Thursday 21st – Sunday 24th January
Caught cab at 10am to bus station feeling a bit seedy, then 3 and a half hours on bus feeling more seedy due to driving around very windy mountainous roads, then caught a cab to ferry terminal, caught ferry for an hour and a half feeling a little better, then arrived on Ilha Grande at 5pm!
Beautiful Island with big mountains covered in rainforest, and lovely little cove where the main town called Abraa is located. We stayed in a hostel called Aquarius which was a 10 minute walk along the beach to get to. Turns out Aquarius and Chez Lagard next door were the ‘party hostels’. We got the ‘El Capitan’ room which was a double up the top of the hostel that had a balcony overlooking the ocean (with a hammock!). Lovely views.
Went for swim out the front of hostel when we got there and chatted to a couple of Aussie guys called Mark and Matt who told us about a boat tour they were doing the next day, which we decided to go on too. First night we had an early night.
Had brekky at hostel in the morning and signed up for the boat tour which left at 11am and got back at 5pm. Went to Green Lagoon, Blue lagoon and another cove before stopping for “lunch” at 4:30pm at Japanaz beach (I thought we were eating Japanese). Embarrassing moment where we were short on cash, but luckily the aussies boys lent us some until we got back! Went snorkeling and saw some nice fish but not much else. Water was beautiful though and great day out.
Had burger night at Aquarius and hung out with Matt and Mark, then a few Brits we met. Weird drunk Chilean guy was telling us some funny stories too. Had a few more drinks at Chez Lagard with them all.
Last full day on Ilha Grande we caught a boat to Lopes Mendez – supposedly one of the top 10 beaches in the world. Was an hour boat ride then 20 minute walk over mountain. Great surf beach but water was a bit choppy and rippy. Lovely squeaky sand. We thought the beach looked a bit like Fisheries beach back home, except with warm water and rain forest around us. Had a few swims etc then headed back to the other side of mountain and caught ferry back.
Had dinner on beach back in Abraa with the 3 Brits at a place that did BBQ’ed fish. Literally sitting 5 metres from water. Thought the food was fantastic until later that night when both of us got a bit of South America gut and I was a bit poorly!
Got a transfer back to Rio yesterday from the hostel which involved a fast boat, then a cab ride to our hostel last night in an area of Rio called Santa Teresa. Went out for sushi again but still feeling crap so back to hostel for sleep.
This morning prior to coming to airport we went for a walk to Lapa – the Bohemian area near Santa Teresa. Lots of cool mosaics down this one stretch of stairs – the artist that designed it all was actually working on one as we went down which was cool.
Now sitting at airport waiting for flight to go to Santiago! We are there for a couple of days then off to Easter Island!! Will try and do another blog after that.
Caught cab at 10am to bus station feeling a bit seedy, then 3 and a half hours on bus feeling more seedy due to driving around very windy mountainous roads, then caught a cab to ferry terminal, caught ferry for an hour and a half feeling a little better, then arrived on Ilha Grande at 5pm!
Beautiful Island with big mountains covered in rainforest, and lovely little cove where the main town called Abraa is located. We stayed in a hostel called Aquarius which was a 10 minute walk along the beach to get to. Turns out Aquarius and Chez Lagard next door were the ‘party hostels’. We got the ‘El Capitan’ room which was a double up the top of the hostel that had a balcony overlooking the ocean (with a hammock!). Lovely views.
Went for swim out the front of hostel when we got there and chatted to a couple of Aussie guys called Mark and Matt who told us about a boat tour they were doing the next day, which we decided to go on too. First night we had an early night.
Had brekky at hostel in the morning and signed up for the boat tour which left at 11am and got back at 5pm. Went to Green Lagoon, Blue lagoon and another cove before stopping for “lunch” at 4:30pm at Japanaz beach (I thought we were eating Japanese). Embarrassing moment where we were short on cash, but luckily the aussies boys lent us some until we got back! Went snorkeling and saw some nice fish but not much else. Water was beautiful though and great day out.
Had burger night at Aquarius and hung out with Matt and Mark, then a few Brits we met. Weird drunk Chilean guy was telling us some funny stories too. Had a few more drinks at Chez Lagard with them all.
Last full day on Ilha Grande we caught a boat to Lopes Mendez – supposedly one of the top 10 beaches in the world. Was an hour boat ride then 20 minute walk over mountain. Great surf beach but water was a bit choppy and rippy. Lovely squeaky sand. We thought the beach looked a bit like Fisheries beach back home, except with warm water and rain forest around us. Had a few swims etc then headed back to the other side of mountain and caught ferry back.
Had dinner on beach back in Abraa with the 3 Brits at a place that did BBQ’ed fish. Literally sitting 5 metres from water. Thought the food was fantastic until later that night when both of us got a bit of South America gut and I was a bit poorly!
Got a transfer back to Rio yesterday from the hostel which involved a fast boat, then a cab ride to our hostel last night in an area of Rio called Santa Teresa. Went out for sushi again but still feeling crap so back to hostel for sleep.
This morning prior to coming to airport we went for a walk to Lapa – the Bohemian area near Santa Teresa. Lots of cool mosaics down this one stretch of stairs – the artist that designed it all was actually working on one as we went down which was cool.
Now sitting at airport waiting for flight to go to Santiago! We are there for a couple of days then off to Easter Island!! Will try and do another blog after that.
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