Ilha Grande (Brasil)
19 JUNE - 22 JUNE 2015
Crystal clear beaches, luscious Atlantic forest, emerald coloured waters. When we turned up at Conceição de Jacareí to board our ride across to Ilha Grande there was none of that. We boarded a pontoon with an outboard motor that was open to the elements, and then, just headed out into the Atlantic. Pressed down by heavy clouds, relentless, annoying rain and some choppy water, our little vessel of hope cut through the mediocre waves as the spray soaked all on board. It literally felt as though we were heading to the edge of the known world. The shoreline disappeared from behind us and nothing visible in front, there was a certain unease to the situation. Sometimes you just need to place your trust in the people in charge and accept, or at least think, that what is happening at this exact moment is totally normal. The funny thing was, just a few days later on our return journey, under blue skies and calm seas, we could easily see the shoreline and were a little dumbfounded that the journey out to the island felt like a tunnel to the abyss.
19 JUNE - 22 JUNE 2015
A sweet, small coincidence occurred when we hit Ilha Grande. We'd been traveling close to three months by then and wandered into a small bar in the area of Abraao on the island. As we entered a pair of eyes looked up from one of the tables and we recognised the person as being one of the guys
that had also completed the Death Ride with us in Bolivia some two months earlier. I enjoy those oddities, those happy coincidences. It shows you that the world is still not big enough to be able to hide and disappear from everyone, well, unless of course it's intentional. Over the years of traveling I'd had events like this punctuate my travels. Sometimes with people that were well known to me, others just random acquaintances. When you think of the chances of those encounters and wonder about the odds you really do get amazed that they happen at all.
Ilha Grande - Brasil
Ilha Grande - Brasil
Crystal clear beaches, luscious Atlantic forest, emerald coloured waters. When we turned up at Conceição de Jacareí to board our ride across to Ilha Grande there was none of that. We boarded a pontoon with an outboard motor that was open to the elements, and then, just headed out into the Atlantic. Pressed down by heavy clouds, relentless, annoying rain and some choppy water, our little vessel of hope cut through the mediocre waves as the spray soaked all on board. It literally felt as though we were heading to the edge of the known world. The shoreline disappeared from behind us and nothing visible in front, there was a certain unease to the situation. Sometimes you just need to place your trust in the people in charge and accept, or at least think, that what is happening at this exact moment is totally normal. The funny thing was, just a few days later on our return journey, under blue skies and calm seas, we could easily see the shoreline and were a little dumbfounded that the journey out to the island felt like a tunnel to the abyss.
Ilha Grande - Brasil
Ilha Grande - Brasil
Vila do Abraão, Angra dos Reis in the State of Rio de Janeiro is just a small town. Basically a combination of hotels, restaurants and business set up for water activites. It has a population of about 2000 inhabitants and is the largest on an island that has so far remained relatively untouched. The reason for that, up until now, was that it had at one time been a leper colony and also housed a prison where the 'baddest of the bad-asses' of the Brasilian penal system would be dumped. Since the mid-90's its been opened up to tourists and thankfully, to date, has stringent development restrictions that protect it from development. I hope that will remain the case. The island has an abundance of all things - beauty in spades, both flora and fauna. The beaches are untouched, unspoiled, mainly accessible by boat or those intrepid enough to hike the island trails. I say 'intrepid' as rumour still has it that there are still booby traps scattered around the island that were place there to prevent prisoners from making their escapes. It could be just urban legend, but would you take the risk?
Do you think the post came first or the bench?
That's how far the mainland was away
This is a place where you could easily spend a week or longer, and its in those times of contemplation that you do wonder whether a simple life would be satisfying. Sun, sand, water, tranquility. You ask yourself, 'could I do this every day?', obviously some people do and are satisfied, or even happy. It's in those moments that the eternal thought of 'opening a bar' comes to mind. I wonder how many people have thought of this method as being their out to happiness in such idyllic locations. When it comes down to it though, 99.99999% of the time its those 3-4 days that fill the cup of prospective sea-change. Still, there are those that do it, and they seem happy making caipirnhas for people like me.
