Paraty

So we had driven out of the Pantanal, then bussed back to Campo Grande, then bussed overnight to São Paulo where we were assured buses left every hour to Paraty. We arrived to the São Paulo bus terminal around noon and navigated two subways to the correct terminal (Sao Paulo has a population of about nineteen million so their bus station is as big as most airports!) only to find we had to wait until 4pm for our next bus. By the time we arrived to our hostel in Paraty at 11 pm we were desperate for the shower, a burger, laundry service, and finally bed.


We woke up feeling much better, but unfortunately it was a cloudy day. We enjoyed a great breakfast at the hostel where we heard some people talking about going kayaking so we decided to join in on that! It was so nice to be out on the water, and it was probably best we weren't baking in the sun. We first kayaked to a little island where we stopped for a swim on a quiet beach, and to enjoy the amazing scenery. The greenery is so beautiful in brazil! Next we went through a mangrove which was neat looking and had little tree crabs everywhere!! Unfortunately it was also a great place for mosquitoes and flies and I am now paying for it in itchiness. We continued on for a while, Lisa and I were quite in unison paddling (3 months side by side have made us so in sync everyone has begun asking if we are sisters!!) so it was easy, and so nice and peaceful. We stopped for a nice lunch and then our guide told us it was time to go for a mud bath! We were surprised that as we walked along the beach all the sudden the sand just stopped and clay started! We waded into the clay, it felt so odd at first! A bit slimy and like sinking mud, but once you got sitting in it it was awesome! It felt really cool to be submerged in, and it was fun to roll around and try and swim in, you couldn't help but giggle at the feeling and at how silly we all looked! After we rinsed ourselves off (mostly) we got back in the kayaks and paddled back home. A great way to spend a rainy day :) That evening we went out for dinner with some hostelmates and had an interesting dinner. Pretty hard to order at an Arabic restaurant with a Portuguese menu! Haha, it was a decent meal though and nice company.


Next day we got up and did a wander through the small city to see the historic centre. It is very colonial and pretty, and the stone streets were neat, though hard to walk on they're so uneven. Close to the water thousands of crabs have holes between the stones in the road, they're so cute! We left Paraty after lunch to head to the tropical island Ilha Grande!

-Court