Hey Biff fans!

Sorry havent updated (no still no apostrophe key!) for a while, been very busy on our own paradise island! So here goes...

DAY 1 (Monday 24th May)
Left our hostel in Rio (after a nice last meal and Tiff getting yet another invitation to go and see the sea with some old guy) and got a taxi to Rio bus station, to get the bus to Angra dos Reis. This took about three hours (Tiff slept most of the way as per) and was quite a pleasant journey - large air-condtioned coach.

Angra is a fairly nice town, but only really a stopping off point for the ferry for Ilha Grande. The ferry only goes once a day and we had to wait a couple of hours, so we did what we usually do in such situations and went for something to eat! Had a couple of Salgados, which are like pasties only made with a sort of sweet bread then stuffed with meat, cheese etc. The ferry was exciting at first, but lasted well over an hour!

We arrived at Abraao, the main town on Ilha Grande (The Big Island), and comprises of two little streets, a couple of hostels, and no cars or ATMs etc. Was paradise! Had to trek up the beach to our hostel (same brand as the one in Rio) which was quite nice - had to share with two guys who were much older than us (and Im talking at least twenty years here!) and one two many ants, but the communal areas were nice, with a big veranda and bar over the bay. We also got our own bathroom!

Unpacked and had dinner and a few drinks, again attracting a few freaks who cant speak English and avoiding the Raas who have been travelling forever and think they know it all! Went to bed listening to the sea and surrounded by the blackness of the rainforest.

DAY 2 (Tuesday 25th May)
Woke up rather sweaty and Beth had been further bitten thanks to the Old Guys rufusal to shut the shutters and put the fan on. Had a bit of breakfast (had ran out of cake - booo!) and set off walking to the main bit of Abraao. To do this you have to go along the beach, over a stream and, on this day, pass a flock of massive black birds, T was not impressed. We then did a little mini hike round the jungle, saw some ruins and some nice beaches. The best was when we had to cross a natural pool, by hopping over some rocks, B took a leap of faith, while T shuffled down the side and nearly got swept away! Niether of us are really cut out for this sort of thing! Had some lunch before heading back to a nice beach we had spotted on our walk. Had a chill and mucked about with the camera!

Went back to the hostel and got ready. Went to a nice restaurant had some sort of seafood pasta! On the way back, stopped off at a beach bar for a Caipriniha. The hostel next to ours was having a live music gathering so we headed over and got talking to a group of lads from Norway. We then went and had a little dance and some lads were speaking portuguese to us, until one of the asked us if we were English, and he he nearly fell over when we replied, yes we are from Manchester! He thought we were from Rio! we actually get that a lot, that and are you two sisters!

DAY 3 (Wednesday 26th May)
Despite having been nagged to go on the all you can drink party boat the night before, we decided to keep in line with the relaxed island atmosphere and instead got a boat to Lopez Mendez, known as the most beautiful beach on the island. After nearly falling in trying to get the on the damn thing, we arrived an hour later. What we were not told, was that to get the beach, you had an hour hike, through the jungle up a very steep cliff! The beach was beautiful when we arrived, crystal waters and sand so soft it felt like flour! (until you got a spadeful in your bikini bottoms anyway!). Unfortunately, was a little bit cloudy and windy so was a bit chilly, and we headed back (via jungle trek) to catch the early boat back!

When we got back to Abraao, stopped off for a guava juice, a salgado and a much needed toilet break! Finally managed to shower all the sand off us, just in time for the party boat to return, full to the brim with drunken backpackers, including the lads from London who werent really making any sense! The whole thing was very surreal, and we learnt that when you are the only sober ones in a room, it feels like its you who are losing their minds! That night, Luis, our older friend from Chile (who had been on the party boat) found it enjoyable to not only open the window, (we are both covered in bites now) but to snore at a ridiculous volume, and act out some sex scene in Portuguese. It is very difficult to sleep with an old man from Chile grunting away beneath you!

Anyway, we made it to Paraty, but will tell you more of that when we next blog (hopefully tomorrow......)

Sorry its a long one guys! Hope you are all doing ok, love you and miss you!

B & T x x x x x x x