Paraty
BRAZIL
Party Boats & Caipirinhas
By AARON
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
So after all giving birth to our sushi babies from the previous night in São Paulo, we all boarded the bus to Paraty, Brasil. Known as being a little fishing town, it has retained its “old-town” look by becoming one of the 80,000,000 UNESCO World Heritage Sites located around the world. Walking through the Old Town area of Paraty, you can enjoy cobblestone streets, refurbished buildings, overpriced trinkets and stores, and even a broken ankle if you’re not looking where you’re walking. These cobblestones are huge – if you wear sandals, you could walk right by a shop giving away free doughnuts (Homer reference) due to you having to constantly look down at your feet. But I digress.
After Lyndi took us on our orientation tour, everyone pretty much split up and went their separate ways. Having been there before, Lyndi and I pretty much knew what Paraty had to offer, and since we were in no mood to spend about $50USD on a bracelet, we walked around the city and took some nice pictures of old town as the sun was setting.
The next morning we did what everyone does as a tourist in Paraty – we went on a boat cruise. All of the boats and captains there, from large to small, pink to green, drunk to sober, offer boat tours of the surrounding beaches and islands that dot the large cove of Paraty. We already had a company picked out (the same one we always use) and set off around 10am for our tour. The two things that I remembered about the boat cruise from the last time I was in Paraty, was that (1) It was very windy. (2) The water was quite cold. Today was to be no different from the last time.
As we set off for the first anchor point, Lyndi and I huddled on the deck, so as to block some of the wind that was whipping all around the boat as we navigated over the slightly choppy waves that day. This was to become the norm for us going from one anchor point to the other, especially if you were brave (or stupid) enough to swim in the cold waters, which were not tropical to say the least. Regardless of the wind and cold water, it’s always a pleasant experience as you pass numerous little islands and gorgeous coastlines full of pristine beaches with vast hills and mountains in the backdrop.
The lunch was fresh fish, which was great as always, and just like the previous time in Paraty, we also helped ourselves to some nice Itaipava beers and caipirinhas. We docked back at the harbor just in time, before the storm clouds rolled in and the heavy rains threatened to drench the city. Running back to the hotel, we made it just before the rain started to fall in a slow, steady drizzle. Now normally this would keep us in the hotel for the night, but we had a higher calling that evening, and it may or may not have involved more caipirinhas.
For those of you who don’t know, caipirinhas are the national drink of Brasil, and are composed of Cachaça (“Kuh-shaa-zaa”), which is rum-like liquor distilled from sugar cane, mixed with muddled limes, and a whole bunch of sugar. When made properly, there’s nothing better to drink on a beach; when made poorly, you may never go back and try the drink again. Luckily enough, Lyndi and I had discovered a little hole in the wall in Old Town, Paraty that served some of the best caipirinhas that we had ever tried. Owned by a really nice guy who seemed to hit on anything wearing a skirt, you could get a nice big plastic cup for about $4USD – well worth the price. So donning our rainproof jackets, Lyndi, Kim, Steff and I went to “Arte Cachaça”, and helped ourselves to a couple of libations. After enjoying a couple of drinks, we went out to eat a bit of street food, and then headed back to the hotel to play some cards as the rain started to pick up.
All in all, one full day in Paraty is pretty much all you need. Everyone does the boat cruise, but unless you have an unlimited supply of cash and really want to shop, you can do and see everything you need to in that time. Having done all we wanted to do, I was content to once again say goodbye to this quiet town, because although the tour was coming to an end for Lyndi, we were now heading to my favorite city in all of Brasil – Rio de Janeiro.
