Ilha Grande. (Eel-ya Grahnj). It was some stroke of luck that I ended up here. Of course, living in Antarctica, and hearing about a tropical jungle island off the coast of Brazil, with over 100 beaches, no cars and $2 caipirinhas, sounded much too good to be true. But it is in fact, even just a bit better than that. This island is friendly to tourists (most of them seem to be Brazilian), easy to get around, boats and bikes are the only real modes of transportation, and there is a ton of stuff to do. The entire island is a protected area, with most of the land included in Ilha Grande State Park, and the rest subject to stringent development restrictions. Small-scale ecotourism is encouraged, and the island, which is roadless and off-limits to cars, has over 150 km of hiking trails connecting the handful of coastal villages, beaches, mountain peaks, waterfalls, and wild jungles.
After the hustle and flow of Rio de Jenairo, it is good to rest and play among nature. I have taken some time here to sew buttons on my pockets, rent a kayak, lounge in a hammock and generally enjoy a life of idle days in the sun. With all the complexities of life this last year, nothing has felt so rewarding to me as this week on the beach.
Angra dos Reis, the Brazilian port town I used to access Ilha Grande
Jungle path
2 comments:
I, too, have learned the way of the hammock.
Looks amazing. Must be rough with all those beaches and tan bodies. Duluth is one color right now. Gray.
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