Despite the problems we ran into, we were still in one of the most beautiful areas of Brazil: Costa Verde. We started out in Paraty, where we spend a day exploring the pictoresque colonial town. Our second stop was Ilha Grande, which required us to take a bus followed by a ferry, however, very much worth our time. Immensely popular among Brazilians and Argentinians, this island had much to offer from seclude pristine beaches to challenging, yet rewarding hiking trails.
Paraty
The coastal town of Paraty is located about five hours northeast of São Paulo. This historic town used to be the base for shippping gold from the mines up in the mountains nearby back to Portugal. Nowadays, its cobblestone streets, small chill beaches, and colorful harbor make it a popular spot for Brazilians to get away from the cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
We stayed for only one full day, before taking a bus to Angra dos Reis, where the ferry to Ilha Grande departs. The bus ride was quite remarkable, as the winding roads made for a perfect picture of the surrounding scenery. Even though it was rather hot due to the lack of a A/C, we enjoyed the tow hour journey.
Ilha Grande
After arriving in Angra dos Reis, a sketchy town very different from Paraty, we waited for the ferry to take us to Ilha Grande. Of the 500 available seats, only about a hundred were actually taken. The two hour ferry ride was not very pleasant (hey, even the view of lush-green mountains gets old), so we were glad once we arrived in Abraão, the islands main and only town.
There are no roads or cars on the island, so to get to the beaches you either have to hike or take a taxiboat. On our first day we decided to visit the Lopes Mendes beach, named in TripAdvisor’s best beaches in the world. The hike was quite tough, but we reached the beach after about two hours. Going for a swim never felt more welcome.
The next day we decided to do more hiking. This time up the Parrot Peak, an eight hour hike round-trip. Extremely hard, especially given the temperature and humidity, but we managed to reach the top and enjoy the panoramic views of the island. Descending was less fun, but because bamboo trees are abundant we managed to pickup some bamboo sticks to easen the hike down.
After five days of enjoying Costa Verde, it was time to move on to the next city: Rio de Janeiro.
