Posts tagged: Paraty

Whilst staying in Paraty, we booked in a charming little hostel near the river called Casa do Rio (house on the river). It had an arts and crafts feel to it (in the artisan sense of the word, not the architectural style).

The only thing I could fault was the fact that the room was a little small and when it is 39.5 degrees in the day time, you HAVE to have air con in your room, we didn’t and you would need a nuclear-powered ceiling fan set to turbo to even come close to reducing the evening heat by a few degrees.

Sticky, sleepless nights aside, our stay was pleasant, and probably the first time on our stay outside of the city of Sao Paulo that we bumped into English speaking tourists, in Caragua and especially Massaguacu it is mostly locals who don’t speak (or let you know they speak) English.

Our second day in Paraty was spent trekking through the hills surrounding the town on horse back. Rose had been asking me for months if we could go horse riding (whether in the UK or elsewhere) and finally persuaded me to take the plunge. I wasn’t really sure what to expect and was a little apprehensive as the last time I had been on a horse was when I was about 2 years old.

Our instructor was cool, giving me a quick 5 minute introduction about how to ride a horse and not kill yourself (I was dressed in shorts, trainers and no hat). At first I just wanted to trot along at quite a slow pace, but after a while got up a little more speed to a canter and finally a gallop on the way back home.

The trip through the foot hills was amazing, we passed through lush forest and jungle and stopped off at a waterfall where we had a rest and swam to cool off from the scorching heat.

I would definitely try horse riding again, but I think that it would have to be done outside the UK as I don’t think I was supposed to do half the stuff we did on our trek (you would probably only trot around a field on your first time in the UK, not gallop up a hillside in the middle of the jungle).

A few days after visiting Ubatuba and chilling at home in Massaguacu, Rose and I headed up to Paraty, just across the State border in Rio State.

Paraty is an old colonial settlement and port with amazing architecture and old colonial charm. We spent 2 nights there and really enjoyed strolling around the old streets and taking in the sights.

Unfortunately for us the temperature soared to 39.5 degrees on our second day, and although I like the heat this was a little too much even for me. Paraty was definitely one of the highlights of my trip.