Paraty - A beautiful old town
My next stop in Brazil was then called Paraty. Another colonial city near Rio de Janeiro, marked by cobblestone streets and proximity to the coast. In 1958 the historical old town was put under monument protection. In 2019 the old town was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO for its culture and biodiversity, together with the island of Ilha Grande.
The old town is largely closed to traffic and has an almost completely preserved historical architecture from the 17th century. The houses are all painted white with colourful window and door surrounds. The streets have a rough cobblestone pavement, which was laid by slaves. At high tide the floodwater flows into the alleys.
The city is rather small and you can see everything in a short time. I left my hostel after 1 night because I was almost the only guest and changed to another hostel and visited an Irish bar with an Irishman I met there. It was just St. Patrick's Day and he invited me for a few beers. Unfortunately it was raining a lot.
Ilha Grande - Trapped in the rain
Even worse the rain caught me in my next stop, the Ilha Grande, which is known for its beauty all over the nation. The island, which is 193 km2 in area, is now a popular tourist destination because of its scenic beauty, unspoilt tropical beaches, luxuriant vegetation and rugged landscape. On the Ilha Grande there are numerous species of rare animals, such as howler monkeys, parrots, turtles, snakes and the relatively unknown Guyana dolphin. From the mountain Pico do Papagaio you have a view over the whole island and in good visibility even over to the mainland.
But there I had terrible weather, so I couldn't do any hike. It really rained the whole time. Exactly 2 nights I spent there and most of them I spent in the hostel. I played some board game with one of the many Argentinians who were lodged there.
I was glad when I could leave the island again. And my next stop should compensate for the bad time there. I was going to visit the world-famous city of Rio de Janeiro. A dream came true.
