We arrived in the late morning heat, dropped our bags, and at this stage pressing laundry, and made our way to the beach only a short walk through the old town and across the river.
A small number of beach bars and restaurants (more shacks than houses) lined the beach under the shade of large trees. I had a quick refreshing dip, but soon bounced straight out as it was dark water with moss underfoot - this however was more a harbour beach and the only one like it fortunately. We ordered some beers and shared a basket of cod fish balls for lunch while a guy started up on his guitar. After he finished, I offered him a beer for his efforts and he gladly accepted told me about him travelling through from Argentina.
Caipirinhas are Brazil's famed cocktails. The original is made with Cachasa (a sugar cane spirit), crunched ice, lime and some sugar. The bar staff were friendly and I asked about the Cachasa and if I could smell some. I guess my guitar man drink goodwill came back quickly as they gave me a double on the house as a welcome. It's very similar to cane in SA. Mands and I followed my taster with our first and by no means last caipirinha in Brazil - nice.
That evening, we wondered through the cobbled streets and and along the small dock familiarising ourselves with our temporary home. Mandy took some great photos with the houses and coloured doors reflecting off the water where high tide had run up onto the streets.
We found a really reasonable and fantastic mocequa (fish stew) restaurant. With a clear warm evening, we sat outside on the road, like most restaurants offered. All of the stone roads are fully pedestrianised and it's quite a sight against the old white buildings with coloured doors. On every second corner, there's a desert trolley that's wheeled in. The owner sells a variety of fresh cakes - we got recommendations on their most popular and tucked in.
As carnival week was approaching, the small plaza had a stage up and each evening one of the performing bands or dance groups took the stage for a live practice. It was packed with people and I got my first taste of what Rio will be like. Carnival fever starts in the beginning of January and peaks for the actual carnival week in February. It's all over South America, but it's Brazil that leads the charge.
To see the beaches and islands, you need to go by boat. We booked on a tour aboard a large yacht. This took us to 3 beaches and 2 snorkelling spots. The beaches had really fine sand and the sea was quite like the Mediterranean, no waves. Many guests took a dingy transfer to the beach, but we opted at each stop to dive off the yacht and swim in.
A man played on his guitar and sang all the way. He was quite good. We'd read about restaurants in Brazil charging for live music and this was our first, and definitely not last taste of it. It's actually itemised on the bill.
Snorkelling started with hundreds of fish around us at the boat as bread crumbs were dropped overboard. We headed off to the rocky section on the island and spotted 2 what we think are stone fish. We'd never seen anything like them before, but knowing they are poisonous, we kept our distance.
Another first, was the bikinis. All Brazilians wear less than the standard bikini bottom, any more than a cut away bum and you're wearing a granny costume. For guys, half wear board shorts and the others wear boxer like speedos. Hmm, this is going to take some getting used to.
After the boat the heavens opened and rained heavily for a good 3 hours. This could be pay back for all the good weather we'd had so far. I picked a bar and went I'm for a beer. I asked the waiter for a recommendation and a beer with a bear on came out. It was below average, but when the bill came it was anything but below average!
We went to Paraty 33 for a few evening cocktails. I had the big camera (SLR) with me and did a quick walk around town snapping away at the now glass like puddles that had formed from the rain. The town looked even better reflected on the water. Mands had stayed at the restaurant, while I was off with the camera, so we met up again just in time for the live music to start and then accompany our meal. This music too was good. As with the boat, the restaurant bill comes with a set fee per head for the music (between R$3 and 8). I'm leaning more towards this being a good thing as the level of music is raised and there's more live music around. Bad luck if you don't like their music.
We leave with fond memories of Paraty town.
