Slowing Down in Paraty

There wasn’t much point in hiring a car for where we had decided our next move would be, other than getting there. So we opted for the Costa Verde bus line.

After a final visit to the Australian coffee shop and closing the door on our very comfortable apartment, we set off. With luggage in hand, we jumped into an Uber for the thirty minute ride across town, through the city’s back door into the less salubrious areas, past Maracanã and into the bus station, where we boarded the midday service to Paraty.

Buses and trains are often the best way to see a country, but this was our first road trip since arriving in South America.

We were a couple of hours into the journey before leaving the urban sprawl behind and re-entering the forested landscape, which eventually gave way to more intimate coastal roads. Along the way, the bus made several unplanned stops, extending the journey more than expected. By the time we stepped off, it was after 6pm.

The apartment we had booked was set within beautiful grounds and was correctly described as a wellness retreat. It had great energy. We later discovered that the project had originally been conceived as a small Italian-style village. Although it was not completed entirely in that vision, it works very well. It is peaceful, with enchanting birdsong from dawn to dusk.

As we have discovered, Brazil receives most of its rainfall during the summer months, and for the first couple of days we found ourselves dodging heavy downpours. It dampened our spirits a little, but they soon passed and we began to explore.

The walk into the historic centre takes about ten minutes, following an estuary set against an incredible mountain backdrop. Palm trees provide intermittent shade along the way. Crossing one of the small bridges brings you to a central square, and from there out into narrow, heavily cobbled streets. After the recent rain, the stones stood proud, making the walk a little more precarious, but in my mind it only added to the experience.

Paraty is an old fishing village and is not particularly known for its beaches. However, about a twenty minute walk along a quiet road through tall trees brings you to a small stretch of beach with a few bars playing live music. It is not somewhere I would necessarily recommend for swimming, but if, like me, you are happy to sit on a lounger under the palm trees and listen to the music, it is perfect.

We took a trip to nearby Trindade, which offers a series of striking golden beaches that feel as though they have been carved out of the forest. Some of the more remote beaches can only be reached by walking across hilly forest paths.

The final beach we visited was more a collection of large boulders forming a natural pool. Rachel found it quite magical. It was on the walk back to the restaurant for lunch that I first noticed the red welts. There are some hungry mosquitoes here, and up until that point I had managed to avoid them entirely since arriving in South America, but they are a different breed here.

Rachel has been busy with work and has aggravated an old knee injury, so we had to rethink some of the hikes and excursions we had planned. Given more of the same was probably waiting for me in the jungle, I was not too disappointed. In truth, it has been a busy trip, and we were both quite happy to slow things down and enjoy wandering around this beautiful little place.