So I'll never get this done if I don't just do it now! Does it still count as a blog if I'm in the comfort of my own (well, my dad's) home? YES! At least I can do this - the photo album may take over 5 years to complete, as some of my European travels are still outstanding from 6 years ago, but that's another story :)
SO i rolled into Paraty, which i had heard much about from the Duponts as well as other folks who said to make sure and stop there (aside from Patrick who said to skip it - no thanks to him, the place was fabulous!). It is a little colonial town full of old churches, cobblestone streets, lots of ice cream shops and cute restaurants. Yeah, well those cobblestone streets were of no help to me when I arrived in my suede Argentinian loafers that didn't appreciate the rain and bumpy road underneath! Before I got there I was laughing on the bus as I read Caroline's email saying Sao Paulo had gotten terrible weather after I left...thinking I had escaped the rain (thank God!). But alas halfway thru my busride I cringed as I saw the clouds rolling in :( Didn't stop me from enjoying the place though!
I got approached by 2 different hostel guys as I jumped off the bus, and went with the one that I had heard better things about (yes, I did my research on hostelworld.com!). Too bad the Historic Centre Hostel could only take me for 1 night, and I didn't have the energy to go all the way back to the other one that was on the opposite side of the bus station. Plus i felt like I was walking thru a maze getting to HCH, so I decided to stay put. I had read about the "bad mattresses" at the other hostel, Casa do Rio, but how could they be any worse than the one I had to sleep on that night?! I felt the wood underneath my back, end of story. Only consolation was I had my own dorm room (and therefore my own bathroom).
I decided to join the bbq the hostel put on that night - wasn't the cheapest but I didn't know anyone yet and I wanted to do something! It was at a small bar the hostel owner owned just down the road...so I got there and hung out with a couple British guys and a German girl who bless her heart didn't speak much English. THe bbq was okay - I enjoyed the potatoes and the beef but the sausage wanted to make me gag :) There was this enormous group of Indian-descent English people there that had been on my bus. They seemed very nice but young...apparently they were on a GAP Tour (I had never heard of this before - and no, not gap as in gap year, but it's a tour company that organizes trips for 3 months at a time or so for rich kids). Anyway, their 2 big tables kind of put a buzzkill on my dinner since I couldn't just join up with them! After half a caipirinha and getting yelled at by the drunk hostel owner's son, I was over it, so I walked around the town, enjoyed self serve ice cream that cost about $6 (ha! I swear it wasn't that big!) and ended up in a restaurant/bar listening to this awesome guitarist singer who was playing typical bossa nova tunes (such as Girl from Ipanema). Guy was really good too! After that I retired to the HCH again for a good nights rest...well, as good as it could be on those mattresses...
My 2nd day in Paraty, with the weather still kind of crappy (but no more rain thank goodness), I had been advised of some pretty cool hikes you could take to get to some secluded beaches. This other American girl told me about one that took her all day, so I thought that sounded like a good idea, and a way to get exercise! So I followed her instructions and went to the bus station to jump on the bus to the end of that line at Praia do Sono. Didn't know it was an hour busride to THEN start the 1 hour hike to the beach! I was kind of skeched out on the bus and wanted to be lo-pro so I just sunk down in my seat and pulled my hat low over my face. haha. I got to the stop and thank GOODNESS one of the houses rented out their bathroom cuz I was dyin. Had my newly found "fanny pack" on which was actually the top part of my ginormous backpack which just snapped off. Excep the fanny "pack" was probably 3x the size of a regular one, but nonetheless still much smaller than my day pack which was HUGE! So i was happy with the lighter load. So i did the 1 hour trek to the beach, which was gorgeous - sun or not. See photos. There was another couple ahead of me, which made me happy in case I slipped and fell and had one of those "I've fallen and I can't get up" moments. I walked about half way down the beach, which had only a few people on it, plus some locals working the little shacks/homes selling sodas or renting little boats. The gross part though were the dead birds on the sand! Eeeeww. I tried to avoid them, but there were quite a few scattered. So I posted up and laid down in my clothes since it wasn't hot enough for a suit. Took a nappy poo and just enjoyed the rest. Even saw some little crabs that would pop up from holes in the sand and scurry across to the next one. THey were cute - from a distance of course. I didn't want to have to make it literally "pound sand" by getting near me!!
After my little nap I decided to follow this pack of people that came thru and kept walking then disappeared off the other edge of the beach. Hmm, new adventure ahead? yeah! So i followed, knowing I wanted to get back in daylight therefore needed to leave that beach by 3:30 or so. I think it was about 2:30. So i kept on hiking up and over this other hill to find yet another gorgeous beach, Praia do Antiguas. Green water, rocks, and lots of 'sploring to do! And I realized that's where the couple had gone off too. Oops, sorry to ruin your romantic moment! Anyway, again I was happy they were there as I went rock climbling over the water. No slips though, and safely made it back to Praia do Sono and all the way back to the bus by 5pm. Yeah! I was like self-motivating too...the hike wasn't so bad, but b/c of the humidity, I was literally soaking wet with sweat as I got on the bus. GROSS! I usually am not like that so it was kind of embarassing, but hey, it happens and I'm sure they didn't care! Oh, best part about riding the buses is seeing all the old and young Brazilian dudes all get on and off and just their faces, weathered but so kind. And even better is their feet - all of them wear Havaianas! Haha, wish I would've busted out my camera to take a picture. Even I, biggest feet hater in the world, enjoyed looking at them ;)
So b/c I toiled all day hiking, I wanted to treat myself to a really "expensive" dinner in town. So many places to choose from, but I had walked by one the night before which had articles and reviews from New York Times and the likes, so I thought that sounded good. Of course I go back that night ot find it, and it's closed! What?! It was a Wednesday, so random! So I found another one that looked good, again with live bossa nova music. This lady wasn't nearly as good as the guy from the night before, and in fact I may have been able to sing better than her (which isn't saying much!) but it still provided a wonderful atmosphere for my healthy shrimp, vegetable and mango steamed dinner with salad before. And I had my book - best companion ever ;) OH, when I first returned from my looong day, I walked into HCH looking like I was ready to pass out, but knowing that, ugh, i had to switch hostels b/c HCH was booked! Oh I was so distraught! But the hostel owner's son (yes, the drunk one from the night before), looked at me and laughed and said, "Sit down, take a rest first!". Which I did but then made my way to look for this other hostel they told me about, and after 10- minutes of wandering and asking tourist offices where it was, etc, and carrying a total of probably 60 lbs b/t my backpack and daypack, i wa OVER IT! I said, fine, I'll walk allllll the way to that other hostel, Casa do Rio!! Arrgh. But i was happy I did, cuz it was tolly cute, and I had a couple cool girls in my room that i was maybe going to meet up with later. Well, after my dinner I was exhausted and ready to just chill. So i walked around a bit more, than came home, checked email and tried to book my Ilha Grande hostel, and went to bed!
Next day, the sun came out, yeahh! Of course it was a day I was traveling, shocker, but I took advantage of the few hours I had to walk around town and really get a tasted for it. Mistakingly, I wore a short sleeve shirt and a knee length skirt, but I didn't have many tank tops! It was soooo hot, I was again sweating profusely. But I got to walk out to the local beach, see the pretty churches, and watch the fisherman at work. Great great town. Actually tried to find any decent tank top - even to the point of buying a cheesy one with a sandal and "Paraty" on it (you know the stores we all hate) but seriously everything was either tiny size or super expensive! SO lame...so i had to go back to the bus station and i was so annoyed when the guy wouldn't sell me a ticket for a 1pm bus at like 12:15pm (I wanted to reserve my seat!). He said, no, come back 10 minutes before, and I said, no, I want you to sell me a ticket NOW! Ya, well he won and i bought one right on the bus since they wouldn't have it any other way. THankfully I made it safely 2 hrs later to Angra dos Reis which is the town where you catch the ferry to Ilha Grande! Woo hoo i was making my way up the coast!
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