Paraty & Trindade, Brazil

The next stop on my South American odyssey took me to the old colonial town of Paraty. The ´Centro Historico´ is a beautiful sight with its picturesque ancient buildings and churches and its streets made out of cobblestones so large and uneven that with a few alcoholic beverages consumed a twisted ankle becomes a distinct possibility. Paraty is very much a throwback to the more simpler times of the 18th Century, when this town was an important port for exporting gold to Portugal.

However it has to be said that this place is the worst signposted town that I have ever witnessed. Upon arriving at the bus station I was handed a map without many street names listed. It reminded me of some of the infamous college notes (most notably for Organisational Behaviour) in which much of the material was left blank and you were required to fill in the gaps yourself. Not convenient it has to be said, and I found myself going around in circles for a good 30 minutes before I found my hostel. My cause wasn´t helped by the fact there are no signposts on many of the streets making it impossible for an alien like myself to have any idea which way to proceed.

Another bizarre experience was encountered yesterday when I went in search of a bank. In my very poor Spanish (yes I know they speak Portuguese in Brazil!) I asked numerous locals ´Donde este una Banco?´. On each occasion the reply was ´Que Banco?´. I am half way around the world in a strange country where I can speak about 3 words of the local language, I really am not going to be fussy as to which bank provides me with ATM services!!

Today I took a short, albeit bumpy bus ride to the spectacular sleepy beach village of Trindade. After seeing the incredible scenery Ilha Grande had to offer my expectations were very high, but this ´praia` as they say in Portuguese did not disappoint. The surroundings are impressive with the Mata Atlantica rain forest overlooking its many beaches.

Tomorrow I set off on the first of many marathon bus journeys that I will be undertaking on this continent. A 24 hour journey to the Argentine border to see the world famous Iguassu Falls, the final part of the Brazilian leg of my trip. My Ipod is fully charged, and Michel Thomas´s Spanish lessons will be getting plenty of airplay. The language barrier has reached a level of farcical proportions in Brazil and I cannot let that happen for the rest of my South American trip.

Bye for now.