Ilhabela, Paraty & Rio de Janerio

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After the wedding our English friends and family stayed in Brazil for a further couple of weeks. We had a great time doing not a great deal - eating , drinking , swimming, and getting excessively bitten by the local mosquitos.

One day we headed out to Eco Point in Ilha Bela and did a rather taxing assault course - me , the wife , Eve and Steve came back to the pool (where Mum and Dad were relaxing) saying "Im not sure you two should do that - its a bit tough" - well like a red rag to a bull Im pretty sure that it provoked them into action - and feeling they had something to prove to their children headed off to swing through the trees and crawl through oil barrels. They got back tired but proud !

The rest of the time on Ilha Bela really flew by , four of us went and a did a jeep trip to Castelhanos on the other side of the island , the following day we hired a speedboat and zoomed round the island doing some snorkelling en route (which I had never done before) but was great fun.

We did manage to escape the island for a couple of days when me, the wife (!) , Mum and Dad headed off to Paraty and Rio for a couple of days. Time for a quick plug - we went with Paulo from CIAVentuara - and it was an excellent trip - Paulo was not only a great guy who enhanced the trip but he organised everything extremely well. If you are on Ilha Bela and want anything from jeep trips , boat trips or city tours - go and see him. And meet trofel - his dog who will sit at the table and negotiate prices with you !!

So off to Paraty we went - an old colonial town with well restored buildings , it was a really nice place - although more touristy than anywhere else we have been in Brazil - I heard more English than Portuguese. Its well worth going though whether its to mooch through the (many) souvenir shops or just chill out and enjoy a beer at a cafe on the cobbled streets (needless to say me and Dad did the latter).

So after a night in Paraty - we headed up the coast to Rio. Even though we were only there for a day and a half we managed to fit in all the major sites - Christ the Redeemer (which is amazing with its views of Rio) , Sugarloaf Mount (which we went up at dusk - Rio takes a whole new perspective when the sun goes down and the lights come on) , we went for a Rodizio - a new eating experience for Mum and Dad which they seemed to enjoy.

The following morning was a bit of treat - we headed for the Maracana stadium - one of the biggest stadiums in the world steeped in the history of Brazils finest players. Bizarely Gina and Mum chose to go shopping instead of accompying me and Dad - being a bloke I cant understand this at all - and if any men reading it can you should seek counselling - urgently.

And that was our trip off the island - we spent the remaining time relaxing on the island before they all flew back to the UK. It was sad to see them leave but it was great seeing them in the first place and with the exception of the mosquitos I hope they all had a great holiday.

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Photos

On Sugarloaf
Christ the Redeemer is in the distance.

CIAVENTURA
For all your adventure needs call Paulo !