Rio–Phil and his buddies – Sept 10, 2006
Another special day dawns bright and clear. After a great breakfast on board, we take the tender ashore for a walk through the jungle, a prepared nature trail really, that winds through several tiny fishing villages. At one is Pousada (like an Inn) Gata Russa (Russian Cat), where we drink fresh fruit juices and while away the time sitting on the shore of the cove in perfect contentment. Back to the boat by 11AM, we depart for our next stop and enjoy a fabulous lunch consisting of a large fresh fish baked in olive oil, coated in smoked sea salt, and stuffed with a mixture of mango, bananas and pineapple and some fresh shrimp. It’s surrounded with shrimp and langoustines too.
That evening, just before sunset, we arrive at the lovely ancient village of parati, one of Brazil’s oldest. The sun sets behind the mountains that are the town’s backdrop, painting the sky a soft pastel orange, as we arrive at the town dock in the tender. Tied to the dock along its considerable length are replicas of old wood schooners, all in perfect shape and painted in colorful schemes. These are here to take tourists among the many islands, bays and beaches of this resort area. In town, we find streets paved roughly in granite stones winding among one-story colonial Portuguese buildings. Once devoted to the slave trade, these are now shops, bars and some great restaurants. We sample the offerings of a few bars, and at one enjoy a combo playing Brazilian music, like Bossa Nova, Samba, and MPB (as they call it), meaning in English, modern popular Brazilian music. —Phil