Gems
*Drinking Calda the Cana sugar cane juice for the first time
*Waterfall surfing with local acrobats
*Playing hand claps with a 4 year old Sao Caetano girl and getting a big sloppy wet kiss off her in the end
*Eating in the Brazilian-famous Marseille creperia in Paraty
*Crab hunting in Trindade
*Visting the amazing Kontiki island restaurent and getting to know a baby peacock
Books
*Dreams from my father, Barack Obama
*Off the Beaten Track, Kathryn Thomas
Accomadation
*Vistamar, 200 R$ per night - 3 star location with 5 star service. Nice spot and highly recommended but a little far at 20 minutes walk to the city centre.
It was a cold, chrome skyed, windy river Liffey that I waited by as I hailed a taxi down for the airport. The night before I had been to Alex Martins infamous UCD, D4, culchie here-and-there annual Christmas reunion and now it was 3pm on the 27th of December 2008 and it was time to get away from recessions, pints of Guinness and wolly jumpers and make the 14 hour round trip down to my second home, Brazil.
BR 101 from Rio to Santos has to be one of the most under-rated car trips in the world. A mixture of the Almalfi coast mixed in with Highway 1 it has dramatic sea views and archipelgo sightings mixed in with hundreds of beachs and miles upon miles of "seras tortuosa", windy roads that cut through the numerous small mountain tops that dapple the entire coast and move steadily inland on their way to Sao Paulo and Rio De Janeiro. The eponymous Rio-Santos takes about 9 full hours of travel and about 400kms of driving from start to finish alond the coast. After a stomach full of picanha and some cold "Original" beers Camila and I set off on the 29th along BR101 making our way to Paraty, an old colonial town that acted as the end point for the Portugese to transport their gold from the slave mines of Ouro Preto some 800kms away in the state of Minis Gerais just before they set sail to Lisbon with their bounty. Instead of taking the normal road Im used to from Sao Paulo to the coast: Santos Guaruja and Maresis we instead made our way towards Rio and then cut our way down the "seras" to Paraty.
In my minds eye I was expecting a small colonial, neat cobblestoned town centre with maybe 3 or 4 beaches close by that we could lay back and catch some of Brazil's famous rays but instead what I found was a far bigger town centre than expected rich with a very interesting Bohemian culture which had been many years ago found out by some of the most prominent musicians, artists, film directors, adventures and celebrities that Brazil has to offer. The town was inflated due to the on coming New Years Eve celebrations, but despite the activity, it still maintained its charm and intamacy and somehow manages to circumvent the all to often crazy crowds that descend on the small and big costline towns all along BR 101 at this time of year.
After an adventurous first night walking with Havianns along the beautiful cobblestoned interior of the city and tasting some very nice Pizza in an excellent restaurent called Margaretia (that housed a talented long nailed eye squinting Spanish guitar musician al vivo) the next few days we got stuck into the activities all around us. All with Camilas mum Cidinha Chaparau and her sister Carolina and her very erudite curious lawyer boyfriend Rodrigo. First was a boat trip to Ilha Sonos and the smallest fresh fish restaurent you may ever come across on a tropical island. I had a plate full of Dourado and a can of the famous Guarana soft drink for about 10 euros and left with a big smile on my face and a worringly expanding out of control waist line. Secondly, was a trip to Paulo Branco waterfalls where for the first time I saw waterall skiing and got a chance to try it with some of the local acrobatic teenagers which had learned to ski the jutting rick faces with consumate artistery and grace. Thirdly, was a visit to one of Brazil´s hippy and rasta famous beaches which is famous for dope smoking and moonlight beach parties, Trindade. Here we took in some of the amazing views and also went hunting for the very shy siri crabs that live inland in the light forest and at night scurry around the sand on their way to the sea. Next we visited a pinga and cancha distillery and then an old colonial farm that has been preserved in excellent conditions and was a very clear insight into the mining and slavery industries that existed in the 18th century.
While I felt we packed a huge amount in there was loads left we could have done but ran out of time to do. Tree adventure eco-tourism is very popular here and I will have to slide and scale amongst the tree tops next time I am here. The diving is excellent and with nearby Ihla Grande and its famous crashed helicopter dive which I did before in 2004 the location with its over 300 different islands is a serious winnder for novice and series diver alike. Then there is the jeep trips into the jungle and the countless trail bike adventures to mountain tops where you can do some para-sailing at the top.
I´m now back in Sao Paulo resting and getting ready for the next trip - 8 days in sunny Bahia and the surf beaches off Itacare!
Some of the photos can be checked out here.
