Paraty

I love Paraty!

It is great, getting here however wasn’t. We took another overnight bus – this one even longer. The overnight bus in Argentina is better than the overnight bus in Brazil. There were no foot rests or snacks and the bus was swaying all night. We really didn’t sleep. It was a loooooong bus ride.

Paraty is a quaint little colonial town on the southeast coast between Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. It is known for its architecture and it is a popular holiday town for Brazilians. UNESCO considers it an important example of Portuguese colonial architecture. The town is all cobblestone streets and the centre is closed to vehicles. During high tide the street are flooded with seawater.

It is a wonderful little beachside town. There are many little shops, restaurants, cafes, galleries, a market, etc. It’s a quiet, artsy town. I loved the cobblestone streets!

I did get up and run every morning which is really the first time I’ve been able to do that on this adventure. I love running somewhere new! I walked to the river because I wasn’t going to try and run on the cobblestones and I ran along the river and through the residential area. It was not very long but I really haven’t run since Christmas so even for a little while it felt good to move my legs.

We stayed at Marendaz Pousada which is just a street over from the centre of town and close to where the locals shop. It is a cute, two story place with an open courtyard and a tiny pool. Marenda was very good to us, we had breakfast every day and she even let us use her kitchen.

The first evening we were in Paraty we really just walked around for the evening. We had a little walking tour, checked out a few shops and then went for dinner. It was an enjoyable, quiet evening. Dinner was nice, I’m not used to this whole sharing a meal thing that they do in Brazil though. Many meals are for two or three people and so when you are out with a group you have to decide what you want and who you are going to share with. It’s different.

We went on a party boat for a day which was great. We headed to the pier for about 10:00 and when you get there the boats are all lined up ready to take people, you just choose which one you wish to take. We went with another tour group and there were other people on the boat as well. The price included lunch and drinks, which ended up being a little crazy as I had a lot to drink. I may have even had an entire tray of caipirinhas myself! It was so much fun. The day started out a little rainy so we were worried but it turned out to be beautiful. We just spent the day cruising around, stopping to swim in little coves & beaches, relaxing & dancing. It was great!

When we got back from the boat ride the streets were all flooded from the tide. Although it was a little messy, slow going as I was trying really hard to keep my flip flops on my feet, it was a little fun to wade through the streets. I tried to take a photos but it’s hard to tell how much water is really there.

Our captain for the day was this great looking guy, he was actually the sister of the lady who owned the hotel. At one of our stops, at a small, secluded beach he got out and swam to the beach. Our tour guide said to watch him, that he uses this beach to do his workout. He does capoeira and it was amazing to watch him practise on he beach!! Not to mention what he was wearing while he was running, jumping, dancing, kicking on the beach – I so wished I had my camera with me. It was a little piece of eye candy watching this private show on the beach!

That evening we were to go to a Capoeira show. Capoeira is a Brazilian form of martial arts with dancing, kicking, jumping & music. It is a seen as a symbol of Brazilian culture that started with the slaves centuries ago. Slaves were killed for fighting and so this was their way of getting away with it – they added music and it was more like a dance. It’s beautiful to watch really, very talented, athletic people. We didn’t get to see the show though. We went to a local hostel for a drink before the show and it was raining too hard. The capoeira was to be on the beach and they still could have done the show in the rain but there wouldn’t have been an audience, it was raining that hard. It was disappointing, I was looking forward to the show. I stayed for a drink and listened to the band for a little while, some of the group stayed for more than a little while. I started to walk back to the pousada with Chris, a fellow tourist from England, we were soaked, it was raining so hard we could hardly see. Someone stopped and asked if we wanted a ride and we took it – they didn’t take us all the way but even a little drive helped. It crossed my mind after we had jumped in some stranger’s vehicle that maybe we shouldn’t have done that but really neither one of us questioned it!

We had planned to go to Trinidad the next day but the weather wasn’t great. It was a little overcast and no one felt like hanging out at the beach if it was going to rain. It was also a Sunday and the busses don’t run regularly so we didnt want to get there and then have to wait hours to get back to Paraty. The next day we went to tour a distillery and hike & swim at a national park. It was fun – the distillery was a small caipirinha. They have a yearly caipirinha festival in Paraty. I somehow don’t think it’s like the Potato Festival at home! The entrance ticket is a shot glass. The park that we went to had this huge rock that people tried to surf down. I didn’t try it as one of the first people I saw going down fell and hit their head. Our group just went down on their bottoms – a little like tobogganing but I didn’t try it. I just went swimming in the waterfalls. It was a fun day and we had time to wander around Paraty. That evening some of our group made dinner in the pousada and a small group of us went out for dinner. It was great – great food, great conversation, great friends!

Our tour guide from GAdventures was Ursula, she was terrific, so very helpful with anything. She went out of her way for many people and she seemed to know many locals, where to go & she was a lot of fun.

We left the next morning for Rio de Janeiro.