Lanquin and Semuc Champey

If you ask anyone who has travelled to Guatemala which attraction they most recommend, the answer is almost always the Semuc Champey pools. Lanquin is the town near Semuc Champey (about 10km away) where backpackers stay and go on tours during the day to the pools or caves. We had booked our accommodation through Los Amigos in Flores so we arrived and were taken straight to Oasis Hostel. The hostel is really beautiful and is right on the river. Our private room was Q125 per night. We just relaxed the first night. There is only limited WIFI for certain hours of the day, and even when it was on it didn’t really work! It was actually quite nice to just switch off for a couple of days.

 

The next day we went for a walk up to the more famous hostel, Zephyr, to see what it was like. They are in the process of building but there is a huge pool, which looks really nice. We were convinced to go on a tubing tour for Q60 each and 30mins later we were on the shuttle heading up the river to the starting point. We were with a really cool group of people and the tubing trip was great! You get in your tube and are thrown a beer. Then you slowly float downstream until you reach a point where everyone holds on to a rope. You then enjoy some more beers. After that you continue onto some small rapids and float down to the collection point. The whole trip takes about 2hrs and then you get fetched by a shuttle and are taken back to the hostel for lunch. We met some awesome Australian people and a lovely Dutch couple who we would end up travelling with to Antigua. They were staying at Zephyr and don’t recommend it. They said there were cockroaches everywhere and even some rats. There was also a smell of sewerage in the air.

 

Tubing selfie!

Our tubing group

Beautiful scenery down the river

Loving life!

The next day we opted out of the Semuc Champey tour where you are taken to the caves too. We just decided to do it ourselves. We met a Swedish girl, Jessica, who decided to do the trip with us. We all walked into town and got a shuttle for Q15 each. The ride to the pools is really beautiful and takes about 25mins. When you arrive you pay an entrance fee of Q50 each and then you are free to do what you like. There are kids that sell food and beers at the entrance of the park but you aren’t allowed to drink inside. We did the 40mins hike to the viewpoint, which was rally sweaty but definitely worth it! The swim in the pools afterwards also made it all worthwhile! There are about four or five pools that flow into each other with turquoise water. The water is fresh and it was heaven swimming in them with the sun on our backs! All around the pools are just mountains, so you really feel like you are in the middle of nowhere – which you are! We enjoyed the pools for about an hour and then decided to head back for some lunch.

The sign before the hike. It only took us 40mins, but it was difficult!

Semuc Champey from the viewpoint

Enjoying the view

Beautiful scenery

Pool selfie!

Enjoying the swim

 

We negotiated with the shuttle driver to take us back but he told us we needed to wait for two more passengers. We ended up waiting for an hour and a half but it was fine as we had some beer and local chocolate from the kids while we waited! We got back to the hostel and Chris swam one last time in the river, swinging off the makeshift swing! After that we were quite tired so we just had dinner and went to bed early. We had booked our bus for Antigua for the next day for Q85, which would leave at 8am. All in all we enjoyed our stay in Lanquin. We recommend staying at Oasis for no longer than three or four nights and visiting Zephyr for tours or some drinks. Next stop Antigua!

Chocolate from the local kids

Chris about to land in the river!

Chris about to swing into the river

Flores and Tikal

We took the early shuttle from Caye Caulker to Belize City and then caught the express shuttle across to Flores in Guatemala. The bus ride was really comfortable and the border crossing was really easy. We had to pay an exit fee of BZD37.50 that included a processing fee and a conservation fee. Upon entering Guatemala there is an entrance fee of US$3. No one knows why you have to pay these fees but we were warned by the bus company to pay the fees otherwise you might not get the correct entry stamp which could lead to a hefty fine when exiting the country. So with the fees paid and our passports stamped we entered Guatemala.

 

The scenery almost immediately changes. Huge mountains filled with tropical vegetation spread out for miles. Children, cats and cattle hang out on the side of the highway. We were headed for Flores, a small island in the middle of a lake near the town of Santa Elena. The bus drops you off in Santa Elena where you have to get a smaller shuttle onto the island. This shuttle is free but the company that takes you also has a salesman on the shuttle that tries to sell you bus tickets or tours for about four times what they actually go for! Always ask a couple of people what they have paid before you settle on a tour company.

 

We had heard about Los Amigos hostel from our friend who has visited Guatemala before and decided to give it a go. When we arrived the private rooms were all taken so we decided to spend our first night in a dorm room with aircon for Q75 each. The hostel is really cool and the vibe is awesome. It was a good place to experience our first night in a dorm. The main reason why we were in Flores was to visit the Tikal ruins that are just a short drive away from Flores. We wanted to do the sunrise tour, which starts at 3am so we decided to put it off for one day and just relax the following day.

 

We spent the next day doing some admin and we checked into a private room that had become available. The cost for the private room was Q150 so for the two of us it cost the same as a dorm room for two people. We booked our 3am tour through Los Amigos for Q95 each. We found Los Amigos to be the cheapest tour company for tours and bus tickets. The next day we woke up at 2:30am, something we are not used to doing and won’t do again in a hurry! We got up and met our group at the shuttle bus at 3am. The drive from Flores to Tikal took about 1.5hrs because we needed to fetch some other people at different hostels and fill up with gas. We got to the gates of the national park and each paid the entrance fee of Q250 (the fee is Q250 before 6am and Q150 after 6am). We were then lead to the tallest temple (temple IV) and sat for about an hour waiting for the sun to rise. You sit in silence so that you can listen to the howler monkeys waking up. It is quite something and at times felt like we were in Jurassic Park because the monkeys sound a lot like what we can only imagine a dinosaur would sound like; and there was an eerie layer of mist over the entire forest. The sun eventually did rise but because of the mist we couldn’t really tell where it was and the other temples were all covered. If it is clear though apparently it is a spectacular sight.

 

We spent the next 4hrs or so exploring the city and taking pictures of the animals. We spotted a spider monkey, toucan, parrots and even a tarantula! The Mayans built this city from 400BC to 900AD and at its peak it is estimated they had a population of 120,000 people. They used limestone from the area and made cement using the gum from local trees, water and sand. It is incredible to think about how they built these structures with nothing but manpower. There were temples, palaces, pyramids, residences, admin buildings and monuments. Our guide explained that one temple took 50 years to complete – that’s some dedication!

 

At around 10:30am we left the park and were taken to the shuttle buses to go home. By then we had been awake for 8hrs already so we were dead on our feet and slept the whole ride home! All in all we really enjoyed the experience even though it is quite expensive with the entrance fee. We would recommend you go early though as there are only small groups of people and the animals are all out. When we left the bigger tour groups were arriving and we can imagine it getting quite packed during the day.

 

That night we decided to go out for dinner in the town. There are restaurants that line the lakefront with happy hour cocktails. We enjoyed some margaritas while watching the turtles coming up for some air. We ate some street food for really cheap. The stalls sell burritos, tacos and an array of desserts. We went to bed early as our bus for Lanquin would leave the next day at 8am. Our first 8hr bus was not something we were looking forward to but we were excited about the river village we were headed for.

Waiting for the sun to rise with Tikal hidden in the mist

In front of one of the ruins

Tikal ruins

Ruins in the background

Chris enjoying a 1L beer

Sunset over the lake in Flores

Chilling in a hammock with a bucket of beer!

Los Amigos is owned by a Dutch guy, so we enjoyed some Bitterballen

Five days in Belize

Imagine a little Caribbean island, people speaking with Jamaican accents and taco and burrito stands on every corner; this is the perfect description of Caye Cualker (pronounced “Key Caulker”). This tiny island off the coast of Belize was our home for five nights and it really felt like a little piece of heaven!

 

We left Brazil early last week Monday. We flew from Brazil to Peru and then from Peru to El Salvador. The airline we booked with rescheduled our connecting flight to Belize to the next day so we were put up in a fancy hotel for the night. It was a luxury we thoroughly enjoyed! The next morning we got up early and took our last flight to Belize. We arrived at the airport to a swarm of taxi drivers trying to convince us to go with them to the water taxi. We had read that one could walk for about 2km from the airport to the highway and then catch a bus from there. We thought we would save the US$25 they wanted to charge us for the taxi and just walk. They would have none of it though and convinced us that it was dangerous to walk to the highway. We were sure that we would be ok but didn’t want to take the chance. So the taxi driver convinced us that for US$5 he could take us to the highway and from there we could get a bus. Needless to say the walk would have been absolutely fine! Taxi driver – 1, Chris and Ro – 0. We then arrived at the highway and another taxi driver convinced us that for US$10 he could take us to the water taxi. So in the end we didn’t walk and didn’t get the bus, but we did only pay US$15 instead of US$25 to get to the water taxi!

 

We were dropped off at one of the water taxis and found it to be quite expensive so decided to walk to the other water taxi to compare prices. We ended up using the Caye Caulker Water Taxi Association and paid US$14.50 each for a return ticket. This was far cheaper than the other taxi. The water taxi takes 45mins from Belize City to Caye Caulker. We arrived at around 3:30pm and went straight to the AirBNB house we rented for the five nights. We found our lovely house in five minutes and were thrilled with our bedroom with aircon! There was also a kitchen for us to make breakfast and lunch everyday.

 

We spent the first day chilling at the northern end of the southern island of Caye Caulker, called “The Split”. It is a gap between the islands of about 20 meters where everyone sunbathes and swims. This is where everyone gathers to see the sunset. It was awesome to enjoy the turquoise Caribbean water in the sun!

 

The next couple of days it rained so we took the time to do a little admin and updated the blog. We bought some coconut rum and enjoyed the cable TV at home! On Saturday the weather finally cleared so we booked a snorkeling trip. The boat trip included three stops, fruit, rum and a dinner on a private island afterwards. The day trip was BZD$130 each. We have noticed that everything is on Belizean time though (Caye Caulker’s motto is “Go Slow”!). We were told to be ready for the trip at 8:30am, then when we arrived they told us to come back at 10am! We eventually only left the island at 12pm. I’m not very patient, so this is something I’m going to work on this year it seems! We thoroughly enjoyed the snorkeling. We saw nurse sharks, stingrays and turtles. The private island was also really cool and we enjoyed the rum whilst getting warm around the bonfire. The guides caught fish and conch (basically large clams) for dinner. The guys were also given spearguns to try their hand at catching dinner. One French guy caught some fish but Chris wasn’t as successful!

 

On Sunday we left on the earliest water taxi to catch the bus to Flores. We got the express bus that takes you directly from Belize City to Flores. The standard price is US$25 per person. All in all we thoroughly enjoy Belize. There is a lot of construction currently happening on Caye Caulker so we are sure in a couple of years this little gem won’t be a little gem anymore. American retirees have decided that this magical island is a good retirement spot apparently! We are now in Flores, an island on a lake in Guatemala. We are looking forward to exploring the Tikal ruins and maybe canoeing to a nearby water swing. We’ll post what we get up to soon.

Main road of Caye Caulker

Enjoying a beer at the Split

Happy hour cocktails

My kind of hot!

About to get in to snorkel

Snorkeling

Snorkeling

Stingray

Turtle

Nurse shark

Photo with a shark in the background!

The Split from the boat

One of the guides cleaning a conch for dinner

Beautiful sunset

Tacos – yum!

Selfie on the dock as we got off the water taxi

 

Actual Costs – Belize

We knew that Belize was going to be expensive so we made the decision to just visit Caye Caulker for five nights and then to leave the country. Although we did come in over our usual weekly budget we did do a snorkeling day trip (BZD 130 pp) which was amazing! We also decided to stay in an AirBNB house instead of a hostel so we could have done it for cheaper. We did try to cut down on our eating costs and some days we got by on next to nothing, eating at the local Chinese restaurant! To give you an idea of actual costs we have listed the cost of some common things:

• Taco from food stand = BZD2
• Chinese meal = BZD8-12
• Water taxi return = BZD29
• Beer from the supermarket = BZD3.25
• Beer at a bar = BZD5

Below is the table of what we spent our money on. Our average daily cost came to US$110 for the two of us.

Brazil Summary

We’ve made it – we survived Brazil! We always knew that Brazil was going to be hectic. It’s well known that it is an expensive country and being on a backpacker’s budget, we had our concerns. We were also told on numerous occasions that it would be dangerous and we should watch our backs and possessions, especially during carnival. So now that we’ve done it, do we agree? Yes and no.

Firstly we found that the cost to visit Brazil was not as expensive as we had initially thought. If you are clever with what you spend your money on you can get away with spending time in Brazil on a backpackers budget. We bought groceries when we had a kitchen to cook for ourselves, saving tons on eating out. If we did eat out we would always choose the cheaper options. Often we took the leftovers home to eat for lunch the next day, which also reduced our food expenses. Food can get quite expensive. Almost every menu has options for two people, which work out cheaper than ordering that item for one person, but even this can be expensive. Also note that restaurants will almost always automatically add a 10% tip to the bill whether the service was good or not!

We stayed with a friend in Sao Paulo and couchsurfers in Rio for a total of six out of the 13 nights we were in Brazil. This saved us a lot of money on accommodation. We thoroughly enjoyed our first couchsurfing experiences and would recommend it to anyone backpacking. We also bought beers from the supermarket to pack in our coolerbag whenever we could which is about half the price than if we bought from bars/restaurants at the beach. You can see a breakdown of our actual costs under the “Budget” page.

Transport in Brazil is very efficient and the buses are very comfortable when travelling over long distances. The cost of travelling within a city can be quite expensive with a one-way bus, metro or train ticket being R$3.50. This can add up if you stay far away from tourist destinations like we did when we stayed with our couchsurfers. In Rio especially the metro and buses can also get quite packed, so if you are claustrophobic this can be a bit of a nightmare.

The language barrier in Brazil for tourists who don’t speak Portuguese is quite real! We really struggled to communicate with people. We would recommend knowing the bare essentials and maybe also having an app on your phone to translate things like we did. We found the Google Translate App, with the offline Portuguese language pack really helpful! Brazilians on the whole were really friendly and really tried to help as much as they could. Another observation was how well mannered the younger generation is. Whenever we were on public transport and an older, pregnant or disabled person got on the bus/metro/train one of the younger people would always stand up for them to have their seats. There are also specially allocated queues in busy shops for these people.

The beaches in Brazil were really something! When you think of Brazil you think of tanned beautiful ladies in tight-fitting bikinis with thongs showing off their derrieres, strolling the immaculate beaches of Copacabana or Ipanema. We found the beaches quite overcrowded at times although we were there during carnival so this is the busiest time of year. Most of the people on the beach were of (more than) healthy weight and were still wearing thongs, which made for some interesting viewing! We liked how free the culture is and how people don’t really care about what other people think. 80-year-old grannies were strutting their stuff in thong bikinis!

Safety in Brazil for us was not an issue but we do come from a country where crime is rife and so we automatically have a mindset of being careful wherever we go. If you watch you belongings and don’t flaunt what you have you should be fine. Don’t walk alone at night in dodgy areas and if you are going to a crowded area keep your wallet and cellphone in a zipped pocket or don’t bring it at all.

All in all we had a great time in Brazil but two weeks was enough for us. We would highly recommend backpackers to visit the country but be mindful of what you are spending your money on. Our top five things we did while we were in Brazil, in no particular order, were:

1. Trindade beaches near Paraty
2. Christ the Redeemer
3. Copacobana and Ipanema beaches
4. Bloco party during carnival
5. Escadaria Selarón (tiled steps)

If you would like to see all our photos from Brazil follow the link below: https://www.facebook.com/chris.botha.7967/media_set?set=a.10152535044376082.1073741834.671691081&type=3

Actual Costs – Brazil

We were expecting to spend a lot of money in Brazil but were pleasantly surprised to come in way under budget. This expensive country can be done backpacking style if you watch how you spend your money. We couchsurfed five nights and stayed with a friend for one night. So out of the 13 nights we were in Brazil we only paid for seven nights’ accommodation. This really helped us save money. We also tried to buy groceries to cook at home instead of eating out. To give you an idea of actual costs we have listed the cost of some common things:

• Pizza at a sit down restaurant = BRL30
• McDonalds meal = BRL20
• Local train/metro/bus one way ticket = BRL3.50
• Beer = BRL6 for a small can, BRL9 for a big bottle
• Caipirinha on the beach = BRL10

Below is the table of what we spent our money on. Our average daily cost came to just under US$68 for the two of us.

Rio de Janeiro – Part 2: Carnival

When one thinks of Rio one always thinks about the famous carnival. So when we started planning our trip we knew this was one thing we definitely wanted to experience. We weren’t sure what to expect and how exactly everything works, but we knew we wanted to do it! On Friday afternoon we arrived at our second couchsurfer, Victor, and settled in. We then got to talking about what our game plan was for the carnival weekend. Carnival is basically a series of free street parties called “blocos”. These blocos consist of a truck or bus with performers on them that drive slowly around certain areas. Masses of people follow these blocos around dancing, drinking and celebrating in their weird and wacky outfits. Another part of carnival is the parade of samba schools dancing on floats. This you have to buy a ticket for and you sit on a grand stand and spectate. The tickets for this are very expensive so we decided to just participate in some of the blocos.

 

On Saturday morning we woke up early and got dressed. A friend of Victor, Julia, who was coming with us for the day, had bought extra outfits so she gave me a feather headband to look the part! Our first bloco was on Copacabana main road. We arrived and nothing much was happening but then we heard the faint sounds of drums in the background. The bloco was on its way. Before we knew it we were surrounded by all the festivities and were dancing along to the local Brazilian drumming. There are no organized bars so you just buy beer or frozen caipirinhas sachets from locals selling them on the side of the road. Blocos only last a couple of hours so before we knew it we were back on the bus off to the next bloco near Botofoga where we found Nelson Mandela Square! This bloco felt a lot more crowded as the streets were a lot smaller. At times it can get a bit claustrophobic. We stayed for another hour or so and then had dinner before the two hour metro and train ride home.

 

Copacobana beach

Crowds walking with the bloco

The heat was unreal

Chris in front of the bloco

Victor on the far left was the couchsurfer we stayed with during Carnival

On Sunday we thought we would take it a bit more chilled and chill on Ipanema beach for the day. There would be a bloco passing the beach so we thought we could spectate and tan at the same time. We loaded the coolerbag with beers and packed our day pack. What we didn’t realize was that most people had the same idea. The trains, metros and busses to Ipanema were absolutely jam-packed with people in all kinds of crazy outfits. After about 2 hours of travelling we managed to find a spot on the beach and spent the afternoon observing the craziness from our cozy beach chair, beers in hand. We sampled all the delicious snacks that the vendors were selling on the beach including a stick with grilled prawns. Yum! Later that afternoon we made the arduous 2-hour journey back home and packed our stuff for our departure at 4am the following morning.

 

Enjoying a prawn skewer and caipirinha on the beach

Chilling under the umbrella we rented

Ipanema beach

All in all we had a great time with our new friends Alex and Victor at Carnival and it was certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience to get to see Carnival first-hand. We are now looking forward to dialing it down a couple of notches and chilling out on Caye Caulker island in Belize!

Rio de Janeiro – Part 1

We left Paraty feeling a mixture of excitement and nervousness. We had just started feeling secure in the chilled out vibe of Paraty, where we could walk anywhere, cook our own meals and generally spend our days relaxing and spending minimal cash. Now we are going to Rio de Janeiro, the second biggest city in Brazil with a population of nearly seven million people. The city is massive. The sprawl extends 1,255 km² which means one is highly dependent on public transport to get around. It is also Carnival season, which amplifies the buzz and quadruples the crowds. Add to this 37-degree heat and 90% humidity, and you have a melting pot of sweaty, thirsty, hungry and pushy locals and tourists squeezing onto busses, trains, trams and subways that were probably built for a population half the current size!

We arrived at the Novo Rio bus terminal in Rio around 16h30 on a sweltering Wednesday afternoon. Our plan was to catch a bus to the office of our couchsurfing host, Alex Leal, from where we will go home with him. Easy enough. Or so we thought. Firstly, finding the local bus terminal was harder than we expected. It is not in the same building as the regional bus terminal. After one or two sign-language exchanges with some official-looking people at the terminal (very few people in Brazil speak English), we realized the local terminal is across the street. We made our way there only to face the next challenge of determining which bus to take. There were probably 20 or so busses lined up at various platforms, with numbers and destinations flashing in the front. We needed to get to a suburb called Gloria, but did not see any bus with this destination. After another three or four sign-language exchanges with more official-looking folk (each directing us to a different bus), we eventually got on one with a few other tourists on (the German guy seemed to know what he was doing so we followed him). R$3.50 per person to get on the bus seemed reasonable.

The mad skills of the bus driver was something to be seen. He navigated the narrow streets, rush-hour traffic and random pedestrians hailing the bus, forcing him to make a quick stop, masterfully. After half an hour of thrilling driving exhibitionism, we realized we were more or less where we needed to be and got off the bus. We met Alex at his office, after which we got on the metro (subway), switched to the train at the Centro station and made our way home. Alex lives in a neighbourhood called Olaria with his mother, Daise. Alex speaks English but his mother only Portuguese. It made for some fun charades when Alex wasn’t around! Alex and Daise were great hosts, giving us our own room and providing us with breakfast every morning. On the first night we were joined by Alex’s girlfriend, Melissa, and they treated us to Açai na tigela, a Brazilian dessert, made from frozen and mashed açai palm fruit from the Amazonian region and covered with your choice of nuts, granola or other fruit and chocolate/caramel/condensed milk sauce. Delicious!!

On our first day out in Rio we decided to go to the Christ the Redeemer statue. Instead of catching the train and metro again, we jumped on a bus near Alex’s house. It was rush hour traffic and our bus took exactly 1h37m to reach Cosme Velho, the name of the area where the statue is. The Corcovado tram takes you up the 700m tall Corcovado (meaning “hunchback” as this is what the mountain looks like) mountain to the statue. We were already dripping with sweat but excited to see one of Rio’s most iconic attractions. A ticket costs R$62 per person, which includes the 20 minute tram ride to the top. We briefly considered saving some money by rather doing the two-hour hike to the top but quickly came to our senses and bought the tram tickets after spending about 20 minutes in the queue. The crowds were not too bad considering it is Carnival time. The tram ride is nice and we got some good views of Rio on the way up, but the views from the top were just incredible! The statue was built between 1922 and 1931, stands 30 meters tall and can basically be seen from anywhere in Rio. At the front of the statue it got a bit overcrowded as many people were lying flat on their backs, taking the iconic photo of their friends with the entire statue behind them.

 

The SA flag hanging in the entrance to the Corcovado tram

The Corcovado tram approaching

View of Ipanema beach from atop Corcovado

Awesome views from atop Corcovado

Us in front of Christ the Redeemer

Awesome views from atop Corcovado

Us in front of Christ the Redeemer

Ro looking at Christ the Redeemer

Drinking beer and chilling on Copacabana beach

Copacabana beach is 4.5km long!

View of Christ the Redeemer from Copacabana beach

We had a beer at the top (R$6.50 each), took in the sights one last time and made our way down. The whole experience took about an hour and a half and was well worth it. Our next mission was to go to Copacabana beach. We jumped on the first Copacabana bus we saw, and 20 minutes later we were there. We sat down at a restaurant on the main strip for lunch before going to the beach. An umbrella and two beach chairs cost R$15 to rent for the day, which we did as the sand was scorching and surviving in this sun without an umbrella was unlikely. We spent about three to four hours on the beach, chilling, drinking beer and caipirinhas and swimming. The sun only sets around 8pm so we left the beach at 7pm. The public transport was quite busy so we only arrived at Alex’s house at 9pm, but it was a great day!

The next day we went to see the Escadaria Selarón (tiled steps) in the Lapa neighbourhood, and the botanical garden, Jardim Botânico. All good things to see; and we spent about 30 minutes at each site, after which we grabbed lunch and went back to Alex’s house. Alex and Melissa were off to Miami for a week, but his cousin Victor, graciously agreed to let us stay with him for the last three nights. Victor lives two suburbs north of Alex, in Brás de Pinha.

In the botanical gardens

We found the South African tile!

Us on the Escadaria Selarón

Today we are going to experience Carnival first-hand, as we’re sticking with Victor for the various blocos (“block parties”) that take place throughout the city! We are much more relaxed and really looking forward to it now that we have a cariocan (a person from Rio de Janeiro) at our side!

Chilling out in Paraty

We arrived in Paraty on Wednesday just after 4pm and made the decision to walk the 1.8km to our AirBNB accommodation we had booked already. The bus station in Paraty is in the middle of town and we were staying close to a beach called Jabaquara, just north of town. The walk turned out to be great though as we walked straight through the colonial-looking, historical center of Paraty, cobble-stoned streets and all. It really feels like this town is straight out of the 17^th century. The roads are difficult to walk because of the mismatched stones they used back then to make the roads. We eventually reached the bridge that crosses over to the beach side of town and the difference in scenery could not be further from what we had just walked through. It now felt like we had stepped onto an island in Thailand. Forests cover vast stretches of mountain as far as the eye can see, islands scatter across the bay and tourists lie on the umbrella-clad beaches. This was a little slice of heaven! We walked a little further up to eventually get to Praia do Jabaquara, our side of town. We found our accommodation where we would be staying for the next seven nights. Our room was behind our host’s house and had a mini-kitchen with the bare essentials and a little bathroom. Not too bad – it would do. At least it was 50m from the beach and cheap!

The roads are so quaint

Navigating the cobble stone streets

Walking into town with all our bags!

Our room for the week

The first night we treated ourselves to a gigantic pizza, which we couldn’t even finish between the two of us! We also had our first happy hour caipirinhas – delicious! It is good to note that if there is live music in a place you will most likely be asked to pay a fee with the bill for this entertainment. We were charged R$5 each. It started raining as we were having dinner. This unfortunately didn’t change over the next seven days. It would rain sporadically everyday, usually in the afternoon. As long as we had a little sun during the day it didn’t bother us too much.

 

The largest pizza known to man!

Chris enjoying the pizza and Brazlian beer

Our first Caipirinha!

Over the next couple of days we visited the surrounding beaches and really chilled out to the maximum! Chris did some research on the best beaches in the area. Although we were staying right by the beach, because Paraty is in a bay, there isn’t much of a current. This means the water is a bit murky and very shallow. You could walk out about 200m and still be knee high in the water. We were desperate for some waves and the turquoise water we had pictured in our heads! So on one of the days we got on the bus and headed for Trindade, a town about 50 mins by bus to the south (R$3.50 each one way). The bus ride was beautiful and as soon as we came down the mountain pass towards Trindade we could see we would get what we were hoping for. The water was pristine! Chris had also read about a beach a bit of a walk from the main beach and so we trekked through the forest to get there. It was a tough walk in the humid climate and had we arrived at the secluded beach we were hoping for it may have been worth it. Instead we arrived to about a hundred tourists around a small natural pool that had actually now become quite a famous place to snorkel. Not our scene. So we turned straight back and repeated the walk back to where we had started an hour earlier. Once we had a swim and lay down all was forgotten. We were in paradise. We packed some left over dinner that we had made the night before and had a great feast on the beach with some beers we had also brought.

 

At the beginning of the arduous trek

The natural pools with the hoards of tourists

View of the beach with a beer in hand

Enjoying the beer we packed in our cooler bag!

Later that afternoon, when we got back to Paraty, we went to a big grocery store and bought some supplies for dinner and lunch the next day. We were amazed when we saw the bulk price for beer. In the grocery store 12 big cans (473ml) of beer is R$27, where in the restaurants you would easily pay R$9 for one can. We quickly put the beer in our shopping basket!

Chris struggling to communicate with the shop assistant

Meat on display

Chris cooking us dinner

The finished product

 

The next day Chris wanted to watch Liverpool so he again did some research on the best place to watch football. We walked into town and found the bar but were shocked to find out that the cheapest beer was R$12 for a can and some of the craft beer on tap was R$22 (~ZAR95) for a pint! We walked around a bit and settled at this quaint little restaurant where we drank (more affordable) beer and snacked on little pastries delights. The game ended in a draw but the experience was still good. On Sunday we went for dinner at this little restaurant called Nono hidden away in the neighbourhood we are living in. We ordered the cheapest burgers on the menu (R$13) and were dumbstruck when the enormous plate came. The burgers were delicious with ham and bacon piled onto the huge patty; and we both had leftovers for the next day. I also had two of the strongest caipirinhas known to man for R$8 each. On Monday we went back to Trindade for the waves and had a great day on the beach, swimming, tanning and eating delicious food from the vendors that stroll the beaches. This was the first perfect sunny day we had had the whole week! We also booked our bus tickets to Rio on Wednesday. There are about 10 buses a day that leave Paraty for Rio (R$65.50 each for the 4.5hr bus trip).

 

The delicious snack during the game

The huge burger at Nono

Swimming at Trindade

Eating chicken on a stick from vendors on the beach

Sipping caipirinhas on the beach

All in all we loved our chilled week in Paraty. We would say that 7 nights in this sleepy town is maybe a bit much, we think 3 or 4 nights is more than enough time to see everything. Our next stop is Rio where will be staying with our first couchsurfers and experiencing Carnival so we are very excited!

 

 

Our first taste of Brazil – São Paulo

Our flight was perfect, we left and arrived on time and there was no turbulence. The pilot even commented on this, saying it was his smoothest trip across the Atlantic! The first thing we noticed as the plane descended upon São Paulo was how enormous it is. It is Brazil’s largest city and the sprawl stretches as far as the eye can see with hundreds of multi storey apartment buildings (30+ storeys). It is no wonder they need to build up though as 11 million people live in the city. We arrived in São Paulo at 5pm.  We had the address of our friend Luis where we would be staying the night. It could not be easier to get around in a city. Coming from South Africa, we are not used to public transport, let alone public transport that is so efficient! We literally walked out the airport, hopped on the first airport shuttle that takes you to the general bus terminal for free. From there we took a bus to the nearest metro station (Tatuape) for R$5.50. We then took the metro to the station closest to Luis’ house (Barra Funda). A metro ticket to anywhere on any line is only R$3.50 (~ZAR15)! The metro system is so efficient, you never wait more than 5 minutes to get the next train.

Flying into São Paulo

We arrived at Luis’ amazing flat just before 8pm. Brazil is 4hours behind South Africa, so for us it actually felt like 12am. It was still light outside though so our minds were completely confused. We had our first couple of South American beers and enjoyed chatting to Luis. He was very helpful with helping us sort out our plans for the next day to get to the bus station and catch the bus to Paraty (pronounced Pa-ra-chee). We went to bed at around 10pm (2am South African time) and slept like babies!

 

Luis and us in his flat

Chris enjoying his first South American beer (a 1L bottle from Uruguay nogals!)

The next morning Luis dropped us at the metro station where we caught the train to Portuguese-Tiete, which is also the major bus terminal in São Paulo. We bought our tickets to Paraty for R$54 each and an hour later we were on our way! Again we were so amazed at how efficient everything is! The bus ride was great, very spacious, with reclining seats. We stopped at two different refreshments stops and ate some amazing Brazilian street food. One of our favorites was a piece of chicken, wrapped in cheese, wrapped in potato and then deep-fried on a stick! We are struggling to understand people as no one speaks English, and our Portuguese is limited to what our translation app tells us to say! When the serving lady tried her best to explain to us what the main ingredient in the various dishes was, we could only muster blank stares in return. We were pleasantly surprised at our food delight (“Frango”, it turns out, is Chicken), as we had taken a gamble when picking it!

 

Chris waiting to buy our bus tickets

On the bus

Eating the “frango” delight

The bus ride took 6 hours in total but it felt much shorter as the scenery along the way was spectacular. We are now in Paraty, enjoying 7 nights in this idyllic seaside village. So far we love the chilled atmosphere! We’ll write about what we’re getting up to in the next post.