Costa Verde - the Green Coast - is exactly that. Pristine beaches framed by forested mountains as far the eye can see. We were given some top tips from local Cariocas (Rio inhabitants) so we headed to our first destination - Ilha Grande.

The largest island off the coast of Brazil, it boasts 106 beaches, the majority with white sand (which squeaks when you walk on it) and crystal blue sea. It's currently the main holiday season for Brasilians and Argentinians, so the island was flooded with tourists. After a few manic hours running around the main town, we managed to find ourselves a beautiful little room, fully equipped with own kitchen and bathroom, perfect for a few days of solitude after the madness of Rio.

We spent a few days milling around the island, walking and lazing on the beaches. It's quite addictive lying on the beach all day, and we could have stayed in Ilha Grande for a good deal longer, had it not been so expensive.

Our next stop was Paraty, an old colonial Portuguese fishing village. Unfortunately they had just had an extreme flash flood which wiped out many hotels, restaurants and homes and took a few lives. It seems that many of the countries we've been through so far have recently experienced freak weather conditions coinciding with our arrival, very strange. Paraty old town was beautiful, as are the hundreds of islands and beaches surrounding the mainland, which we explored on a day boat trip.

A short bus journey landed us in Trindade, a relatively unknown village with a strong hippy vibe. We had planned to stay here for only 3 nights which soon turned into 6 as we couldn´t drag ourselves away from the beaches and the relaxed atmosphere of the hostel. On the Saturday night Trindade was host to a gig by Brazil´s 2nd biggest reggae act, Tribo de Jah, and 1000's of pot-heads descended on the village, all simultaneously lighting up the moment the band took to the stage!

The rest of our time in Trindade was spent lazing on the four beaches, exploring and sliding down waterfalls and rivers, attempting to surf or chilling out supping on Caiparinhas, Brazilian style! After nearly a week the rains came so we took that as a sign to move on to pastures new...next stop Sao Paulo.