Paraty (pronounced Par-ah-chee) was the destination.
A bit of bonding for all the new teachers of Graded, The
American School where Susan works was the objective. The school hired a bus with all the other
costs such as “posada” stay, food, etc. was the teachers.
Logistics were to leave right after school on Friday and
return Sunday afternoon. Let’s get the
“getting there” out of the way and back again.
Simply a very lonnnnnnng bus ride of 8 hours over the winding roads from
Sao Paulo to
Paraty. There are no highways per se
twixt here and there.
We arrived at around 11 p.m at the Paraty bus station in the
middle of the night. Right, you could
have figured that 11 p.m. was the middle of the night. I know.
A nice hike to our posadas ensued and that meant carrying
our roller luggage most of the way. On the streets of old town small wheels on
luggage were useless unless they came with shock absorbers installed. The streets you see were constructed
obviously by drunk Brazilians who dragged boulders from the surrounding area
and plopped them haphazardly in the road.
There must have been a contest for the worker who could get most of the rock to protrude above
ground.
Levels must not have been invented yet.
Our posada or pousada was the “Estalagem Colonial” built in the mid 1800’s and maintained as if it was the mid 1800’s. Posada? Glad you asked. Per my good and personal friend, Merriam Dict: A government operated or approved inn offering moderately priced rooms to tourists, especially in a historic area.
Our bedroom at Estalagem Colonial.
Photos courtesy of www.ferias.tur.br The agenda was simple and you could or couldn’t whichever you wanted to do:
- Saturday morning: Boat ride or on your own.
- Saturday evening: On your own.
- Sunday morning: On your own.
- Sunday @ 2 p.m.: Bus ride back to Sao Paulo.
Saturday morning dawned and yes again I know most days dawn,
but I usurp editorial privilege here.
Downstairs in the Inn was a basic
continental breakfast with eggs made to order with enough fruit and breads to
satisfy.
We wandered through old town to the dock where the charter
boats were lined up and the street was lined with the usual cast of vendors: Coco milk, hats and souvenirs, assorted pot porri.
The rest of the morning was spent sailing out to a beach,
anchoring and anyone who wanted could dive overboard, grab a noodle or not,
swim to the beach and try to spot a sea turtle in the cloudy water from recent
rainfalls. The tourist photos will show
sparkling clear blue water which it can be…but wasn’t. Click on any photo to open a slideshow of that and all photos in a separate window.
On the way back there was a stop at a small restaurant where
the only downer, if it could be called that, happened. Another way of looking at is to say: “I
experienced the very laid back and slow culture of island cuisine.” Translation:
The restaurant was was under
staffed to handle a group our size plus other groups who docked at the restaurant.
We learned there was a surprising way that the decision was
made to serve food. There were four
terraces going up the side of the hill with tables on each terrace. At the lower level were tables 1 and 2, then
3 and 4 on the next terrace etc. Our group
sat on the top two terraces.
We watched a couple of smaller groups arrive after us and
sit on the lower terrace. With the size
of our group we figured it would take awhile for food,. But then we saw the new
group being served before us even though they arrived after us.
One of our teachers who spoke Portugese tried to help with
serving and went to the kitchen because it was taking forever for food to arrive and we wondered
why those who arrived later were already chowing away.
The teacher came back shaking her head. “You won’t believe this.” Says she. The kitchen was filling orders by the number
of the table, not when the order was placed.
Half our group got fed and shared their food with the other
group which was still waitng close to over an hour after arriving. Hey, it was a cultural experience.
That night Susan and I had dinner at an Italian restaurant
fairly open to the street which afforded teachers walking by the open door to
c’mon in and set and chat awhile.
Sunday morning for most of us was continuing to explore old
town and enjoy the traffic free streets, historical buildings, and delightful
atmosphere which was in stark comparison to Sao Paulo.
For some history and more background:
A bit more history: http://www.paraty.com.br/us/history_paraty.asp
Sure was easy to see why this place is a tourist
destination. Some images why.
Click on any image to open the whole magilla of Paraty photos in another window slideshow.
Click on any image to open the whole magilla of Paraty photos in another window slideshow.
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