There are no cars or buses on the Island and not really any roads either. When we arrived off the boat we walked along the beach, and through a little stream to our hostel. As we were to find out, part of Ihla Grandes Beauty is the fact that its not spoilt by over development. It was a magical little place and when the sun went down in the evening there were no horns beeping or engines revving, to interfere with the sounds of the waves lapping against the shore. Ihla Grande, despite being an Island has its own Atlantic Rain Forest, and even though we seen some birds and monkeys, there were a few mosquitoes as well. We took some boat trips here as well and took a canoe out for a day. Its the perfect place to spend a few days and its rated in Lonely Planet as one of the top places in Brazil to visit its east to see why.

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Photos

Enough of that!
Peter ends up on his Ass