Paraty

Upon reflection we would have saved some time (it is not as if we were on a tight schedule!) if we had taken the bus from Sao Paulo to Paraty and then to Rio or Niteroi, but we didn’t so we sort of backtracked to Paraty.

The original bus trip from Sao Paulo to Niteroi passed through some farmland and eventually down a long escarpment where the northbound lanes went on one side and the southbound lanes went on the other side with the river in between. At some points the roads were a couple of km apart. It was about 5 hours on the bus but on good and fast toll roads for the most part.

The road to Paraty followed the coast and was much more windy and overall speeds were much less so the trip took about 4.5 hours but with wonderful views particularly on the ocean side to the left. The right side was mountains that probably rose to 2000 ft within 3-4 miles of the coast.

View from our room towards the mountains

We just missed the 2pm bus (because it was full) so we had to wait for the 4pm bus that finally arrived around 8.30pm. Suelli had packed some fruit and cake and along with some cereal bars and water we had enough food for the trip. People who take their food on trips (padkoos in Africa) are called Farofeiros and are generally the poorer people who have no choice. We decided we were Farofeiros even if we could actually afford to buy on the way. We had better food at much lower cost! 

Mom, Dad and a fairly new baby on the family transport!

Main street in the old town. Note the cobble stones

Street scene complete with donkey cart

 We did not have a reservation for a place to stay but found the local tourist office with a very helpful lady who was on her first day at work and anxious to please.

We decided to stay in a simple hostel that is located on the main street of the old town with big windows that opened up so we could look down on the street scene below. Very basic but adequate and cheap! 

We had originally thought we would stay just one night, but decided to take a boat trip the next day and then leave early the following (Friday) morning.

It was a great decision! We found the boat the next morning among many others on the dock and had a great day on the water, and in the water along with maybe 25 others. Beer wine other drinks were available on board and we had a lady singer to keep us entertained along with chatting to the other guests. 

Paraty harbor

Another day cruiser

There was a couple from London, a German guy with his Brazilian boyfriend and a couple of Australian girls who were backpacking around Brazil and Argentina, as well as several Brazilian couples. Lunch was available for order, and was reasonably priced for the circumstances.

The boat traveled about 5 miles and pulled in to a little bay where we could swim. We were allowed (and encouraged) to jump off the upper deck (Candida was among the first to do this, and put many of the youngsters to shame!) into crystal clear blue water. Noodles were supplied to aid the relaxation. 

We stopped in several other locations and enjoyed the scenery and saw several homes and villages that could only be accessed by water. There was also a restaurant that was only water accessible. Kinda cool.

We finished up the day wandering around the old town. It has streets paved with large cobblestones that were originally from Portugal. Apparently they were bought over in ships as ballast, and the ships returned with Brazilian gold mined in the hills inland from Paraty in Minas Gerais. This was back in the 16^th century. It makes walking a challenge, but provides a good excuse if you are slightly inebriated as it is tough to walk straight when sober! We had seen a small restaurant with a good singer the previous evening and decided to have dinner there. They had a couple of tables out in the street that was not crowded and we enjoyed a baked fish dish.

Most restaurants seem to serve (and price) dinner for two. This can be limiting if you want to experiment and share, as we like to do.

Our bus left early the next morning, around 6am and arrived in Rio around 10.45. We decided that we would try to navigate back to Silveira’s all the way by bus. We found the bus that crosses to Niteroi across the 13km bridge and I had noted the bus company and route number as we drove into town along with some major landmarks. I was confident that we could get at least to within a couple of kilometers of the house. We passed the three major landmarks I had noted and then I saw the street we needed but too late to stop the bus. We ended up going one stop too far but backtracked and after a couple of turns found the house. They were SO surprised when we showed up at the gate it was priceless.

Paraty was one of the highlights of the trip so far and I am really glad we went. Later in the trip someone told us about how nice Isla Grande is, and it is close and on the list for next time.