The G Adventures tour we joined in Rio “Atlantic to the Andes” used to be done in reverse so had some more relaxing visits at the end. So we started with relaxing on Ilha Grande (“large island”) which is just down the coast from Rio.
Arriving off the boat – notice odd-shaped hill in the background
“Pico do Papagaio” – “Parrot’s beak”
There are no cars on the island which makes it really peaceful.
Beautiful scene
Guidance
Island church
Evening entertainment
We took a speedboat trip to see more of the island and go snorkelling. Boats are the only way to get around when there are hardly any roads.
Spray that again
We then returned to the mainland and moved further down the coast to Paraty. Paraty is a lovely colonial town. It was very wealthy in the past as this was the main port at one time for exporting gold and diamonds from Brazil back to Portugal.
By day
By night
Apologies now for lots of photos of the picturesque colonial buildings. I got up at dawn before lots of people blocked the shots and when the light is good. There are no cars allowed in the old part of town. The roads are made of huge river boulders so cars wouldn’t like it anyway.
Trunk and disorderly
Turkey vultures and bike
Distressed twin doors
Biking round the bend
Top Turkey
Shadow texture
We took a jeep trip to see some more of the area around Paraty.
Screeching Common Marmoset
We took a short walk to some waterfalls for a dip to cool down. 
They make a spirit called Cachaça from sugar cane. We visited a distillery. The cachaça is matured in oak casks like whisky, but takes less time to mature.
Copper stills
And now for the tasting! They add various ingredients to make different versions and liqueurs including chocolate, coffee, and chilli. They don’t all start with “c” – they had lemon grass for example too.
