Ilha Grande and One Last Day in Rio

Our next stop took us to yet another island, Ihla Grande (note - islands may be turning into the new "hot springs" of the trip, AKA Nicole not-so-secretly inserting them into our itinerary everywhere). The choice to go here was based off a recommendation from a fellow hostel-goer in Rio who actually lives in São Paulo (he's Brazilian and said it's his favorite place in the country). Ihla Grande is just a few hours south of Rio, so we hopped on the first bus we could get out of the city and in short time we were at the port town of Conceição de Jacarei (hopefully you don't sound as dumb trying to pronounce this as we did at the bus station when booking tickets). We were dumped off, along with a bunch of other tourists, on the side of the road. Thankfully there were some ferry company personnel there to lead us to the ticket office at the port (they actually wear t-shirts with the bus company logo on them to make it seem like they are associated with the bus company. They are NOT, it is just a ploy to make you feel obligated to spend more money at their more expensive ticket office).

After we discovered the bus/ferry t-shirt scam, we were appalled that ferry prices were nearly double what we were expecting. We balked and decided to look around a bit before purchasing. It didn’t take long before we had another guy offering to take us for less, but only if we had at least 6 people. We meandered back and managed to convince not just 4 additional people - but 9 - to come with us and make it cheaper. While we were relieved we wouldn’t have to wait, or to pay more, we realized that the boat they had was actually more ideally suited for 6 people - not 11, all of whom carried luggage that was the equivalent size of several additional humans. The boat driver looked at us very skeptically as we started to board, which is not an encouraging sign as you are about to journey across the sea! Also, since this was an unofficial ferry were were not actually able to use the dock, so we had to wade out into the water with our luggage held high in order to get on the boat. The driver had us all move the majority of the luggage (and people) to the back of the boat as the front was too heavy. Needless to say, the ride was interesting and it was only about halfway through that we all took a deep breath and laughed, realizing we weren’t actually going to capsize. Once we arrived, everyone thanked us for getting them a better price and we headed to our place to check in.

Finally, we were on Ihla Grande. A few things to note about this island we had come to: there are no cars on the island, which means your choices for getting around to the island's 86 beaches are hiking or taking a taxi boat; cash is used for most transactions despite the fact that there are no ATMs; island prices here actually aren't as bad as we were expecting!

We spent our first evening exploring the roads around the town, both near the port and past all of the restaurants and bars, and of course watched some footvolley (please - for your own entertainment - search this on YouTube. I hope it also makes you feel like you have no athletic ability whatsoever - that’s what it did to us). We had brought food from the mainland because we assumed island prices would be high. We cooked our rice bowls and made plans for our first hike the following day. Afterwards, we went to an acai shop we had seen and tried our first acai bowls of the trip. As the acai fruit comes from the jungle in Brazil, we couldn't miss this and loved them so much this became our regular nightly tradition while on the island. Note that the acai fruit is actually a really healthy superfood....before you add the candies, chocolate syrup, and cereal on top.

Our accommodation included an AMAZING buffet breakfast (complete with like 6 different kinds of cake...we learned that cake is a typical breakfast item in Brazil). We needed the energy as we had a 5 mile hike to the island's most famous beach: Lopes Mendes (which is adevertised all over the island as "Brazil's Second most beautiful beach," although there is no mention of what is first). We began the hike in Vila do Abraão (where we were staying) and headed east 1 km to the first beach, Abraãozinho before we began the uphill portion. It was a very unpopulated hike which allowed us to enjoy the jungle, ocean views, and sounds of each others panting through the heat and humidity. As this is NOT a flat island, you actually climb up about 2,300 feet during the trek. We also reached 2 additional beaches en route to Lopes Mendes, Das Palmas and Do Pouso - which had very few people and we thought were stunning. When we finally reached Lopes Mendes, we realized why it is so famous in Brazil. The beach is long and wide with white sands and even though there were a lot of people here, there was plenty of space to spread out and enjoy your own area. This proved an excellent location to bust out recently purchased paddleball set. We had packed sandwiches for lunch and enjoyed these after wearing ourselves out a bit swimming, reading, and playing paddleball. We made sure to leave enough time to hike back before dark and enjoyed our evening acai bowl before cooking dinner in our room and heading over to the beach in town to watch the sunset.

The following day, after another bomb breakfast (new types of cake this day), we decided to hike again, this time to Vila de Dois Rios. This trail starts at the main pier in Vila do Abraão and leads to the almost deserted village of Dois Rios. The trail is 5.5 miles one way and takes just over two hours. The uphill at the start was again VERY hot and humid, but was followed by a pleasant descent towards a pretty beach which the island’s two rivers flow into it. The trek is mostly through the jungle with many birds along the way, but in contrast to the trail the previous day this was mostly along a service road. We had packed a spinach and fruit salad for this day, and again enjoyed swimming, paddleball, and reading before trekking back. Shockingly, after 2 long days of hiking through the sun and hanging on the beach, neither of us had a sunburn (maybe we're coachable? We have certainly learned our lesson about wearing sunscreen). We packed up the next morning for our return to the mainland. One thing that did NOT make it back to the mainland: Kyle's flip flops. This pair has a long, checkered history with us (it's a story for another day), but they were well past their useful life and it was time for them to go as you can see from the photos below.

Once we arrived back in Rio and checked into our room, we headed down to Ipanema Beach yet again to catch the sunset. We bought beach caipirinhas and grilled cheese from the beach vendors, set up a COVID test for the morning, and got fully prepared for our return trip to the USA. A few last minute items before we flew out at midnight were getting our test (Negative result thankfully), new swimsuits, and Kyle's yellow fever vaccine certificate. We arrived at the airport in time to hear that our flight was delayed 12 hours, but fortunately they were able to get us on a flight out that night into Chicago. While we had to re-book other tickets from Chicago, it allowed us to spend 4 hours in the United Club Lounge (Nicole gets two free tickets every year and it allows us good meals, free drinks, and lots of coffee) before finally flying into Phoenix for Brett and Sara Helling's wedding! Special thanks to them for the amazing weekend, and to Erin Olson & Ryan for hosting us, driving us, and showing us some super cool spots in the Scottsdale/Mesa area :).

After the quick 2 days home, we boarded our flights Monday morning to Cartagena, Colombia where former co-workers (actually Nicole's former boss and wife) were meeting us for a few days.

A couple of additional notes about Brazil:

• Brazil is insanely large (barely smaller than the US), so we had to choose just a small area for our quick week here....but while the country is large, the swimsuits for both women AND men are tiny, so prepare yourself before you hit the beaches!

• Speaking of bikinis: your servers on the beach are actually NOT young, bikini-clad women as you'd expect. They are crusty old men shoving drinks and food at you. This is a window into a not-tipped-base service culture where they reallt are just selling you the product and not working for any extra money on the side.

• Clothing in South America in general, and especially Brazil, is very cheap. Even at beachside boutique shops, we were able to find swimsuits and shirts for less than $10.

Levi's shirt count: 360.