24.07 - Day 35 - Paraty, BRA
Paraty, Brazil
Saturday 24th July 2010
To see
waterfalls, logically you must go up – unfathomably our bikes have no gears so
some walking up hills is resorted to – laughed at by those who opted for the
premium option of a tour in a 4x4.
First
stop on our A4 paper map is a former Kings Tax House from the Gold Trail era.
Merchants would stop here just outside Paraty before sending scouts ahead to
see if any pirates lay in wait near the port and if so; the gold was hidden
away in the surrounding jungle.
Next
up is a small picture perfect lagoon before heading to our final stop of Tobago
Waterfall. Less of a waterfall, more a case of water slipping over an expanse
of flat angled rock – a ready made water playground for people.
I contented
myself like a small child sliding down the 30m rock face. Locals impressed the
tourists by doing it standing up like a snow boarder with no board and even
with leaves over the face for a natural blindfold. The down hill bike ride back
to Paraty was some compensation for the uphill exertions.
Beach drinks to reward our efforts
though our Portuguese linguistic skills still missing something – Krish: Dos coconuts.
Barman returns with Uno Cerveza, oblivious to our bemused faces.
Another dinner
plate for two at a tucked away husband and wife restaurant. Flavour not quite
doing justice to the presentation – one sizzling hotpot of four fish steaks,
rice and bowl of shrimp paste. A conscious quest for dessert brings us unconsciously
back to the small WI corner shop unadorned by any signs.
As if
on autopilot we head back to the strip of bars of the previous two nights for
another handful of Caipirinhas. Briefly befriend a well travelled Brazilian
engineer. Our night finishes when he asks us to join him and his heavy drinking
Polish mates.
