We Make A Funky Party

Today we woke up to rain. I guess not everything can be perfect in paradise. As part of the plan, we decided to see another part of Ilha Grande and hiked about 7 miles. On the way, we saw the old hospital / quarantine where they kept European immigrants who may have cholera and some cool aqueduct ruins.

We hiked to a waterfall called Feiticeira that means witch. Although we were wet from rain, we were definitely sweaty from the hiking and humidity. At the waterfall, we waded through and took some fun photos. What else are you going to do in this amazing rainforest!?

We had an option to hike another hour and take a boat back, but as the weather was not nice, there was a chance a taxi boat would not be available. So we decided to hike back, cross a stream, and check out some lookout points.

Although the weather was rainy, we had a blast exploring and it was really appropriate that we were getting rained on in a rainforest! We saw a really large spider and heard some more howler monkeys as well.

After coming back into town, our pousada was nice enough to let us shower and get cleaned up. Then we headed out to lunch where I had fried fish, salad, black beans and rice. Lizzie and Allison both had burgers and fries, but the menu led them to believe they would be normal sandwiches. We would have normally taken a 5 pm ferry, but opted for the 3 pm due to the weather. We are sad to leave the paradise of Ilha Grande, but we have so many things to still see in Rio.

On the ride back, we listened to the American musical delights of Usher, Pitbull, Britney, and others. We have decided Pitbull is an international language as we heard tourists at Iguaçu singing along to him, even though they probably couldn't speak English.

Before we hit massive traffic outside of Rio, we stopped at a rest stop, got coffees, pao de queijo (bread balls with cheese), brigadeiros (chocolate balls), and cocada (coconut treats). The candy shop at the rest stop had so many tasty homemade treats. Allison got more peanut candies that we had enjoyed before.

We sang so much in the car, we justifiably made our own "funky party"! Alex, our guide, would use this phrase a lot - i.e. "When I was young, I use to make a funky party". We thought it was pretty hilarious even though his English was very good.

Outside of our car, just from the highway, you could see that it was not so much a funky party. We saw peddlers and other struggling Cariocas (the term for people from Rio) and policemen with large guns casually resting on their open car windows. Tourists often opt for favela or slum / shanty town tours where drug lords rule. These are quite popular, but the 3 of us decided it was not of interest to us even though tours can be relatively safe and visit "pacified favelas".

Despite seeing some of the grit of the city, we had many laughs as I have proclaimed to Alex that I'm the funniest Korean he has ever met. He even said to me he couldn't see me as a "boss" because I'm so nice. This is how you know I'm really on vacation and in vacation mode. :-)

After arriving back at the Mercure Arpoador, we eventually headed out to dinner in Ipanema where we ate at ZaZa which is a Latin / Asian fusion restaurant. We shared seafood ceviche, caprese salad, pork ribs, and grilled fish. We drank a Pinot Grigio / Torrontés wine blend and had Devil's Food Cake for dessert. I had become a Torrontés fan after my trip to Argentina last year with Amanda. Although Malbec is the most well-known, the Argentines are also proud of their best white wine.

Tomorrow we explore more of Rio and can't wait to sight-see and hit the beach!