This last weekend proved to be one of the most memorable ones! We went with a group of International Club friends (French, Dutch, American, Australian & fellow Brits) to Ilha Grande. This was no ordinary tourist trip but a special gourmet weekend organised by Bonnie and Vic, who have a boat and house down there, Bonnie having been married to a Brazilian in a past life.

Ilha Grande is on the Costa Verde, about 2.5 hours drive from Rio. Ilha Grande - the big island- is mostly Mata Atlantica jungle with lots of inlets and beaches; a few houses/pousadas only accessible by private boats and one town, accessible by foot-passenger ferry only from the mainland. The island is a popular destination with playboys from Rio & Sao Paulo, student backpackers such as Hugo and Suzanne, romantic young professionals such as Flora & Malick, as well as pleasure-seeking ex-pats such as ourselves looking for a break from city life.

We gathered at a gas station in Barra for the journey down to Angra. There we took the boat across - 45 mins - to our pousada at Camiranga passing by various oil-related constructions on the way. Les Wood (who with Jane had driven us part-way down - with Ewan and Robyn the rest) pointed out the topsides and legs/hull of the first tension-leg platform being built in Brazil by Petrobras/Chevron. The two halves were due to be mated the following week.

The party that welcomed us to the pousada included David, a young, reputedly 1-star Michelin chef (French of course!), who runs French cookery schools in Sao Paulo and Rio.

The first thing we did on arrival was to jump in the sea from the pier! It was idyllic!! Deep, cool, clear water and a bright blue sky from morning to night. Coming out of the water we went straight into our first BBQ. BBQ's in Brazil seem to have two parts - prelude with bits of sausage and tender beef à la main - followed by le grand buffet. One is often pretty full after just the prelude! Following the main sit-down buffet there were sweets - including tarte au pomme and crême brûlée which are rare treats over here.

In theory the size of the meal meant we should all have retired to our rooms, particularly as by now the afternoon was well-advanced (it's dark by 6 here at this time of year), but it was back on the boats and off west to the Lagoa Azul (Blue Lagoon). We stopped in the lee of two islets, very close to B&V's house, where all the fish in the sea seemed to congregate. After watching them from the boat for a while in the clear blue water we dived in amongst them! We then were treated to the most beautiful sunset on the way back. Cold beers on the boat and we were living the life of luxury! Clunk!! Our boat - doing a fair whack and mostly out of the water - hit a semi-submerged plank. We continued back to base - with a bit of a shudder - but learned the next morning that we'd put that boat out of action!! Luckily we had two boats!!

We gathered for dinner on the deck, like some party from a colonial movie, to be served a light meal of fish, cheese and sweets - washed down by Chilean White wine and something sparkling! The details largely escape me but the conversation and meal together provided a nice ambience - in ways reminding us of Balikpapan and with that, allowing us to relive a bit of our youth!!

The next morning was a beautiful one to rise to. From our balcony, equipped with our own hammock, the smooth sea lay out in front of us. A turtle was swimming and feeding below us. Breakfast was typically Brazilian with breads, cheese, ham, pao de queijo (cheesebreads/puffs), and some very nice freshly-made lemon drizzle cake! Pity we weren't hungry!

After breakfast we headed, by boat again, towards the east - past the main town of Abraão. We disembarked at Palmas and walked (30 mins) over to Lopes Mendes - reputedly one of the finest beaches in the world! Certainly it was a beautiful arc of white sand, shaded by trees with the finest of sands. We lazed & swam for an hour or so before heading back - the one boat doing a shuttle.

We arrived back to our second BBQ, every bit as tasty and filling as the day before's!! After this the party headed back to the mainland, all friends after our weekend on the grand Ilha Grande. Arnaud and Patricia took us back in a convoy to Rio - a diversion on the way cost us an extra hour! By Wednesday the week after, the excesses had worn off and only good memories remain.

Doing the weekend in style, accompanied by someone who knew the place well, had taken care of all the arrangements and even made her newly re-furbished boat available to our party for the whole weekend was a real treat and not an experience we'd have had if we'd gone on our own. Rio & all its attendant hassles seemed a long way away for 36 hours. Yes it's a bit of a millionaire's playground and yes, we were lucky the weather was so stunning but we kept reminding each other that this is one of the experiences we came to Brazil for and having this kind of luxury in our lives, albeit briefly, made it very special.

Definitely a weekend we won't forget in a hurry.