With the massive trip behind us, we found ourselves with the last leg of the trip from Mantagatiba to Ilha Grande, aboard a ferry in the sunshine. As this is the tropics we soon found ourselves on a ferry in the tropics in the pissing rain and arrived in the pissing rain. The whole area was filled with waiting super tankers which are quite amazing to see from a tiny ferry, huge tubs sat in the water..
The walk around town in the rain was very pleasant, refreshing really. Finding our hostel that we had booked proved to be more challenging and frankly, in the rain, a little more than boring. So we opted for another hostel called Overnativa or Green hostel which was terrific. The lady that ran it cooked meals every evening and we ate well, and I think quite traditionally and locally. I would even advise visiting her hostel just for the food. We had a lovely little double room overlooking the entrance and the mountainside. The island is a huge hill like many of the others so typical in the area, surrounded by lush rainforest and beaches, some required a good hike to get to. We didn’t do too much for the first day, it rained quite constantly, but on the second it was my 31st and we did a little exploring and chilling. The island boasts lots of great little restaurants and bars on the beach which we then visited in the late afternoon. The capirinhas and the cachca mixed with fresh Passionfruit juice made the evening amusing and we got chatting to some material oil engineers who engaged in laying pipes and the welding of them… sounds fascinating I know... but when they lay them 2km deep and 40 km long then it becomes quite a feat in my books. The restaurant we were at also served great BBQ, where I had a great King Mackerel and King Prawns as my dinner. For my first birthday out of London since 18 I was enjoying myself quite a bit in the most relaxing style. We then met another English couple who had Norfolk in common and we carried on chatting and celebrating my birthday till the bar shut. Jen had actually fallen asleep in a corner by then. The next day the lovely hostel staff gave me a birthday cake which Jen had organized with them.. the cake was incredible, chocolate with dulce de leche and coconut crème filling, we ate it over the next few days sharing with the our new friends.
The next days we spent exploring the island, walking through the rainforest to beaches, swimming and playing cards. It was a very tough life and we really hated every minute of it. One small problem did present itself… there are no cash points on the islands, but thankfully there are lots of places take cards, even the kayak rental place. I thoroughly enjoyed our days there and the motorboat trip back to the mainland and bus ride to Rio took only 2 hours, the trip though the outer areas of Rio, the extensive Favelas was eye opening. Obvious gang tags abundant [marking buildings and blocks then being replaced by other ones], more barbed wire than they used in the first world war and well, very obvious abject poverty. The change between the outskirts and the central parts of Rio were amazing. With the country getting richer, I hope some of the wealth trickles down sooner than later.
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