Paraty

Day 10 – Travel

Having had our fill of Rio in four days, we were ready to begin the end of our vacation in the costal, laid-back town of Paraty, which was a 5 hour bus ride away. We were up bright and early to board our 9 o’ clock bus, which brought us to Paraty right around 2 PM. We settled into our quaint B&B, Pousada Guarana, and relaxed before heading into town in the early evening.





After a 20 minute walk, we arrived in the historic district of Paraty, which dates back to the 16th century when the town was used for the neighboring gold trade. Needless to say, the historic center is very nice, closed to traffic, and conveniently accessible by foot. It reminded us of a more rustic and less touristy version of St. Augustine, FL.





To start our culinary feast, we indulged in some excellent gelato. After some walking around, we headed to a nice restaurant which served excellent pasta. And just when you thought we had enough, for dessert we tried (for the first of three trips), the acai (pronounced AH-sigh-EE) berry puree, which was served with various toppings (like honey or condensed milk) and fresh fruit. This dessert is surely the nectar of the gods. I felt invincible and close to nirvana after each generous serving.



Day 11 – Paraty

Having a full day ahead of us to explore, we kicked off our first day in Paraty by having a laid back morning, sleeping in, and enjoying a great homemade breakfast. At about 10 AM, we headed out to the main drag and hailed down a cab, who agreed to take us to a waterfall not that far away called Penha. Turns out, this “waterfall” is actually a large slab of rock over which water flows in a steady and thin stream, making it Nature’s own waterslide. Many crazy locals, and even some tourists, took part in this experience, but I valued my life enough to pass on this tempting recipe for a concussion. Still, we enjoyed relaxing by the water in the jungle. Upon our return to the historic center of town, we did some more walking around and exploring.



Similar to the first night, our second night in Paraty was a culinary tour of the town, to say the least. We started off with appetizers and drinks at a Thai restaurant (where Dad was offered two free shots of clove-flavored cashasha, which made him a little loopy for the rest of the evening), followed by a very large meat filled Pastel from a street vendor as the main course. Finally, to top it all off, we returned to the acai restaurant where I tackled a whopping 500ml of berry bliss.

Needless to say, Dad and I had no choice but to continue the losing battle to offset this deluge of calories with an ambitious running agenda (this time with challenging hills). The final mileage scoreboard for our Brazil vacation was 68 miles for me, 52 miles for Dad, and a big goose egg for Mom (“I prefer to just walk and enjoy my surroundings.)”

Day 12 – Paraty

With a day left to our stay in Paraty, as well as to our entire trip to Brazil, we wanted to end with a bang and enjoy a memorable experience. So, what more could you ask for than a five hour long tour by boat through Paraty’s beautiful bay and nearby islands? We did just that, boarding our boat, the Rei Cigano, at 10 AM and departed for our tour.





The ride was very nice, to say the least, and included four stops to swim and snorkel. With all the swimming, I got an extra dose of Vitamin D as I discovered later in the day with a nasty sunburn on my back, rivaled only by Mom, the human lobster back. Upon our return back to land, we headed back to our pousada (B&B) before heading out to the historic district later in the evening.





Following the suggestion of our B&B owners, we headed to a local restaurant called Camello for our fix of Arab-inspired esfihas. The esfihas are excellent mini-pizzas, which disappeared in seconds after they were served to us.

For the first time in our entire trip, we took part in some entertainment, although it might not be what you think. On our final night in Paraty, we went to see an internationally acclaimed puppet show, which was an hour long wordless production. The puppeteers were excellent in execution and made the puppets seem like real human beings rather than a lifeless doll. All in all, the show was a great way to end our stay in Paraty.

Day 13 – Travel

The day finally dawned on us where we would be heading back home. With a day of travel ahead of us, we waved good bye to the beautiful country that is Brazil, hoping we will find ourselves there again sometime soon. Feliz Natal and Feliz Ano Novo!