The One Where I Turned 30 In Brazil - Part 3 - Ilha Grande, Paraty and Rio de Janeiro.

Finally! - Part 3!! The last instalment of my Brazilian adventure is here and I know you’ve all been eagerly awaiting this right? I left my last blog post at the end of our time in Rio so now I will conclude with our time in Ilha Grande, Paraty and our last couple of days in Rio.

From Rio to Ilha Grande you can get a coach from the bus terminal which will take you to either Conceição de Jacareí or Angra dos Reis. Then it’s a short boat trip across the sea to Ilha Grande. Normally you don’t need to book your travel in advance, however as it was carnival and lots of people were heading in the same direction as us we didn’t want to risk not being able to get our bums on a seat. So instead, we booked a transfer with Green Toad Bus. They were really efficient (surprising considering the laid back nature of the country) and picked us from our hotel by minivan, with a boat waiting for us at Conceição de Jacareí.

The journey was perfect - apart from the torrential rain! The seats on the boat I chose for us meant that once the boat got moving, we were faced with rain water, sea water and gale force winds being blown into our faces. Not the best I’ve ever looked in all honesty! It was at that moment I started to panic that the weather would be like this the whole time we were there. I’ve been to Ilha Grande before and I know that most activities or day trips involve hiking, island hopping on boats or sunbathing on the many beautiful beaches the island has to offer. All of these require good weather, or at the very least no rain!

We had chosen to stay at Pousada Solar da Praia which was literally on the beach by the main port. The hotel was beautiful (and the breakfast was delicious!), the staff were great and as soon as we checked in they began telling us all the things the island has to offer. We checked the weather report and to my utter dismay it was forecast to rain non-stop for the next 3 days until…..the day we were due to leave! Can you believe the bad timing?! I was heartbroken!

Raj remained positive and kept reminding me that the weather didn’t matter - it was all about being in paradise together (which was a much better attitude to have), so as I’m a sucker for eating on the beach we found a restaurant called Café do Mar Bar e Restaurante. There was a big palm tree covering the tables which offered shelter from the rain, which was beautifully wrapped in fairy lights making me feel like I was in my own fairytale. We got comfy and slowly sank our feet into the sand as we ate our dinner and watched the sunset. So ok, at that moment I had forgotten all about the bad weather - we were in paradise and I was going to enjoy every second!

The first thing I did when we woke up the next day was look out the window, and to my delight it wasn’t raining!! We ate the amazing breakfast that was included at the hotel and decided we were going to go on an ambitious 10km trek through the mountains to Cândido Mendes, an abandoned prison. Ilha Grande used to be home to this high security prison until 1994 and what is left of the building is now a free museum where you can learn about the criminals that were captive there and how they were treated. I’m a bit of a history geek so this was right up my street!

The trek was fairly easy allowing us to marvel in awe at the breathtakingly stunning nature around us. In total it took us around 2 hours to reach the prison. The village that we were greeted with did have an eerie feeling to it, like I was on the set of a horror film. There were a few small houses and a couple of local cafes but other than that it was a ghost town!

Once we had spent a couple of hours indulging our history geek-ness, it was time to head back to the mainland. We could have trekked it back, but I wanted to get a taxi boat as the sky was turning grey (so far, we hadn’t had a drop of rain all day- amazing!). We headed for the beach and found a few other tourists who’d had the same idea as us. Once there were enough people, we were told that this boat would take us to Lopes Mendes beach. From there, we would need to do a short 20 minute hike up and over a mountain and then get another boat from the beach on that side. Fine by me- boats are fun right? WRONG. The choppy sea with our TINY boat filled with A LOT of people making us feel like we were going to capsize at any moment! It had also started to rain (surprise!) which didn’t do anything to make us feel safer.

We finally got off the boat and began our trek over the mountain. It was a shame because Lopes Mendes beach is one of the most beautiful beaches on the island and we weren’t able to fully enjoy it because the rain was coming down harder and faster and we just needed to get back to the hotel in one piece! Now…...the trek was an adventure in itself. I’m not being dramatic when I say I saw my life flash in front of my eyes a number of times. As it had been constantly raining the previous day and now, the ‘walkway’ made out of mud was no longer a walkway and instead was a slippery, mushy slope which soon turned into a stream of water that we had to navigate our way up and down - all whilst trying to avoid joining the hundreds of people falling over. I grabbed for any branches nearby, clinging on for dear life and practically clawed my hands into the mud to keep myself steady (fully aware that there were steep drops either side of me). There were plenty of slippery moments and close calls but by some divine intervention, I was one of the few people who didn’t actually fall. However I was the one crying like a baby at times! Safe to say, by the end of it we were completely covered in mud and my trainers were ruined!

Finally we made it to the beach where we got the final boat back to the hotel. For some reason the boat we were told to get on was the only boat without a roof and the rain was hammering down on us. It was honestly something out of a comedy show. I wish I had somehow managed to film it but of course I wasn’t able to because I could barely keep my eyes open from the wind and rain, let alone get my camera out!

Looking back I can really laugh about the whole situation (now I know we survived the ordeal!) but right then I was terrified and wasn’t sure if we would ever make it back to the hotel! It’s a story to tell I guess!

Our final day in Ilha Grande consisted of buying a second poncho (my first one ripped in the adventure we’d had the previous day) so we could walk to restaurants to eat but other than that, we had made friends with a couple who were staying in our hotel and played the card game Uno for hours! It wasn’t the 3 days I’d had in mind - but it was definitely adventurous!

The following day we had booked a transfer with Green Toad Bus again where we were driven to the colonial town of Paraty. I know you’re all wondering - the weather was getting better and we could finally pack the ponchos away in our suitcases for the time being! Hurrah! We stayed at Pousada do Príncipe for 3 nights. The staff were brilliant and now I think about it, this was something I had noticed with all of the hotels we had stayed in so far. The hotel was a short 5 minute walk from the historic town centre which I was eager to visit so once we had unpacked, we headed down there to go and explore. One word- WOW. I told you I was a history geek - so seeing one of the best preserved colonial coastal towns in Brazil, I was in my element.

Once we had spent a couple of hours walking down the many cobbled streets, we took the time to book a couple of tours for the next two days. We booked through Paraty Tours and opted for the Jeep and the Trindade Beach Tour.

The Jeep tour consisted of travelling deep into the jungle (along the route where gold used to be transported). We visited a few waterfalls, a Cachaca distillery where we got to try a number of different variants of my favourite alcohol and then we stopped off for lunch at a restaurant in the jungle. The tour guide even let me feed a monkey!

The waterfalls were beautiful! But the one I was really looking forward to was the Cachoeira do Tobogã - The waterfall slide! I had seen this when I was doing my research leading up to our trip and it was something that looked a tad scary but I was so keen to slide down myself. Obviously I had a go twice - even though both times I managed to break a nail but it was just so much fun!

The sun was shining on our final full day in Paraty which was perfect to visit the 3 different beaches. It involved a tiny bit of hiking between the beaches and I decided to opt out of the final hike (which was optional) as the pathway was similar to that in Ilha Grande and I’d had my fair share of terror this trip! I sunbathed on the beach, swam in the sea and bought Brazilian chocolates from a beach vendor. The hikes that I did take part in were easy to moderate and the views were worth it! You can get a local bus to these beaches and do this trip yourself, but considering it had been raining for the week leading up to this day, I’m glad we had a tour guide to help and guide us if we needed.

Paraty was magical and everything I had hoped for and more. I would love to return one day and get lost on the cobbled streets while being transported back to the 18th century all over again.

The following morning, we had a coach booked from the bus terminal at 7AM to take us back to Rio. We decided not to book with Green Toad bus for this trip as it would have added an extra 2 hours onto the journey. Our hotel in Paraty was aware that we would be missing breakfast so they made up little packed lunches for us - such a nice touch and was very much needed!

By the time we were back in Rio, there wasn’t a cloud in sight and the temperature was over 30 degrees. Our plan was to rest, relax, sunbathe and catch up on our holiday tan that we had missed out on in Ilha Grande.

We decided to splash out on our final night and had booked to stay at Santa Teresa Hotel RJ - MGallery. No joke, this was one of the nicest hotels I have ever stayed in my entire life. We were treated like royalty as soon we stepped out of the Uber at the entrance. We were then given coconut water and a cold wet flannel on arrival (cue us both looking towards each other hoping one of us knew what to do with it) - we used it to wipe our faces and hands in the hope that this was the correct thing to do..Who knows?

Our room was perfect - it was very spacious and we had a balcony overlooking the gardens. At that moment, we knew we had chosen the right hotel for our final night. There was no need to leave the hotel as there was a pool, hot tub, spa and a Michelin star restaurant on site called Térèze. The restaurant and pool looked out onto the views of Lapa and the city of Rio de Janeiro.

We spent the rest of the day enjoying the sun and soaking up the rays by the pool. I booked a massage for the following day and we booked a table at the restaurant that evening. It was incredible. The food was 10/10, the waiter was lovely and the view was beautiful! Considering the level of service, the price was pretty decent as well. I would have expected to spend at least three times as much if we were in England.

We woke up on our final day of the trip completely content…...until it dawned on me that it was our final day. I was completely devastated at the fact we would be returning to the UK that evening and I think I cried at least 15 times throughout the afternoon! However, my hour long full body massage cheered me up and was exactly what I needed. Great way to finish the trip!

When we were in the taxi to the airport, the sun was setting beautifully behind the mountains of Rio. I made a promise to the city (and myself) that I would be back to visit as soon as possible. The country and its passion, the music and its energy, the people and their kindness, I will be back.

Brazil, you stole my heart once more.

Laura- Ann

x