Ilha Grande

Oi! (Hi in Portuguese)

We spent 5 full days at this paradise island and we loved our surroundings. We took boat taxis to reach the far away beaches, there's beaches in Abraão (the main port) as well but not as nice as the other ones. We hiked to an abandoned prison that used to hold the most dangerous criminals, where one drug lord made a famous escape to mention some of its history. The hike was 8.3 km one way and unfortunately there was no direct taxi boat back. Not to hard hike but long. We saw monkeys. We watched out for giant ants. We had really long boat tours, they don't exactly do short tours so a lot of time spent in the sun. A bit more than we wished for. And they call it lunch when you stop at a restaurant at 5 pm as your last destination... Tourist trap. We looked in stores for swim wear and other things. We snorkled and saw some fish, some colorful big ones but not as in Thailand. So all in all a typical sun vacation.

First full day was rather cloudy

Waterfall hike with natural swimming pools

Jungle

The little waterfall

Around Abraão

Tries espanha drink, very sweet and two sips would have been enough :p

Good beer

Still we have mixed feelings about Brazil after this. Customer service is almost non existent on the island. Maybe it's a communication problem but it's also the little things that you notice. A smile wouldn't hurt. The ones working in the tourist industry seems to be on vacation themselves sometimes and they're not welcoming at all. Of course we have some exceptions but the overall impression is this. A totally different tourist climate in Chile. A guide in Peru told me this about the Brazilians, that they're ignorant and proud and very unlike the rest of South America. I now understand what he meant.

However the nature is fantastic, our Pousada was lovely and we are still happy about our time on the island. I'll sum it up with some more pictures.