Ilha Grande and da Foz

Our next stop was Ilha Grande ('Big island'). Hannah, Aussie Darren and I set off from Paraty to Angra dos Reis, stopping for lunch and Daz's awesome stories that included him owning a tuc tuc, getting robbed and asking for his passport back, and a machete, before getting a boat to the island. We checked in at the hostel and went about our usual post-travel unwinding process. We've actually been really lucky with finding good hostels so far via word of mouth.

When we woke up, we had breakfast, dropped off our laundry (oh so exciting to have clean clothes again) and we were good to go! A big attraction on the island is Lopes Mendes, said to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the whole wide world. Hannah rushed to take the last boat out there, while I opted for the three hour trek. What better way to get to know the island me thought!

The trek was long and hot but my trusty music kept me going, as did stopping off at other beaches along the way. 

Arriving at Lopes Mendes was 'muito bonito'. The beach had glistening hot white sand and crystal ice cold water. It took a while to acclimatise to the water but I kept telling myself that swimming in cold water is meant to be good for you. Hannah and Darren had already been there soaking up the sun for a couple of hours. The day was lovely and we relaxed on the beach until the last boat back, running into some cute Brazilians we had met (who made me feel very old) and listening to more of Daz's brilliant theories (like how toenails prove evolution). 

The next day we walked around the shops and perched under some shade chatting till the evening. Tough life. 

When we got back to the hostel we found Richard, our hostel roommate from Paraty. Defo a small backpacker world on the gringo trail! 

While in Ilha Grande, Hannah found out that she has to leave our trip a week early to sort out her residency in Singapore :( We've thus had to re-jiggle some plans to make sure we get to Columbia in time for her to fly out. Consequently, we decided to make our way down to the Brazilian-Argentinian border and to the Iguacu waterfalls, via Sao Paulo, forgoing other stops along the way. 

The journey to Foz do Iguacu took over 30 hours!!! Defo the longest time I've ever travelled in one go. It was quite painful and smelly, leaving us seriously delirious by the end of it and unable to communicate for a day. 

A meat coma at a Churrascaria and a good nights sleep later, we regained our composure and headed to see the most famous South American attraction- the Iguacu falls! 

I didn't really expect to be that wowed by the falls. I heard they were impressive but often things like that don't live up to the hype. The Iguacu falls did not fit that category. They were seriously unreal, reminding me how beautiful and powerful nature can be. We spent the day on the various trails of the falls, covering all angles of their spectacular force. A little touristy to do but totally recommended!!

We had a great group during the waterfalls and we all met up again for dinner and drinkies to mark Hannah and I's last night in Brasil after just two short weeks. 

 

And sadly this meant the end of the Brazilian leg of our journey! No more gorgeous beaches, forests, acai, beautiful people with bums, tans, bikinis and havaianas. Time is going by quickly now, noooo. Also, its really sad to be leaving the coast (not sure we'll have nice beaches again until Columbia). But for now we say hola to Argentinian wine, beef, tango and Spanish :)

The following day we crossed the border into Argentina, joined by Andy who we met at Foz, and got back on another 18 hour bus to Buenos Aires. The Argentinian buses are great though, kinda like being on a flight (180 degree reclining chairs, food, movies etc.) Such a welcomed change!