This edition of Ryders on Tour is brought to you by our official weight loss partners, Re-heated Rice – (motto: 'how can you tell?')
The last instalment of our blog was brought to you from Ilha Grande, which proved to be every bit as picturesque as claimed in the guide book. Stunning beaches, great hiking trails through the Atlantic rainforest and beautiful waterfalls were all on the agenda for our few days there.
From there it was off to Paraty, an old colonial town on the gold trail which boasts an array of amazing beaches and fantastic scenery, a two hour bus journey down the coast. (The buses in Brazil are an experience in themselves and vary from air-conditioned luxury with massive reclining seats to crowded sweaty bone-rattling charabancs where the driver will only slow to 20 mph and you have to start running before you jump out.) We stayed at a place called Pousada Guarana, and only mention here because we cannot recommend it highly enough. The owners (David and Jimena) were so friendly and helpful and went out of their way to make us feel welcome, and it’s a great place with a lovely little pool and homemade cake for breakfast.
Perhaps unsurprisingly (given aforementioned cake for breakfast and an intense heat which us delicate Brits just aren’t used to) we were laid low for a day or two in Paraty with some minor health issues….. But with some focussed brow-mopping and a day out of the heat we soon recovered to make the most of Paraty.
One of the highlights of Paraty is a waterfall and natural swimming pool. It’s a fantastic spot that features a slick rock face which makes a great natural waterslide. The locals have mastered the art of surfing down on their feet before crash landing in the pool at the bottom. It’s amazing, if slightly terrifying to watch, we even saw one guy go down wearing a blindfold while skipping with a vine! We weren’t quite that brave but did try the more sedate ‘sitting down’ version of the slide. While it won’t be featuring on any adrenaline videos, it was still a challenge to do it with any degree of dignity and keen observers may have noticed that both Ryders appeared to 'pop out' in various ways.
We are now spending the night in a ‘mid-range’ hotel (mid-range in this instance meaning we have to take turns to stand up) in Sao Paulo before heading to Iguacu Falls on the overnight bus tomorrow. We have left most of our luggage in Sao Paulo bus station in what looks like an old fashioned swimming pool locker (complete with token and a key with the orange end). We assume it will still be there in the morning, unless some 12 year old kid in Speedos makes off with it.
Our first impressions of Sao Paulo are of a sprawling city where you take your life into your own hands just crossing the road. Pedestrian crossings seem to mean something else here, if only we could work out what. It is also a city of contrasts, flash apartment buildings and shopping malls abound, but there are also signs of the grinding poverty that Brazil was once known for. Even in the most affluent areas you see people searching the rubbish looking for cans to collect and return for a few reais.
It is fair to say we haven’t picked up much Portuguese along the way, instead resorting to pointing, holding up fingers (for some reason no-one seems to understand our pronunciation of the word for two) and just generally looking confused. This approach has worked to a point, although when we tried to check in to our hotel today the woman on the front desk kindly proffered a phone card.
We expect to head into Argentina in the next few weeks, starting in Buenos Aires then heading down the coast towards Patagonia, so if you have any tips for us then leave a comment on the blog, we are in your hands!
Highlights: Lopes Mendes beach in Ilha Grande, a beautiful beach and a memorable hike through Atlantic rainforest.
Lowlights: some minor financial issues which saw Julian’s entire bank account wiped out by some ingenious, if not slightly fraudulent, card cloning. (We are secretly hoping they have cloned his identity too and by the time we return to the UK they will have found him a job and finished decorating the house). In the meantime, if you hear stories of excessive partying in Rio, you know who's bankrolling that particular shindig - it should stretch to a sausage and cheese on cocktail stick platter and a four-pack of local - not imported - beers. Enjoy it lads.
Caipirinha count: 15 (this has slowed slightly due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’)
Monkey count: 12 (approx.) marmosets frolicking on the trail on Ilha Grande.
Looks like you have already had some exciting wildlife moments - I am very jealous. I've been heading out into the hills here looking for wild boar...but no luck yet. I think the hunters have had them all.
ReplyDeleteI asked my friend Cynara (who lived in Argentina for 9 months) for her recommendations. She says: "hmm probably can't share much that's not already in the guide books! There is a rather nice Japanese Zen Garden there in BA, and I could recomend an excellent restaurant for grilled Bife de Chorizo if they are into that sort of thing! Palermo Hollywood is great for shopping, but they probably don't want to shop so early in their trip..."