We've not managed to get great weather whilst we've been here in Paraty, but we still have got up to a fair amount. We arrived in Paraty at around 1.15 on Saturday, having travelled from Ilha Grande via ferry and bus. It took us an age to find any accommodation: we walked into the historic centre of the town, but the place we'd pinpointed only had one room available. Leaving Maggie and Carly with the bags, Nick and I, and Dave and Jo, set off in opposite directions to look for pousadas/hotels/hostels. Nick and I couldn't find anything except somewhere asking for 700 reais per room (a fortune!), but luckily Jo and Dave delivered the goods. We were the only people staying at a great 'B and B' just off the cobblestones, with lovingly furnished rooms. We spent what remained of Saturday wandering around the historic centre's pretty cobblestone streets (closed to traffic), walking past loads of old colonial-style buildings and quirky shops at every turn. Paraty is visually stunning and has a great ambience, making it a perfect place for an aimless wander. Despite the overcast weather, we fell for the place.

Sunday remained overcast, so we continued to sightsee in pretty much the same vain as yesterday. We made our way to a part of Paraty we hadn't explored on Saturday, heading past the Matriz NS dos Remedios (a church financed by pirate treasure found on a nearby beach), over a bridge and uphill. It wasn't too strenuous a hike up to Forte Defensor Perpetuo, although the fort wasn't worth it in itself. The views over the bay, however, were good, and would have been even better on a clear day. From here we wandered across Praia do Pontal, the local beach lined with stalls and plastic chairs. Back over the bridge, we went by the waterfront, pretty Capela de NS das Dores (built in the nineteenth century for Paraty's white elite), before stopping for lunch. After we'd eaten we continued to wander the pretty streets, going into shops again and passing two final churches, the Igreja NS do Rosario e Sao Benedito dos Homens Pratos and the Igreja Santa Rita dos Pardos Libertos.

Yesterday, we finally got a good weather day! We got an eleven o'clock boat cruise out into the bay for four hours. Pretty quickly after we left the town, the sky cleared up. The clouds seemed to be hugging the land, and blue sky surrounded us instead. The boat was a great big schooner, and we were provided with lunch and drinks (at an additional cost), which turned out to be actually alright! We stopped at four different places, two islands and two beaches. At the first island, Nick braved the water after the rest of us egged him on. Next up was Praia Lula, where Dave, Nick, Jo and I were rowed ashore whilst Carly and Maggie stayed onboard. The beach was small and really pretty, and we lay back on our towels and sunbathed, something we hadn't expected to be doing at ten o'clock this morning. We had lunch at our second island, and shortly afterwards made our way to the second beach. All of us stayed onboard this time, as it was lovely enough anyway, and we read etc. We all caught the sun, we were so used to not having to put on any suntan lotion! Jo, Carly and Maggie went for manicures/pedicures in the early evening, and then we went to a great restaurant in the evening for the second night running. Maggie and I had some huge shrimps, Nick and Dave ate a local fish, and Carly and Jo both had a really tasty steak.

Today, we've moved on to Ubatuba, in São Paulo state. We got a bus at about 1:30 after deciding we could no longer put up with Paraty's grey. It only took around an hour to Ubatuba, and we found a great guesthouse, Golfinho Tropical, right across the road from Pereque Açu Beach. The owners are really friendly and we're looking forward to the next three or four days here before we all split up in different directions.