Ilha Grande is a popular place for people from Rio, looking to escape the city for a weekend, so we tried to avoid the weekend crowds but we were still plunked right in the middle of the cruise ship season. Every day, at about 10am, two cruise ships come into the bay near the town, bringing throngs of people who wander aimlessly around the tiny town for about 4 hours, buy ice cream and head back to the ship. There is an absurd number of people in town at peak hours; you can barely walk through the streets. The good news is, if you are happy to romp through the jungle for an hour and a half or more, you can find several great beaches and lots of other cool things, that most cruise-shippers don’t have enough time to get to. The bad news is, if you just want to amble down to the pleasant beach ten minutes from town, you’ll probably be sharing a tiny space with a bunch of fat rich people.
The next few days were still a bit rainy so we took a couple of walks, to escape the cruisers herding through town. Our first trip took us on a short route up a hill near town and down the other side to a small beach. The forest is dense:
We woke the next morning to an incredible feast of a breakfast, definitely the best of our trip. Our pousada was a properly German affair, run by a properly friendly German couple. (Nothing should be dirty, everything should be organized and no one should start their day without at east five or six sausages.) On our first day, we put on our damp bathing suits and went in search of the closest beach. We were still, jet-lagged and waking up early so we hadn’t hit the tourist tidal wave yet.
Here’s a shot of the beach near the town:
We still had to fight for a place to lay our towels though. I did a bit of masculine posturing and sent this fellow on his way:
It started spitting rain pretty soon after we sat down. My wife brought an umbrella so we read for a bit, lying underneath to keep our books dry, but eventually felt a bit silly and went back to our hotel. We sat on the balcony and watched humming birds and cruise ships come and go for the rest of the afternoon.
Hummingbirds are difficult to photograph:
The next few days were still a bit rainy so we took a couple of walks, to escape the cruisers herding through town. Our first trip took us on a short route up a hill near town and down the other side to a small beach. The forest is dense:
No comments:
Post a Comment