About 3 hours from Rio one can get a ferry/fast boat to Ilha Grande (Big Island) which had the most spectacular beaches all around with some amazing seafood. On recommendation we booked into El Misty which was a really amazing place however the room we paid 50 Reals for turned out to be, well politely put, a bit of a dump...was a 9 dorm room with triple bunks, so needless to say it's not quite on our recommendation list.

We took an incredibly scenic route around 1 and half hour walk through the jungle to get to the 7th best beach in the world, Lupez Mendez, the sand was incredibly white and felt like fresh snow powder. It was suppose to be a surfing beach, but alas no waves were in site. There were many smaler beaches around creating an isolated feeling. Our 2 night stay went by rather quickly, but think we felt ready to leave only as there was a water shortage on the island and shower felt most definitely welcome. The views of the island as we left were also magnificent serving as a fitting farewell greeting as we made our way to Paraty.