Getting away from it all: Ilha Grande and Paraty

After over two months in the hustle and bustle of Rio de Janeiro it was time, when the Paralympics ended, to break out of the bubble and head for some peace and quiet. I chose to start my six-weeks-or-so travel by heading out of Rio to Ilha Grande.

Ilha Grande

This island is pretty sizeable and in retrospect more than two days there would have been brilliant, but I really enjoyed the time I had. Ilha Grande was, according to the guidebooks, first occupied as a pirates' lair (!), then a leper colony and then a penal colony, but now it's all about tourism, in a good way. You can only get there by boat and when you're there there are pretty much no motorised vehicles and when you get more than a couple of hundred metres out of the only really inhabited bit, Vila do Abraao, you pretty much have to hike. It's like someone's picked up a bunch of houses and plonked them on a beach in the middle of a jungle. Wifi is slow, power cuts common and you just have to chill out. There's not much else to do.

Unfortunately it tipped it down with rain on the evening I arrived and all the next day. Nevertheless this was my first proper day of proper holiday so I was determined to get out; consulting the rather basic trail map I'd been given it seemed logical to do a walk which wasn't predicated on stopping by lots of beaches. So I headed out for Dois Rios ("Two Rivers"), which is a semi-abandoned village where the island's main prison was based, about 8km walk from Abraao.

The track is one built by the prisoners and is wide enough for motor vehicles (the island's rubbish truck passed me when I was on the way back), copper-coloured earth embedded with bits of brick, stone, china and terracotta. It went basically upwards for about an hour and then basically downwards for about an hour, with bush/jungle either side, and not much of a view of anything due to the rain. Still it was good to get some serious exercise and I enjoyed walking briskly and overtaking the other crazy people who were also out.

Cachoeira da Feticeira

At Dois Rios an old man popped out of a sort of gatehouse and took down my name and arrival time. I looked at the beach, which would have been incredible on a sunny day, and then found the village's snackbar which was busy with assorted wet walkers and three cyclists. I'd passed and been passed by two of the cyclists, a couple of Brazilian lads, on my walk and they were good company. In fact the place was full of a sort of Blitz spirit as everyone tried to dry off and warm up with incredibly strong, sweet coffee, food, and then glasses of cachaca. It was quite good fun actually.

On day two the sun came out so I walked away from the village to a waterfall, the Cachoeira da Feticeira, which involved more climbing. The track was supposed to carry on to one of the island's larger beaches but seemed to stop, so I meandered back via a small beach near the town instead and had a swim and a chill on the sand. In the evening I had dinner in a restaurant which wasn't just by the beach but on the beach. Ilha Grande's that sort of place and I was sad to leave it.

Paraty

Lots of people said Paraty was worth a visit. At the edge of Rio de Janeiro state, this old colonial town has been preserved with pretty white buildings on cobbled streets with no traffic in the historic centre. I managed to find a pousada (= sort of b&b or guesthouse) which is just outside the centre, so a little cheaper, but it's close enough to be able to just wander in for dinner or whatever.

I feel I probably haven't made enough of Paraty. The guidebook and online reviews give rave reviews of various beaches and a waterfall with a natural toboggan nearby, but in all cases you have to get on a bus or on a tour to get to them, and after so many weeks spending so much time in Rio on buses, in Ubers and on the metro I'm a bit sick of transport. So I just did a 'schooner' tour yesterday - the Brazilian escuna translates as schooner, although there's no sails to be seen sadly on these elegant boats with long narrow prows - round to a few beaches along the coast. It was a beautiful day and nice to be on the water and go swimming in it, although I'm not a massive fan of organised tours as a rule.

Today I was filled with a lack of desire to do pretty much anything. I wandered along to Paraty's nearest decent-sized beach within walking distance, Jabaquara, and sat on the sand and read for a bit although it was overcast all day. And then I just mooched around Paraty's shops and galleries and churches and tasted a variety of cachacas in a cachaca shop. It was nice. I guess I probably still need the relaxation!

Practical stuff

• Getting to Ilha Grande and Paraty from Rio was simple - I booked a transfer with a company called Easy Transfer. They picked me up from my Rio hotel and then, as I was the first in the bus to be collected, drove around Rio picking other people up. There was a couple of hours' drive to the little port town of Conceicao and then a 30-minute boat trip to Ilha Grande. Going on to Paraty, I was on a slower but larger boat back to Conceicao followed by another couple of hours in the minibus to Paraty, where they dropped me at my pousada's door. All for R$145 (£34.50).
• In Ilha Grande I stayed at the Biergarten Suites, which is the private room 'annexe' of the better-known Biergarten Hostel. Quiet, pretty comfortable, a hammock and a couple of friendly cats. Nice.
• In Paraty I've been staying at the Pousada Marendaz, just outside the centre. It's brilliantly-located and pretty comfortable although randomly today appears to have been overrun by a million noisy children - the rooms overlook the interior courtyard, where breakfast is served, and if people are down there talking it carries into the rooms. Apart from that it's been good.
• Going on to Sao Paulo I'm catching a coach run by Reunidas Paulista, at about R$77. I booked it at the bus station a short walk from my pousada but you can book online too. It's going to take six hours. Ugh.