Ilha Grande

Hey all!

Today we left at 8.30am after our bonus hour of sleep due to daylight savings ending in South America - yay! We got a two hour bus to a town called Angra and then caught a "ferry" (that's what they called it but it was a rickety little boat that was way too full and rocked about, I got a little sea sick!) to Ilha Grande. The bonus of the "ferry" was they had a cushioned area in the middle where you could lie down. 

It's so beautiful here! Definitely Brazilian paradise. We left our bags in our rooms and headed off. Maria and I haven't had much luck in the way of hotel rooms. On the farm our cold tap was broken so our shower was scalding hot. Yesterday the hotel receptionist let someone else in our room. Here we have what looks like bloodstains all over the floor, a broken toilet seat and no fan. Oh dear! So we are paying the 20 reals ($8 Aussie approx) per day for air con. I would die without it. I thought Paraty was hot, I was wrong. Here is hot. If you don't here from me after tomorrow's hike, I have melted on Ilha Grande, please come and save me!

We set off for lunch and I had a very disappointing Açai bowl. Then we went on another of Daryl's walks. I really like how he does these, we haven't had these previously and it's good to learn some history. Ilha Grande was a pirate hideout and treasure trove in the 1700s as a lot of the pirates stole gold from Paraty. There was a migration boom in Brazil in the 1800s so Ilha Grande was used as a processing centre for those coming from Europe (mainly Portugal) to Rio. Cholera spread and a lot of people died, so we saw some quarantine areas where people used to be held, which were later turned into prison cells. However this created a Brazilian mafia because smart criminals (eg tax evaders) were placed in the same cells as powerful/scary criminals (eg murderers) and they teamed up. 

On our walk we saw these areas, some beautiful beaches and them a lagoon type area. It was really nice but BOILING. Have I mentioned how hot it is here?! Haha. London is a balmy 10 degrees maximum at the moment. Excited!

This afternoon Maria and I went to the supermarket then had a quick dip in the beach with Kathrin. I'm really happy because it turns out she is also staying in Ipanema in Rio after the tour finishes. The six others I know so far who are staying on are staying in Copacabana (the next suburb along). 

Really enjoying Brazil so far but I had just gotten used to basic Spanish and now I'm back to being useless because we don't speak any Portuguese except 'obrigada' (thank you). 

Now we are about to go out for dinner!

Tomorrow we are going on a three hour hike to the most famous beach here, Lopez Mendez. 

Love to all

Claire

Xoxox