Ilha Grande

On Tuesday I took the bus north to Angra dos Reis with 2 girls from the OC (actually the town where Laguna beach is set). With not much to do in Angra we caught a schooner for an hour cruise around the islands to Ilha Grande. The town was full of little cafés and pousadas, so first effort was to track down some Chopp. After scouring the island we resorted to a good steak and beer, then got settled in a hostel up on the hill overlooking the bay.
Wednesday morning we got up early to get stuck into the breakfast before the big group of 19 year old english church builders ate all the breakfast. The guys at the hostel cooked up the breakfast fresh each morning, with bread, cakes biscuits and fresh fruit, so we couldn´t miss out!
Together with a swedish judo champion and canadian couple, we did the 2.5 hour trek over the mountains to Lopez Mendes, supposedly the most beutiful beach in Brazil. It was certainly nice, but with incredibly strong currents wasn´t the greatest place for a swim. Spent the day on the beach then caught a boat back to town with the OC girls.
Yesterday I did the hike up to Pigeon Peak. This was a trek and a half through thick jungle and little remnants of a trail. Saw several little monkeys, squirrels, huge birds and almost stepped on a long snake. Eventually made it to the top with amazing views over the entire island, the bays, mountains on the mainland, and a sandbar reaching almost all the way to Rio. The trip down was a bit faster going, but with my water supplies finished on the summit, I was glad to find a small creek to releive the thrist.
After recovering in the hammock I headed out to see the local island night life with Ewa, the swedish party planner. She needed little encouragement for some corner treatment with the barman, which I understand did evolve to be proper beach treatment.
This morning got the ferry back to Angra, then the bus to Rio de Janeiro where I met Maria and crashed at her place.