And we arrived in Paraty. . . . barely. . .

For the first time our packs were weighed before we got onto the bus at Iguazu. Not a problem for us but there were a few people who were upset when told they had to pay extra. Also I learnt that Brazilian's have no idea when it comes to personal space. This woman behind me was pretty much right on top of me. I think if I had sat down she would have sat onn me she was that close and it got annoying very quickly as when I moved forward to give myself some space she came with me. I think I need to stop being so nice.

At 7:30a.m. we pulled into a truck stop for breakfast. Neither of us had slept very well (and the bus was freezing) and I am going to blame what we did next on that. We got off the bus and left our bags on our seats. You would think we would know better. A very nervous wait after our bus left (we still have no idea where it went for half an hour) before it returned and luckily for us our bags were still there with everything in it. I still can't believe we did that and we need a good slap for it considering what we should have learnt in Ecuador.

Coming into Sao Paulo we realised the city is really grey. Not many trees or shrubs that we could see. On the advice of the people we had previously met along the way we had decided not to stay here. Since both of us really aren't city people probably a good idea.

After arriving slightly early we found unfortunately we had about a 4 hour wait at the Sao Paulo bus station. Now the bus station isn`t like anything we have in Australia. For starters they have about 25 companies who work out of the station. Funnily enough only one of these 25 companies actually has buses that go to Paraty.  There were no tickets left for the 12:15p.m bus so we booked for the 4p.m. Still slightly annoyed that we couldn't book in Iguazu as it would have been perfect timing (although knowing our luck we would have then been late!). There was also at least 50 shops. Now when I say shop I use the term very lightly. Phil however was happy with the huge amount of action figures for sale.

After our very long and slow bus ride to Sao Paulo we had the exact opposite to Paraty. An absolutely insane bus driver who drove well over the speed limit and who at one point decided that taking a 'sleeping policeman' (speed bump - love that thanks Helen) at about 90km/hr was a good idea. No sleep for either of us and to make things worse my kindle decided this was the bus ride to die on :(

Arriving at Paraty we found that the hostel we had booked into was double booked and although they stated they had advised us by email it wasn`t the case. Luckily the owner found us another place and it turned out to be much better than theirs. It's funny that for the amount of money we are paying for hotels in Brazil they are all very basic.

Paraty for us was the opportunity to relax. We had decided to skip Illa Grande and spend 2 nights in Paraty. Neither of us were keen to do another two bus rides and a ferry ride just to spent a night there. Paraty is a small town based on the coast catering almost completely for tourists. Pretty much we spent our time drinking coffee and exploring the town which really only consists of a 10 minute walk in each direction from the middle of the town.

After booking our bus to Rio and sorting out washing (I think I am starting to realise how great our washing machine really is) we had plenty of time just to relax. . . which we took full advantage of.

Passing by Paraty 33 restaurant we were surprised to see Coopers beer advertised. Initially curious and by now Phil would have loved a good (Aussie) beer, we passed when we found that it would cost $18.90R ($12.60AUS). Although we aren't exactly on a budget it was kind of over the top.

Pizza is also an interesting choice in Brazil. After having no idea (it was in Portugese) we decided to take a chance an had a half margherita and half potrugesa pizza. The portugesa turned out to be salami, ham, onion. . .yep not to bad but wait for it, peas and corn! Interesting was the best way to describe it. We were to learn that peas are actually a common topping on pizza in Brazil.

The town itself is really nice. Horse and carts deliver goods, the cobblestones give it an old world feel and I love the fact that when the tide comes in some of the roads closest to the ocean go under water for a while.

Tip:
If you want a place to relax this is it. Still expensive whern it comes to accomodation at about $70 a night, the place itself seems to work on it`s own time.

And next is Rio. . . The city which never sleeps. . . .