Hello everybody!!

I am writing this blog from a place called Paraty. Which is the town about 40 minutes from Trinidade, where we have been staying for the last 5 days or so!

We arrived in Pararty from Sao Paulo and jumped on the local bus and headed for Trinidade, through the forest/jungle, along a very bendy, hilly little road.

The bus took us past a few small houses, each with at least one hammock hanging outside. We drove past vultures perched on tree braches, and past plants with giant leaves and the most beautiful flowers!

Once in Trinidade, which is pronounced Trin-darj-ey, we eventually got settled in a gorgeous hostel, mainly used by Brazilain people on their holidays!

Pretty much staright away we met Eddie and Denise, who were staying next door to us. Eddie spoke brilliant English and translated for Denise as we all chatted. They were so friendly, and we all went to town for pizza and caipirinha drinks! After a few of these and feeling pretty merry, Eddie and Denise took us to the beach for a little stroll. It was lovely, even in the dark.

The next morning we joined Eddie and Denise once again, along with some of their friends, to visit the waterfall. It was a small walk through the forest/jungle, following the rivers path, where we saw the hugest butterflies.

The waterfall was beautiful and the water was completely clear. Jon joined the boys, to take a turn at going under one of the large rocks, through a narrow tiny hole, then re-appearing at the other end! Too scary for me!

The rest of the day was spent on the beach, playing in the very powerful waves!

Later, the hostel hosted a BBQ. Where we met loads of other Brazilians, drank lots of vodka and i tried a bit of Samba dancing!! It was brilliant! The people were fantastic and so friendly! We danced to "Hipi hopi" music and we tried Brazilian food! At around 2am, we all swayed down to the beach and drank sugarcane juice, and i dipped my toes in the sea, it was warm! The whole evening was brillaint but our heads were not so great the next day! ha!

We got to know the people at our hostel, and everyday they would invite us to eat with them and drink beer with them, They were all so friendly and generous. We both felt really welcome.

One eveing we went for some dinner out, we had moqueca, which is like s stew, with coconut milk and sea food. I know i always write about food, but its a very important part of our travels!! ha! And the town was full of Açai berry cafes!! I loved this stuff!

One afternoon after visiting the natural pools, we came back to the hostel, as it was a bit cloudy and looked like it would rain, the boys invited jon to play "ping pong" and pool and the girls asked me to join them, they showed me photos of their families and Camillia painted my nails for me, very "pinkie" was what they called the colour, which was perfect!

We said goodbye this morning, and i was sad to say goodbye, Camilia used her hands to explain that she loved us! I really felt like i would cry!! Ha! Get a grip Kate!

Missing you all, heading for Rio today!!

Sending you all hugs

Kate and Jon