Paraty and Ilha Grande, Brazil
After twenty-two hours on a bus from Iguazu, arriving in Paraty felt like emerging from a very long, very uncomfortable cocoon. Paraty is a small colonial town on Brazil’s Green Coast, all whitewashed buildings and cobblestone streets that flood at high tide (by design, apparently - the Portuguese used the tidal waters to flush the streets clean). It’s charming in a slightly crumbling way.
We had dinner that first night and then headed to Paraty 33, a club right in the centre of town. For a tiny place, Paraty knows how to put on a night out. The Brazilians have this incredible ability to turn any gathering into a party, and this was no exception.
The next day we did a boat tour around the nearby islands, though the weather had other ideas and it rained for most of it. We still managed some swimming between the showers, jumping off the boat into the warm green water. It wasn’t quite the sun-drenched island-hopping experience I’d imagined, but sometimes the best travel memories come from the imperfect days.
From Paraty we made our way to Ilha Grande, a car-free island that’s essentially a giant chunk of Atlantic rainforest surrounded by beautiful beaches. No roads, no cars, no banks. Just jungle, sand, and an alarming number of caipirinhas. On our first night we went out for dinner and I discovered just how dangerous the local caipirinha situation was. They’re cheap, they’re delicious, and they go down far too easily. I had too many. This became a problem the following morning.
Because the next day’s activity was a two-hour jungle hike to Lopez Mendes beach. Hungover. In tropical heat. Through actual jungle. Every step felt like a personal punishment for the previous night’s decisions. But when we finally broke through the trees and Lopez Mendes revealed itself - a long, sweeping stretch of white sand with perfect waves rolling in - it almost made up for the suffering. Almost. We played soccer on the beach, went for a swim, and I managed to get absolutely torched by the sun because apparently I’d learned nothing about sunscreen in the previous two weeks.
The trip back was an adventure in itself. I managed to lose my sunglasses somewhere between the boats during the transfer, which was annoying but seemed like a fitting sacrifice to the travel gods. A small price to pay for one of the most beautiful beaches I’d ever seen.
Our last day on Ilha Grande was blissfully quiet. After the hike and the sunburn, doing absolutely nothing felt like a luxury. We had dinner, got ice cream, and turned in early. Sometimes the best days on a trip are the ones where you do the least.
The next morning we took the boat off Ilha Grande and caught a bus to Rio de Janeiro. I had a feeling Rio was going to be something special - Carnaval was just around the corner, and the city was already starting to buzz with anticipation.
