The pleasure in the minutiae

Dear diary

We went to Ilha Grande. It's an island. This means it's a bit more of a hassle to get to than a place which is located on mainland brazil. That also means that it needs to be just that bit nicer than your expectations to justify the additional effort, time and expense.
Rainy Ilha Grande with its drainage problems and unfriendly hostel - We didn't think it was particularly nice.

We went to Paraty. It was a doddle to get to on a cheapo public bus. Little, quirky Paraty - We thought it was absolutely lovely.

The good and the bad. You are forced to take it all at face value. Not everywhere's going to be, like, ay-may-zing.
When you're travelling for a good amount of time, a good amount of time is going to be spent doing tawdry things.

If you look at our photos you could fall into the trap of thinking its all magical. But in between all of that once in a lifetime, beautiful stuff, when all is said and done, it's still, after all, just life. I will illustrate with a few facts.
I bought deodorant today, and yesterday Lindsay trimmed my hair with a small set of scissors. She had trouble with the sides but the front looks ok.

Another dull reality of travel is that it is cheaper to pay for things in cash since credit cards are exorbitant, only a few vendors accept them and there is a risk they will be cloned, stolen or otherwise defrauded. Consequently it is better to carry enough cash to cover all eventualities. However you don't want to carry so much cash at any time that it becomes too greater risk of losing them or being mugged. We have wasted so much time and sanity stood punching buttons on ATMs which refuse to give us cash. There are a multitude of Brazilian ATMs but we have given up on all but the Bradesco bank which works more than 50% of the time. I told you it was boring.

They say the best things in life are free. They might be right. There follows a list of things which are not, but which are nearly, free:
A hot shower
Clean and dry clothes
Knowledge that you have a room for a night (or enough daylight hours remaining to source one)
Clean linen
A nap during daylight hours
A friendly hello from a local who doesn't want anything back
A line of sight to your backpack
A blue sky
Meeting a nice fellow traveller
Enough cash in your pocket to last the next foreseeable 24 hours
Feeling healthy (ish)
Someone to look after you

These things take on greater significance and you hope to take something from the small things as well as the brilliant things. The saturday boat trip from Paraty's busy quay was a brilliant thing.
For just 20 reals (7quid) we and the other passengers of the Schnooner Caxunga get to swim in the crystal blue, warm, fish filled waters of 4 different beaches and islands. They lend us snorkels and masks. They make us mental-strong caipirinhas and a fresh salad with palm hearts which taste like artichokes. It is a fantastic day.

Paraty was also great because we were staying in a beautiful old pousada (guest house) whose weathered balconies looked over the main square.
I'll give you a ten real discount if you stay for two nights, says 'Solar dos Geranios' grey haired septuagenarian owner, and she punctuates this with a completely charming girlish giggle.
- oh yes please, one of us says.
Compared with the sterile offerings of the ilha grande hostel, this place is a breath of fresh air. Keeping it real you might say. That contrast applies to the town itself too. Our guidebook tells us about the cobbled stones, saying they are quaint and uneven. What it actually means to say is that the roads are made from enormous smooth boulders. Little wonder that it is horses rather than motor vehicles which move the people and chattels round the Centro Historico. The pace of life is slow. The sun has come out. We are walking now to the town beach. It all goes to make Ilha Grande seem a bit soulless, and worse, somehow a bit mean. Does that make any sense? It would if you came to Paraty today. It is small and simple.