Ahhh, Costa Verde – the green coast mostly in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Not sure if I have the words to describe how special my time and experience were on the island Ilha Grande and how much I enjoyed my time in the bay of Paraty.
I hope these images will do some justice. Although I already know that I will have to publish longer videos of each place to show you more of what I saw.
Coastal Paradise: Ilha Grande + Paraty – In A Brazil Minute (Week 148) from Luci Westphal on Vimeo.
But it’s almost impossible to convey how it felt to be hiking for hours all alone on challenging steep and slippery trails through the rainforest of Ilha Grande, to take in the views from up high of this green paradise and then to finally reach the beach where Jessica, one of my best friends, was waiting (having taken the boat or else not spent so much time video taping and photographing every step) and then standing in the ocean, with the waves crashing against my legs, the sound of the surf, the smell of the water, the taste of salty water and the vision of the majestic green hills dipped in rainforest clouds and the vast almost empty beach spread below. The feeling of really being in the moment, the feeling of happiness, the feeling of having just taken up the challenge and earned this moment of joy.
Paraty offered a lovely colonial village, a boat tour to visit secluded beaches and to really swim in the warm Atlantic Ocean and last, but not least, long evenings on the little beach in front of our pousada drinking beer from the can and naming all the stray dogs.
We hardly even minded all the rain and clouds (I got majorly sunburnt anyway).
If you ever go to Brazil, definitely include some time in Costa Verde!
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| Ilha Grande, Brazil |