Chasing Aphroditie: Paraty

"Oh! God, if there were a paradise on earth, it wouldn't be very far from here!"

Amerigo Vespucci

I must admit that I was not looking at the same scene as "old" Amerigo, above, when we arrived by bus into the tiny small-town terminal. There was the usual crowd: hustlers trying to make you go to their hostels, a couple of bums here and there, and a bunch of people with somewhere to go. Not crazy at all, but definitely not a paradise either. At least not the paradise that you read about in Lonely Planet, but quite awesome in so many ways.

Paraty is part of "Costa Verde", Green Coast, which is the beautiful coastline from Rio's west and all the way to Sao Paolo. The area was settled in the 16th century, but not until the end of the 17th century did Paraty's golden age begin. It was the discovery of gold in the more northern state of Minas Gerais (the name actually means grand mines, or something like that) that made Paraty an obligatory stop for the gold trade since the Serra do Mar mountain range could only be crossed there. And so for a while, Paraty was an important port town... but as is the case with the history of almost any rich place in Brazil, the riches didn't last long. An easier road was found. The small town was forgotten, so to speak, until the 19th century coffee boom where the slaves made some more money for the rich land owners. And so that is the history in a few short words. Paraty now thrives on tourism from Brasileros and Gringos alike.

If you asked me to tell you one awesome thing from here, it would be the "cachoeiras", waterfalls. But not the waterfalls that you are picturing in your mind, but awesome fun ones.
And here's me below:

After a few tries, I should be fine.Really though, there are so many beautiful rivers, waterfalls, wildlife and you can even spot a fairy in the jungle. If you're lucky...

There are so many beautiful things you can do here like swim and rope swing into rivers without lifeguards. And slide down treacherous looking, but friendly rocks without the fear of getting a ticket for it. Its ironic or food for thought. But comparing Brazil to any place is a bad idea. Its interesting how comparing thoughts creep into your brain when you're in an unfamiliar place. The best thing to do is to "shhooo" them away because you lose the sense of the place. It took me a long time to become easy. Hard to describe a state of mind, isn't it? Talking and thinking about travels and places I saw makes me realize that I probably will never be able to really describe them. Pictures, words don't really give it justice. Its the freedom that I feel when I'm laying on the beach or a bus bench for 10 hours. Everything becomes beautiful. Sorry, no more monologue. Here's more pics:

That's the cachoeira crew above.

If you know me, the helmet does not need any explanation. The look in my baby's eye says it all.

My honey in an all you can taste cachaca place. And the girls below:

The nights were usually spent in or around Che-Bar. A cool place with a great crowd. There's Benjamin, The English Lovah, macking it to a bunch of "22"year-old Argentinian girls.

This man below put on the greatest performance that I have ever seen. You would never imagine that a street-magician could bring out so much emotion and feeling out of his spectators. I simply had to hug the man after he was done. Incredible!

If a beach is worth going to, its worth the hike. Because there usually is one. And yeah, I squint! You got a problem with that?

And returning home after rain and thunder and lightning all wet on the bus laughing and taking great pictures...PRICELESS!