After a day of getting soaked on hired bikes - apparently the best way to get around Ubatuba but less convenient when one hand is dedicated to your umbrella and there are puddles 3 inches deep - and marvelling at the resilience of the Brazilians who were still out in droves (Speedos and all) on the beach despite the weather, we got fed up with the rain and decided to escape to Paraty. We had low hopes that there would be any improvement in the weather since it's only about 50km away, but it would at least be a change of scenery. We jumped on a bus and for the first time ever in my life I arrived in a town that I intended to spend the night in without having a reservation - being a self-confessed control freak, this was quite a big step! Our Lonely Planet served us well though and we quickly found a pousada in an old colonial building in the historic centre and set off (umbrella in tow) to explore. Paraty is a cute little town with cobbled streets and colourful fishing boats dotted around the bay but, as it did in Ubatuba, the rain eventually drove us inside and we decided to take the opportunity to sample our first caiprinhia of Brazil - not a bad consolation prize.

We woke up the next morning, opened the shutters and hardly dared to believe what we saw - the sun had some out! Of course after 7 days of solid rain, I'd forgotten what sunshine does to English skin and promptly managed to acquire a ridiculous white-on-pink version of the tank top I was wearing. Nonetheless, blue skies make for much better photos and a much better mood so a spot of sunburn was definitely a small price to pay. With our renewed enthusiasm, we headed off to cachoeira Toboga - a waterfall/waterslide hybrid just out of town. In a happy coincidence of nature, the lower part of the waterfall runs over smooth slippery rocks into a deep pool - cold water but so much fun! Although the small grazes appearing on our arms and knees helped to remind us that we were at a waterfall rather than Thorpe Park and not to attempt surfing down (i.e. standing up) like the local kids do - totally nuts to watch them.

The sun stayed with us on to our next stop, Ilha Grande. The island only really has one small town and from there you can follow various trails through the rainforest to some of the quieter beaches. We opted for Lopes Mendes which we'd heard described as one of the most beautiful beaches in Brazil, and enjoyed the 6km hike each way almost as much as the beach itself - it feels like you've been dropped in Jurassic Park! Our reward when we arrived at the beach was an incredible view, beautiful blue sea and sand so fine it squeaked when you stepped on it - not bad.

We timed our departure from Ilha Grande perfectly, just as the rainclouds rolled in again. We´ve just arrived in Rio and getting settled in to our hostel - my first experience of a dorm room so we´ll see how that works out, no doubt there´ll be plenty of material for my next blog post!

P.S. I´ve finally gotten round to uploading some photos of the amazing christmas lights to the Salerno folder so if anyone is in need of a bit of festive spirit, that´s a good place to start.