ILHA GRANDE
It's a paradise in Brasil I will never forget and should have made this post a long time ago! Be prepared for a lot of pictures that don't give away the real beauty of this place.
To get there from Rio de Janeiro we took a bus to Angra dos Reis (it costs about 80-100 $R) and takes about 2 hours. There is a small trick, they may try to get you out in Conceição de Jacareà so you can buy their special offer to Vila do Abraão (we got caught into that trap and bought a more expensive boat, had to wait 2 hours for the next one - in result we lost the whole morning in the island).
Port in Conceição de JacareÃ.
Arriving in Vila do Abraão.
Going to this Island was the best choice being in Brasil. The views are stunning and the wildness of this place is breathtaking. There are no buses, cars, only nature and the feeling of a really "free" place. When we got there was around 10:30 in the morning and all the tours were leaving on a boat trip around the island. They come back only after 16/17, but because we haven't checked-in yet we have decided to stay and look around. We found a small room in Airbnb in a house of a Brazilian guy and his 5 year old son.
The view from our room.
Because we were staying on the island only for 1 night we wanted to see whatever we could in a short period of time. Our host was making kayaking tours, but according to him the current was too strong and suggested this for the next day. The Island was emptied for the whole day (everyone goes on a boat tour), so we just started walking along the cost. We weren't prepared for any hiking - this means, we were wearing havaianas and had no food or water in backpacks.
Beaches close to the village (Saco do Ceu).
While we were walking on the coast, there were some signs leading to a Waterfall (which made me super excided) and some other touristic landmarks. Although, we had no food, water and idea how far it is we got into the jungle. Now you should know that Luis is extremely scared of snakes. Me, myself not much but its only because I didn't grow up with snakes and the sound of them in the forest. For me it is something almost "mythical", I didn't think about them biting me or anything like this. We continued on walking up the hill, I was desperately trying to catch some breath (my hiking skills are not very impressive) but not giving up - damn I really wanted to see that waterfall... As we thought we were getting closer we met a local and asked if we are far away. Sure we were not... It took us about 2 hours to get there and 2 minutes to realize its no Foz do Iguaçu and just a small local waterfall. Still with no water or food, we took a refreshing bath in its waters trying to figure out how to come back and not collapsing doing it....
Cachoeira da Feiticeira.
After spending there a while, we have decided to walk back... We were getting more terrified with the sound of jungle, "things" moving in the leaves and bamboos when the salvation came -a path to a beach 30 min away. You can't even imagine how happy we were, because from there we could catch a Taxi Boat- for us it was ideal solution.
Amazing views from the hill walking down to the beach.
On the way to the beach, on our way appeared a reptile, now I think it was Iguana (google pics). Excited with the moment we didn't take any pictures, but sure it was scary as hell. It was maybe 1 meter long - I swear...
Slowly shitting our pants and scared of being killed in the middle of a jungle, we got to the beach. Later we found out it was Praia Japariz. Thank god we found there a small kiosk with drinks, food and a boat taxi! When all the emotions cooled down, we have decided to spend there a few hours, drink coconut water and chill.
Praia Japariz.
Later we took the last boat to the Village. Arrived exhausted and headed later for a sunset and dinner. Because it was winter, the sun sets pretty early, around 6pm. Whats better than a dinner and cold brazilian beer on the beach??
Looking around the village we found an awesome night tour, where people hike at night to one of the highest point in the island called Pico de Papagaio (959m). I would never do that, because I am insanely scared of forests and darkness. I was trying to convice Luis to do this, but he didnt want to go alone and it was quite expensive. I think it was about 200 $R. If you want you can check out the tour on FB "Sunrise Pioneers - Ilha Grande". They leave at 3am in the morning so they will see the sunrise from the top. They said that sometimes you can even see the Jesus Statue in Rio!
At 5am I forced Luis to wake up and see the sunrise - well come on, we were there only 1 night. Who knows when we gonna come back?
Sunrise in Ilha Grande.
The next morning we woke up early and went for a breakfast - the usual açaà and pão de queijo. We were trying to find the best tour for us. You have a few options - a yacht or some kind of speed boat around the Island for 100$R or a slow boat tour (forgot the name of it) for 40$R and seeing half of the island. We choose a cheaper one. Just before taking a boat, we went to the local supermarket (it basically has everything you need) and bought a few cold beers and water.
Boat trip - the first stop is Lagoa Verde. To get there it takes about 40min (if you take a speed boat then its 15min). An amazing place with really blue water and fishes swimming really close to you. They give you there around 1 hour or 2 (can't remember right now). Doesn't matter. It a heaven on earth.
Lagoa Verde was the main beach to go, but after that we stopped in 2 more beaches. In one of them we had lunch, which was just fine (you can pay for it and order on the boat so when you get there its ready). In Brazil you pay aprox. 100 $R for 2 people.
Praia Ubatuba.
We came back to the village about 4pm and headed straight to Angra dos Reis, where the rest of the family was arriving. In a nearby village we got a house from Airbnb, that was simply amazing. It had everything we needed, snorkeling equipment, kayak (when kayaking around you could see sea turtles!), barbeque and a "private" beach. We stayed there for another 2 days. The first day it was cloudy and not as hot as in the island (I can say we were lucky). We would spend days listening to music, hanging around, drinking cold coconut water (one of the things I miss most in Europe).
The best way to get around is to ask locals. They recommended us one island to go by taxi boat and it was seriously stunning. Water was light blue, clean and in spite of many locals there it was calm and safe. We could buy there drinks and some typical brazilian food.
Praia Cataguas.
The next day we headed straight to Rio de Janeiro and took a flight to Belo Horizonte, where we spent another 2 weeks. About that you gonna hear some other time!
