Brazil has some of the worlds best beaches, and some of the Brazils best beaches are in Ilha Grande.It is Brazil's third largest island and is pretty close to Rio de Janeiro. We decided to spend a week on the island, relaxing, tanning and spending as little money as possible. The bus from Sao Paulo to Angra dos Reis took longer than expected, but we managed to get the last ferry across. Thankfully it was the last long South American bus journey! (We've been on over twenty five long bus journeys in the past three months, and many more before that in North America!!) We walked to our hostel and arrived exactly twelve hours after setting off. As the sun had already set, we didn't do much exploring. Instead we began to cook dinner, feeling proud of ourselves for spending seven pounds on six evening meals of pasta. After munching on the free buffet breakfast, we began a three hour hike to Lopes Mendes, one of the islands best beaches. Walking through the humid forest made us both mega hot and sweaty! Rain from the previous night made the path slippery so our feet gripped onto tree roots and rocks. Most the time it was easier to walk barefoot. I managed to brake my toe on the walk and within minutes it became bruised and swollen. The path led to several other beaches before arriving at Lopes Mendes. It was beautiful. The sand was perfectly white and squeaked beneath our feet. We dropped our things and went for a swim to cool off in the clear water. The sea was a gorgeous aqua-marine colour and the perfect temperature. We had a good few hours of relaxing before we caught the taxi boat back. The town reminded us both of Thailand, but with less 'Bob Marley' bars. There were no cars or cash points on the island, and the place had a chilled beach vibe. The area we stayed is popular with backpackers and middle class Brazilians. Further round the coast, jet set parties occur on private yachts. In the evening we had a few drinks with friends before the storm came to clear the air. Thankfully we were back in the hostel by the time it started and appreciated it from our bed. The lightening was flashing every seven seconds and the thunder was a powerful continuous roar. The rain was thrashing down and the power on the island cut out. It lasted a while and removed all the clouds leaving us with clear skies for the following day. On our second day we decided to check out the local beaches. The one directly in front of our hostel was full of fisherman, ferries and taxi boats so we walked further away. The first few beaches were nice so we found a spot, part shade for Simon and part sun for me. Sadly within an hour or two the beach had almost disappeared as the tide was coming in. We headed in the other direction and found better beaches, although they were a little overcrowded. Each beach was separated by a short forest walk. We kept going and arrived at a quiet beach being enjoyed by a few locals having a BBQ. As we lay in the sun, we both struggled to imagine 0 degrees! It was a gorgeous spot and spent a few days chilling here. Most days, apart from one or two where rain prevented us from doing much, we went to the beaches. One day we went on another trek to a fresh water pool, waterfall and another beach which was nice. It was such a lovely way to relax and stay in one area rather than take more bus journeys!