Paraty - Brazil's Beauty Spot

A beautiful hot and sunny day met me as I opened the curtains this morning. We were anchored out in the Baia de Parati, part of the Baia da Ilha Grande 100 miles south of Rio De Janiero. We had to take the tender boat into the town of Paraty, a trip that would take about 45 minutes. As Steve does NOT do small boat rides well, he chose to stay onboard the Serenity and I struck out on my own.

The town of Paraty is a small beachfront town, however it was named a World Heritage Site in 1966. The reason for this is because back in the 17^th Century, Paraty was a logical shipping point for the gold that was discovered in the then world's richest mine in Minas Gerais. Gold seemed to flow out of the hills and the population of the port town grew to 16,000. However, it wasn't long until the town went bust because of the rough waters between it and Rio, combined with the savagery of the pirates. An overland route was built to take the gold to Rio and Paraty's population dropped to 1,000.

However, today it is a favorite stopping place for sailors. And it is a charming town. It is described as having some of Brazil's finest examples of colonial architecture and design.

The streets are paved with something similar to cobblestones, except they are much bigger, rougher, and can easily twist one's ankle. It is definitely not wheelchair accessible.

The shops are small and many of them feature Brazilian artists and artesans. I picked up an awesome necklace that looks just like licorice allsorts....how cool is that?

The centro area of the town is pedestrian only, however, I saw a number of horse and carts that were being used for deliveries. There were a number of interesting looking restaurants and coffee houses as well.

There are also some 200 beaches in the nearby seaside and offshore islands. I heard that Bridget Bardot used to come here regularly to get away from it all and to take the sun. She would have had her choice of any number of beaches that feature beautiful white sand, swaying palm trees, and beautiful turquoise water.

One of the favorite drinks here is Cachaca, a local spirit made from sugar cane. Brazil produces more than 4,000 brands. I tried some the other day and it was okay if mixed with lots of ice. I've heard that you don't want to try more than one, or two at the very most.

Tomorrow we head to Ihla Grande. We are trying to book a guide online to take us on a jungle hike that ends at a famous waterfall. So far, we've heard that 'yes, we will have a guide' but to date, we haven't received any details like where to meet them, or at what time. But, travel is full of adventure so we will don our mosquito repellant, our sunscreen, our floppy hats and be ready for whatever awaits us.

 THAT LITTLE SPECK YOU CAN SEE IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS PHOTO IS OUR SHIP ANCHORED. IT TOOK US 45 MINUTES TO TENDER IN FROM THE SHIP TO THE TOWN (AND ANOTHER 45 TO GET BACK TO THE SHIP.) THANK GOODNESS THE SEAS WERE CALM.

 HORSE AND CARTS ARE A COMMON SIGHT IN PARATY, AS THEY ARE STILL USED FOR DELIVERIES AND HAULING THINGS.

ONE OF THE SHOPS THAT IS SITUATED IN A COLONIAL BUILDING. THE STREETS ARE ALL PAVED IN SOMETHING SIMILAR TO COBBLE STONES BUT MUCH BIGGER AND ROUGHER. YOU REALLY HAVE TO WATCH YOUR STEP.