Just A Pit Stop IN Paraty...
Paraty is a small colonial town along Brazil’s Costa Verde. It is situated between Rio (4 hours to its North) and São Paulo (4 hours to its South). As we finalized our plans for our trip from Rio to São Paulo we made the decision that we would do the 8 hour drive by bus... enjoy the ride. To break up the drive we would spend two nights along the coast, our research pointed to an island visit but our gut told us the coastal colonial town of Paraty… plus, our new Brazilian friends Leonard and Nira informed us that Paraty was less touristy (more of a local go to) and the route to go… sold. Paraty it was!
and it turned out to be an awesome decision. The picturesque “historic center”...
beautiful cobblestone streets filled with beautiful people...
and a harbor surrounded by mountains...
After our evening stroll through town we grabbed a few drinks - the local Caipirinha, rum/lime juice/sugar - and checked in to our AirBnb.
Side note: our AirBnB had two bars of packaged soap carefully placed on towels when we entered our room. Unfortunately Sean thought it was a piece of candy the hosts left out…
The next morning we woke up to an amazing view of town…
Our gracious hosts had breakfast waiting for us in the morning, thats when we started chatting with host Marcelo (and things took a turn for the much much better). Marcelo is a rock star! His energy is outrageously infectious and his positive outlook on life second to none. He asked what we had planned for the day… we responded with, “going to explore”. In his broken english he responded with, “ok, give me 10 minutes and I show you everything”. Just like that, our day roaming with Marcelo began...
Marcelo The Great and the hidden waterfall he took us to for a swim...
then a visit to "Toboggan Falls”...
a trip to the local Cachaça distillery, of course we ripped shots! ...
and finally a drop off at the local beach...
Guidebooks are great, reviews are extremely beneficial but meeting and hanging with a local, nothing better. We loved our two night stay in Paraty and would highly recommend it… of course make sure you book a room with Marcelo & Sol, it will make the trip!
A few other faves below from our stay in Paraty, which turned out to be much more than just a pit stop 🙂
Magnificent!
This looks so much fun and exciting!
Enjoy!
Your updates and pictures are AMAZING!!! Can’t help smiling and so happy for you and Sean to experience this wonderful journey. Love you both so much, till we meet in Italy 🙂
Love you mama..can’t wait to give you a big hug and kiss in ITALY!!! 6 more months! 🙂
Omg … the pictures are awesome. .. looks so beautiful, have fun .. xo love you
This looks like a distinctly memorable part of your journey through South America!
So incredible, glad you have both found the local flavor you were hoping for.
Love you both
Yes, it was such a great time. There was a moment when we were at the waterfall and everything seemed to stop, we’re so thankful to have this experience – it’s really incredible! Love you!! xxo
Having so much fun “traveling” with you. Your pictures are amazing and make me feel like I am there. I actually had a belly laugh looking at the picture of Sean’s bite of soap!
Millie
Haha, so glad you got a laugh because we did too!!
Thankyou for the spectacular pictures . Already a trip of a lifetime!!! So happy for you,love you both!!😀
We love you! It’s been pretty amazing, can’t complain 🙂 Enjoying every moment. See you in Greece!!!
Wow! So happy for both of you. Incredible gift to be able to explore for an entire year. Way to go.