Paradise Island....

Trip Start Oct 30, 2007

Trip End Jan 30, 2008

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Flag of Brazil Ihla Grande, Brazil
Wednesday, January 2, 2008

After a 2 hour journey and a 1.5 hour ferry ride, we arrive at the island of Ilha Grande off the coast of Brazil. Things don't start very well as Neil hasnt booked any accommodation and the island is full except for camping (not something Neil does) and he ends up having to make the long journey back to Rio.
The island itself is quite large with lots of excellent beaches and a small town full of great fish restaurants, could be the best place so far. Cat also likes the place as they have street carts full with between 20 and 30 desserts. Our resort is very small with only 5 rooms, but great views and a very relaxed atmosphere. Day 1 and we decide to walk to a nearby beach (15 minutes walk), unfortunately we end up selecting the wrong path and it becomes a 1 hour hike that ends with a barbed wire fence. After a strange conversation with a Brazilian tourist (also lost), we speak to him in English, he speaks back in Portuguese, we all then shake our heads in agreement and head back

Diving Freemans

. The beach is a nice little cove, with two fish restaurants whose tables are set up on the beach.
The next day we take a 1 hour boat to another beach which is truly spectacular (one of the top 8 beaches in the world according to Vogue magazine), its a mile long stretch of soft white sand with crystal clear water. The day is a scorcher and I amuse myself by watching people casually stroll to the sea before breaking into a sprint as the sand is so hot. After wards we try and find some accommodation for Neil however now there isn't even any camping space, to be honest it may have been a blessing as the next two days rain pretty heavily.
We do another dive here but there isn't much to see, however the dive is kept interesting by our fellow divers who are all over the place.
Its strange how you can eat in the same restaurant on consecutive nights and leave with completely different experiences.
Day 1: Great service, excellent cocktails and the best fish meal of the holiday. We leave thinking we must return.
Day 2: Dreadful service, a frog jumps onto the side of Cats face, she throws it onto the table where it makes good its escape. After 2 hours and no food we leave the restaurant thinking we will never go back.

Great place but now time to go off and see some big waterfalls.

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