Ilha Grande

Now don't get me wrong, I love being in Niteroi/Rio, but I will be the first to admit that it is a stereotypical "Big City." It is noisy 24/7, it is dirty, it can even be quite smelly. We needed a vacation from this vacation.

Looking around, I would never have guessed that just three hours away was Rio's polar opposite, Ilha Grande.


The trip was a breeze. We left early Thursday morning and, three hours later we were in Angra dos Reis waiting for the boat to Ilha Grande. When we left, we really had no idea what we were about to see. We had heard that it was beautiful, there were no cars, and everyone was a tourist. The stories could not be more true!



When we arrived we were swarmed by hotel owners wanting us to stay with them. Deciding beforehand that we wanted to look around first, we kindly fought our way through the crowd and started looking for a place to stay.

We found a place quite easily and since it was late we decided to grab some dinner and relax. We had big plans for the following day so we both needed our beauty rest. For dinner we had an island specialty, fish and bananas. Jess loved it. I personally don't like the idea of mixing fish and fruit, but I'll admit, it wasn't terrible. =)

After dinner is when the real party began. I made a b-line for the poussada (hotel) where I suffered the wrath of some very angry virus/food poisoning. Most of my night was spend paying homage to the porcelain gods, netting me about two hours of sleep total.

The next morning was slightly better, but I felt awful. I had no energy and couldn't move around without getting nauseous. We had to cancel our plans for the day so I could try to get better. No worries though, we tacked an extra day onto the end of the trip to make up for it.

Saturday morning, I was feeling much better. We woke up early and decided to take a boat to Lopes Mendes, a nearby beach. I use the term "nearby" loosely, as it was about an hour and a half away. Since there are no cars on the island, the places of interest are connected by hiking trails. Most of the trails are pretty intense, so most people take a boat to where they want to go. For example, Lopes Mendes can be reached by hiking three hours or by taking a boat for one hour then hiking the last 30 minutes. We opted for the boat.

The boat ride was pretty relaxing. It was a warm day and there were very few clouds in the sky. My only complaint was that the boat was sooooo slow. I think I could have swam there faster. (I later decided this is a feature not a bug. As all the boats on the island were super slow). When we arrived we were greeted by a solitary bar at the docks and a trailhead to Lopes Mendes.

Nothing like a hike straight up to get the blood going!


I, of course, forgot my shades and was therefore blind most of the day.


The beach was nice and the day consisted of your average beach time activities. Relaxing, getting some sun (or if you are me, looking for shade), and eating. The real excitement was waiting for us on Sunday.

Saturday night, we were walking through town and saw a place that offered scuba diving trips. At first we didn't give it much thought because neither of us are certified divers. Then we though to ask if they offered anything for people who have never been diving. To our surprise, they did! They offered a "Batismo" or "Baptism" dive for beginners. After thinking about it for a few hours we decided to give it a go.

Bright and early Sunday morning (9AM to be exact) we met with the dive crew and headed out to our dive spot. The dive location was a two hour boat trip to the ocean side of the island. Jess and I were the only "newbies" to go on the trip. Our companions consisted of two dive masters and three experienced divers.

The dive was really cool! It's different than how I always imagined when I saw divers on TV, etc. Things I never really thought about before:

1) Wetsuits are terribly uncomfortable.
2) Scuba gear is HEAVY!
3) Despite being heavy, you have to wear a weighted belt to let you sink.
3) Being underwater and breathing from a tube is not natural!

My first instinct when I went under was strangely paradoxical. I knew in my head that I have a limited supply of oxygen in a tank on my back. Yet, for some reason my natural response was to breathe this limited supply of air as quickly as possible. I wasn't panicking, but I wanted to breath like it. It took a few minutes to steady my breathing and I was never able to calm down as much as the diver master I was with. I managed to used three times more air from my tank than he did before we surfaced.

Being underwater is neat. You feel weightless, and have 360 degrees of mobility. I think it is something I could enjoy with a little more practice. This being my first dive, I was so concerned with my gear that I didn't notice much else around me. All and all, I think I did pretty well down there.


After we returned the locals had set up everything for a festival of sorts. There were bamboo booths set up selling local foods/snacks and the main street was packed with people. Upon closer inspection we saw a group of young people performing Capoeira demonstrations. It was pretty neat and the guys were really good. (Remember the movie Only The Strong?)


Afterwards, the locals put on a dance presentation. It was a skit/dance in the style of Brazilian square dancing. It is similar in appearance to American square dancing but less organized and without a caller. The dancing was entertaining but the real amazing part was the duration. This group of 30+ junior high school aged children danced for almost two hours non-stop. I honestly don't know how they kept from collapsing from exhaustion. I broke a sweat early on just watching.


By the end of the presentation it was quite late. We headed back to the Poussada for a good nights sleep and to prepare for Monday. On the books was a snorkeling trip to two different locations on the island and a visit to another nearby beach. Sounds like fun!

Monday morning was cloudy and quite cool. There was a strong wind and the clouds were pretty dark, but far away so no worries. We grabbed our snorkeling gear, boarded the boat and headed towards our first destination. The trip started off great, swimfins and mask in hand and 80's American rock blaring on the boat. We arrived at the Lagoa Azul (Blue Lagoon) about 10 minutes before the rain. It was FREEZING! The water around the island is quite cool and with the sun being gone and the wind blowing it is borderline miserable.

Jess went for a swim. After seeing her face when she resurfaced, I decided to hang out on the boat. The stay at the Lagoa Azul was quite short, probably because everyone could feel the pneumonia setting in.

The rest of the trip was pretty much a bust. With the wind and the rain no one really wanted to go for a swim. We still visited each location on the list but did not stay long. Despite the rain and the cold it was still fun.

After the boat returned, it was time for us to return to the city. We showered, grabbed our gear and headed home.

To sum it all up, our vacation away from vacation was pretty relaxing. I have never been anywhere like Ilha Grande. It was like the set of a movie..total paradise. If anyone reading this ever makes it down this way, you have to go there. They speak more English than in Rio so don't worry about that. Just go, it's great!

Oh yeah, some pics --> HERE.