Ilha Grande

Looking down to the village where we stayed on Ilha Grande
Ilha Grande is one of the most relaxing places imaginable to spend a few days. We took a bus south from Rio along the hilly, green coastline and a ferry across to the island, which has no cars.The mainland town from where we caught the ferry.

There were just enough tourists there to make it fun, plenty of locals, and after the first day, lots of sunshine.Our days began with delicious breakfasts which included a lot of watermelon, papaya and melon, and were followed by treks along little tracks up through unspoilt jungle to stretches of long beaches with lots of golden sand, great waves and few people.We passed lot of enormous bamboo on walks

We couldn't believe it when we turned a corner in the forest one day and came face to face with a large monkey swinging from a branch. We also spotted all sorts of parrots and shared our first breakfast with a small, wild monkey which showed up to mop up the crumbs.

A giant, metal drum on Lopes Mendes beach

The island had a political prison which was full during the Brazilian dictatorship and closed in the 1990s. Much of it was demolished but the remaining part is being turned into a museum.

A highlight for Simon would have to be the three sweet trolleys, full of puddings baked on the island each day and wheeled along the front each evening. He treated himself to something from them at least once a day. In his words, 'The sticky, creamy, fruity treats all lit up in a glass cabinet like precious objects were too good to resist.'

Pudding 1

Pudding 2

Pudding 3

Lopes Mendes beach. The waves were too big to go for a swim on this side of the island but paddling was lots of fun.

Although this is one of the main tourist places for people from Sao Paulo, Rio and travellers, it remains totally charming and a lovely place to visit.