Brazil Part III: Paraty

Last but not least we made our way to Paraty.  Paraty is a preserved Portuguese colonial town, so there is a lot of culture, colorful architecture, and history.  It was such a great stop on our trip, and I would recommend everyone visiting Brazil try to make their way there.  It's a good time.

One of my favorite characteristics about the town were the colorful window and door frames.  

     

And one day we got a ton of rain...and I mean a TON (being from Seattle I know rain, and this was crazy).  The streets flooded, but fortunately it happens often so they have good drainage.

A major highlight of our visit to Paraty was taking a cooking class.  Yes, we are officially Portuguese cooks, and surprisingly the dishes turned out pretty well!

If you are going to Brazil, go to Paraty!

BRAZIL part II: Ihla Grande

After four days in Rio, we took a van about 2.5 hours south and boarded a ferry to Ilha Grande.

After about 45 minutes, we arrived at the island...

And what an island it is!  Gorgeous!  We stayed at Pousada Naturalia and I highly recommend it.  The owner and his staff are incredibly nice and helpful.

And our balcony was to-die-for!

Ok, I know you are getting tired of all the chatter, so let's roll with just pictures of the island and our adventures.

(The Aqueduct on the island was built in 1893 and is still in use today.  It is about 40 feet high and 450 feet long.)

A momma monkey and her two little ones!