Paraty, Brazil

Sept 13-17

Two very long days of driving through the rain, including an overnight sleep on the truck, landed us in Paraty on Linda's birthday. We quickly decorated the campsite for the occasion and spent the evening playing hilarious and ridiculous drinking games.

The first day in Paraty was rainy; not ideal for a town known for its beaches and waterfalls. But even the rain couldn't ruin a stroll around the beautiful little cobble stone streets and colonial buildings of the Old Town area.

Luckily, the weather was much better for the remainder of our time in Paraty. We spent a day at Toboga Waterfall, which was really more of a water slide than a waterfall. Upon arriving we watched a few people slide down and then quickly headed up to have a go. Some local guys up the top gave us a push to get us going and one by one we sped down the falls. This was hysterical fun. It was super slippery and there were a few bumps, one particularly big one right before the end that sent me flying! Linda was the only one who managed to stay steady the whole was down, the rest of us always ended up spinning around in all kinds of directions. 

After a few rides down the local guys started showing off their skills. While we struggled to go down straight on our bums, they were practically skiing down the falls! They'd go down on their feet, jumping over the bumps and pulling all kinds of impressive poses mid-air. One of the guys used a vine as a skipping rope while coming down. At one point he also dragged Linda half way up, where he found a sturdy spot for her to sit so that he could jump over her! An impressive show! 

Another day in Paraty was spent on a booze cruise. 

The sun was out, the tunes were pumping and the caiparinhas were free. What more could we ask for?! How about stunning islands and private beaches! 

We spent the day cruising the bay, making various stops to jump into the water and to play soccer on deserted beaches. 

The sunset was stunning. 

Next stop RIOOOOO!!!!!!!!