Paraty

The following day we wanted to get an early bus to Paraty but it was full so we had to wait a few hours at the station. Hannah productively used this time to get her nails done (for 3 pounds!).

The bus ride from Rio to Paraty was fairly comfortable with pretty scenery along the costa verde. As we had departed late, however, we didn't make it into Paraty till the evening, by which time it was dark and we were hungry. We had pre-booked a hostel we found online that had good reviews, so we just wanted to get there, leave our stuff and walk around to find food.

We get into a taxi and soon realise the driver is heading away from the town centre (where we thought the hostel was) and away from the town itself! We try using any broken Portuguese we had picked up to explain he must be going in the wrong direction, but Hannah spotted signs for the hostel which meant he was actually going the right way. We start making jokes about how the high online ratings clearly must have been for the prime location and agree to stay the night and find another hostel in the morning. The only problem was food as there was nothing around.

We get to the place and are greeted by Nico, one of the owners. Nico had no knowledge of our booking as their system was down and said there were no other guests, but he quickly followed this up with, "But you girls came just in time, we were just lighting up the BBQ!" The "we" he was referring to was Nico, his business partner with his wife and two children, Laura the young chef, her friend Melina, her sister Maite and sister's boyfriend, Martin (all of whom worked there). And all of whom were Argentinian, so Nico further followed this up with, "I have some great Argentinian wine, would you like a glass and I can show you around?" This made me happy :)

Nico took us on a tour of the property explaining its history. Apparently, Nico, who now lives in Montreal, used to be a backpacker for years. This inspired him to open up some hostels with his friend. They have two hostels and a bar in the centre of Paraty and had just started these eco-suites (with the same name- the booking confusions now made sense!) in October. Nico had first visited the property six years ago when it was owned by an eccentric party guy. Nico then takes us to the back to see the waterfall ('cachoeira'), or the "swimming pool" as he puts it!

This turned out to be my favourite night thus far. They laid out a big table outside near the BBQ with lots of meat, wine under the stars and an incredibly warm family atmosphere. We exchanged travel stories, they pretty much sorted out our Argentinian route for us and we began to practise our minimal Spanish. 

I could not wait to wake up the next day and see the place in daylight. And it did not disappoint!! The town could wait. We basically spent the entire next day either in our private waterfall or on a hammock. We also took a stroll around the area where we were intimidated by the local dogs!

The following days in Paraty were quite varied. On the second day, we went on a boat tour of the numerous beaches in the area. This tour was highly recommended by several people, and although the scenery was absolutely beautiful, the tour itself was quite long and you spend most of it lounging on the boat rather than on the actual beaches.

Never thought I'd say this but, I almost felt too relaxed by this point and was getting antsy for some adventure. 

The adventure was secondary though as once again we had to plan our next stop. We tried booking flights to the Northeast but they were way too pricey. This sucked. We really had our hearts set on going so it was really disappointing to have to give this up. I promised myself a trip back to Brazil to do the North (anyone up for it next NYE?), but for now we would have to "settle" for only the South. Poor us :)

On our third day in Paraty we finally transferred from the eco-suites to their inner town hostel, biding farewell to our Argentinian amigos.

I was still wanting to do something active so I thought to brave the heat and go to Praia do Sono (i.e 'the beach of dreams'), which involved a one hour trek through the rain forest. Laura and Melina, two of the lovely Argentinians working at the eco-suites, were also going so we joined forces.

The trek could only be defined as sweaty. We kept each others energy levels up till we arrived at one of the most beautiful beaches I've seen. The sand was white, the water crystal blue and the atmosphere very relaxing. Other than some camping sites and a couple of bars, the beach was pretty much secluded. Jumping straight into the water after the trek also felt super rewarding. 

Before we knew it, it was getting late. Laura and Melina were planning on camping for the night and I was increasingly leaning towards joining them, I did not want to leave this beach! Hannah was definitely going back on the last speed boat out. In a moment of total YOLOness, I decided to stay. Camping on a dreamy beach in Brazil doesn't come around too often. (Although after Hannah's boat was gone, the YOLOness turned to worry for Hannah getting back okay. I don't think I fully relaxed until I saw her the next day!)

I'll never forget my evening on 'the beach of dreams'. After Hannah left, I went for a swim and by the time I was back the Argentinian girls had befriended some local guys who owned the beach bar. The locals generously invited us to their home for dinner, after which we all went back to the bar. 

The night was beautiful. There with a fire, live music, and a clear sky full full full of stars (I could see the Milky Way)! We also 'did' a custom of writing down things you want to let go of in life and then throwing the paper into the fire. Pretty cathartic. People were very friendly but language was definitely a barrier; Ive never had this many conversations without actually being sure what any of them were about.

The next morning I woke up pretty tired, I hadn't slept well at all and was eager to get back. I said bye and 'muito obrigada' to everyone at the beach and made my way back to Paraty, which ended up taking forever as after the trek I still had to wait two hours for a bus (everything is slower on a Sunday). 

The final day was spent wandering in the galleries, cafes, shops and colourful pebbled streets of this cute colonial town, and in the evening we went for dinner and drinks with people from the hostel that Hannah had met while I was away.

We will take away some really great memories from our five nights in Paraty (which were initially only going to be two) and many of the memories are down to the welcoming people we met there. 

First week in! Our next destination: Ilha Grande, an island a few hours away on a bus and boat.