We took our last South American overnight bus from Iguazu to Sao Paolo, where we killed a few hours in the early morning in the bus station before catching another bus to Parati. Parati is a little colonial town on the coast south of Rio. White-washed buildings, fishing boats in the bay, and snack stands on the beach. It´s a pretty town to stop in if you´re making your way up or down the coast, but with the increasing number of restaurants and boutiques it´s at risk of loosing its charm. To be fair we didn´t take a boat out to any islands, which are supposed to be a highlight and it was cloudy, so we may not have seen Parati at her finest. Nonetheless, we enjoyed our time there, walking the cobbled streets and enjoying our first beer on a Brazilian beach.
Ilha Grande on the other hand is a little slice of paradise. A two hour ferry ride off the coast, Ilha Grande is a large island (about the size of Brooklyn), mountainous, and covered in rain forest. While fairly close to Rio, the island was protected and was used as a prison til the mid-90s, which has kept it relatively undeveloped. Today the entire island is protected land with only one small village. No cars are allowed on the island and the only way to get around the island is by boat or by a series of trails connecting the various beaches. We hiked a cross the island to spend the afternoon at the white powdery surf beach of Lopes Mendez one afternoon. Another day we took a boat to a snorkeling spot. The best times, however, are just wandering the trails til you get to a georgious beach all to yourself.
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