Paraty (Brasil)
22 JUNE - 26 JUNE 2015
22 JUNE - 26 JUNE 2015
The Costa Verde is about as spectacular as you'd imagine this part of the world to be. Lush emerald green jungle that cascades from mountains into an island studded bay, whose waters also shimmer emerald green. Where the jungle meets the sea is basically where Paraty is situated. A small colonial town whose beauty has also been very well preserved, the pedestrian streets of the town are lined with whitewashed buildings, one or two storeys in heights, colourful and brightly painted doors and a feel of boutique elegance. It's a Brazilian style of cool, interesting and chic, and yet still preserving its heritage.
Inga and I stayed at the Resort Croce de Sud, a beautiful placed perched on top of a hill with fabulous panoramic views sweeping views of the Baia Carioca and the island Ilha do Aroujo. Serenity here is at your beck and call. It's so easy to sit in the hammock on the verandah, have the winds sweep over you and drift off with sound track of small fishing boats heading out from the village below.
Resort Croce del Sud - Paraty - Brasil
Resort Croce del Sud - Paraty
Resort Croce del Sud - Paraty - Brasil
I'd been to this place once before, with Janelle and Jet back at the start of 2012. The owner somehow remembered me, although when I started talking to him it wasn't hard to figure out why. First of all he told me that it was a rarity for Australian visitors to stay at his place and secondly, I was the only returning guest that has come back from that far away. He was already prepared for my arrival and even discussed the little kangaroo that I'd brought for his kids on my last journey here.
Down the hill from the resort are two great beaches, Praia Grande & Prainha. Both beaches. The first actually being a little fishing village that has its own bars, restaurants and half decent accommodation, the other being almost completely deserted, except for a cool open bar which at the time of year we were there was unfortunately closed. Not that Winter in this part of the world is bad. If you can handle low 20's for Winter then this is the place to be. I think Inga found it relatively easily to find a place on the beach to occupy and soak in the southern rays. As for me, being brought up in Australia, we're almost fearful of the sun. I don't mind being out in direct light, other than the boredom, its the idea of sun cancers that stick in my head the most. All those now infamous ads over the years are so ingrained in my fabric that I'm sure they've become somewhat of a nuisance to Inga at those moments when she just wants to sunbake (...but not on my watch...).
We were located around 10kms out of Paraty itself but being on a direct bus line it made things relatively easy in terms of coming and going into town. Not that we spent a lot of time in Paraty, there's plenty of other things outside of the town such as waterfalls, water slides, boat cruises on the bay, etc. Definitely a town worth visiting but also an area worth discovering because of its natural beauty. Coming to the end of our trip I would say that it ranked in the top five areas that we had encountered in terms of pure natural attributes - putting in the same class as places such as Torres del Paine, El Chalten, Salar de Uyuni and Iguazu Falls. The only thing missing is it doesn't have that stellar attraction, that 'stand out' feature that draws the tourist hoards, which in a way can only be a good thing, because as long as this area remains relatively under the radar is as long as people like me can enjoy it in its current state. Selfish....yes....but sometimes you have to be.
Paraty acted as the last real turning point for us. We'd been travelling for a couple of days short of 3 months at this point but now we were heading back to Rio for just a few more days of sunshine and to catch our penultimate flight to Buenos Aires. Even thought we didn't want to think about it at that point, the flight out of Buenos Aires was going to be the great unknown. Perhaps it was going to act as the full stop on what inevitably would be a lifetime highlight, or, it was going to be just a comma, a short hiatus that was going to lead us on to a great many other things. Of course, writing from my position now I know exactly what's brought us from then until now, but back then, it was all undecided and was still left to be played out.
Down the hill from the resort are two great beaches, Praia Grande & Prainha. Both beaches. The first actually being a little fishing village that has its own bars, restaurants and half decent accommodation, the other being almost completely deserted, except for a cool open bar which at the time of year we were there was unfortunately closed. Not that Winter in this part of the world is bad. If you can handle low 20's for Winter then this is the place to be. I think Inga found it relatively easily to find a place on the beach to occupy and soak in the southern rays. As for me, being brought up in Australia, we're almost fearful of the sun. I don't mind being out in direct light, other than the boredom, its the idea of sun cancers that stick in my head the most. All those now infamous ads over the years are so ingrained in my fabric that I'm sure they've become somewhat of a nuisance to Inga at those moments when she just wants to sunbake (...but not on my watch...).
Praia Grande - Paraty - Brasil
This restaurant had THE BEST selection of hot sauces out of any place I've been - it was incredible...then randomly, just bottles of champagne, ready to go - Paraty - Brasil
We were located around 10kms out of Paraty itself but being on a direct bus line it made things relatively easy in terms of coming and going into town. Not that we spent a lot of time in Paraty, there's plenty of other things outside of the town such as waterfalls, water slides, boat cruises on the bay, etc. Definitely a town worth visiting but also an area worth discovering because of its natural beauty. Coming to the end of our trip I would say that it ranked in the top five areas that we had encountered in terms of pure natural attributes - putting in the same class as places such as Torres del Paine, El Chalten, Salar de Uyuni and Iguazu Falls. The only thing missing is it doesn't have that stellar attraction, that 'stand out' feature that draws the tourist hoards, which in a way can only be a good thing, because as long as this area remains relatively under the radar is as long as people like me can enjoy it in its current state. Selfish....yes....but sometimes you have to be.
Paraty - Brasil
Paraty - Brasil
Paraty - Brasil
Paraty acted as the last real turning point for us. We'd been travelling for a couple of days short of 3 months at this point but now we were heading back to Rio for just a few more days of sunshine and to catch our penultimate flight to Buenos Aires. Even thought we didn't want to think about it at that point, the flight out of Buenos Aires was going to be the great unknown. Perhaps it was going to act as the full stop on what inevitably would be a lifetime highlight, or, it was going to be just a comma, a short hiatus that was going to lead us on to a great many other things. Of course, writing from my position now I know exactly what's brought us from then until now, but back then, it was all undecided and was still left to be played out.
