5th-6th February 2013
So we finally, FINALLY arrived in Parati after an epic bus journey after we got lost in the middle of nowhere and had no idea if we would survive with success to get to Parati that day. Great to say that we did. Phew!
Arriving at 10.30pm, we were waaaaaaay too tired to be looking for our hostel on foot and everything looked dark. These winding roads looked ripe for a good mugging so we approached a taxi stand. None of the taxi drivers wanted to take us. Why? At first we weren’t too sure but they kept flapping their hands up and down after pointing at their card and making a ‘brrrrr’ sound. But it did hit me. I knew that I read from my guidebook that the hostel was situated in the old part of town and as it was the old part of town, there were cobblestone streets everywhere. Perhaps he didn’t want to damage his suspension of his car? I thought he was being too over zealous but he was actually right when we hit the ‘cobbly’ streets after deciding to walk it. Stones jutted out unevenly making it impossibly for us to walk along. We really had to watch where we were going unless we wanted broken ankles. The taxi driver wasn’t kidding! In the dark, we managed to get to our hostel despite a few scrapes and some wet feet from slamming our feet into dark puddles of what I hope was water. But the hostel was brilliant! Jovial, welcoming and best of all, they greeted us with Caipirinhas! Woo!
The rest of the night, we simply chilled out at the hostel, toasting our survival and promptly went to bed.
The next morning, we headed on our to explore the town. It had rained overnight but it was absolutely so refreshing to see damp stones around on this coastal town. it truly was a sleepy town as we didn’t really see anyone much but the wet stone made for some fantastic photography. Parati truly is idyllic place to rest.
Just Horsing Around…
Absolutely beautiful street
Beautiful harbour
Beautiful Church
The Plaza
Did you know Pararti used to be a fort for the Portuguese to keep the French out?
After checking out this sleepy, colonial place, it was lunchtime already. And by then, all of us had grins on our faces. We liked this place…or was it because it was due to the Caipirinha we had before grabbing some lunch as we went to grab the bus tickets to get to Rio de Janeiro the next day? What do you think?
But we were so relaxed and it’s just what we needed after a hectic week of travelling. We also heard that there was going to be a pre-Carnaval party going on in Parati (try saying that sentence 3 times faster), so what’s to do? Just go to the plaza and enjoy the day go by. Maybe have…erm…5 rounds of these?
Yes too many Caipirinhas.
We were actually erm…tipsy. That we had to go to bed for a lie down in late afternoon. Oh dear. But before we did, Auston and David were pretty sure about my drinking stages. So much, that they DRUNKENLY made a video about it. Seriously, they can’t even count properly…. Check it out. It’s all lies..I tell you…ALL LIES!
So waking up a couple of hours later, we went to a restaurant and I had another Caipirinha (when will I ever learn?!) and some food while I listened to some live music as the rain thundered outside. Still very relaxing.
Raining
Live Music
it was just so nice to just chill out.
Later on, we headed to the main plaza to partake in the celebrations of the Pre-Carnaval Party at Parati. It was our first taste of the samba music and despite my hearing aid going kaput thanks to the wet weather, my cochlear implant still held up well and I heard everything I needed to hear. So colourful, So flamboyant and very cheeky! There’s absolutely no way you cannot give yourself to the music. Even my bum was wriggling when I was telling myself to be reserved and British. Check out the pics.
get your dancing shoes on, you’re gonna have one hell of a party!
You can see we were having a great time with our grins!
That night, I was also talking to many locals who seemed interested in us. A lot of them expressed surprised when I denied that I was Brazilian. That was a huge ego boost! So I am handsome enough to pass off as a Brazilian? Check me out….wahey!
Also another surprise. Most of the people speaking to us where our age or just slightly younger. But yet most of them had BOTOX on their face?! I asked why and they said they wanted to stay young. But of course they are young…wow. So the rest of the night, I was fascinated how their foreheads did not move whatsoever. My god, how superficial are they? But then again, I shouldn’t be surprised that Brazil has won Miss World a lot of times…
Anyway, the party finished and it was time to go home. We needed our sleep. Again, we had been drinking and we wanted the bed again. Not good at all….especially if we were to go on the bus the next day….
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