miceail's misadventures: ilha grande

for our last weekend in brazil we left rio and went to ilha grande on our way to sao paulo where we flew home from. we met a lady in a coffee shop in rio who helped explain to the barista how to make an americano that alissa was struggling to explain that she wanted. we got to chatting and she recommended it highly to us

we took a 3 hr bus to near angar des rios and then a ferry across to the island. it is a park that once used to house a notorious prison and was once a lair and a staging point for pirates that used to attack ships rounding the tip of south america. Ilha Grande is one of the most pristine remnants of Brazil's Atlantic rainforest, one of the richest ecosystems in the world, and a hotspot for biodiversity and conservation. there is a development restriction and only 5 cars on the entire island. everything is done by boat. many places on the island are not accessible to people.

a much needed chance to work on my tan. alissa had since turned persian.

on the boat to one of the beaches called lopes mennes

we hit it on a weekend so the island was packed with people coming for the weekend, mostly 20 somethings, so it made for a very festive atmosphere

cacti growing on the rocks

we had to make like farc guerrillas to get to the beach from the drop off point

and from heaven came a light, beckoning me to the waves

like hasselhoff

it was pretty awesome, it rained hard in the morning and when we got to the beach it was like stepping on crunchy snow. so cool. the beach was super clean, no washed up crap, no sharp shells.

a good idea of the brazilian styles. she in g-string, he in speedo. we would be lying on the beach tanning and having a beer and i would lean over to alissa, saying "i think those girls over there are laughing at you", she would be "why?"..... then i would tell her it was because her bathing suit is so big

there was a huge washed up marking drum that must have broken from its anchor and washed ashore. someone took the time to tile the sides. i could not drag it back out

it was like a scene from an SI swimsuit model shoot

i prayed to be stranded here

robinson crusoe styles

we spent hours out in the water jumping and body surfing on the waves. the water was like bathwater, super clear and clean

the ride back was a race between the two junk boats

back in the village, which was all hostels, hotels, restaurants, pubs and shops

alissa was like the jacques cousteau of speedos, observing them in their natural habitat

the T-shirt combo is a good look

getting some street meat. bbq skewers were always to be found

speedos at work

our hostel room slept 6 but he was desperate to have us so we got this and a double bed. always nice to spread your stuff out. we arrived at 11:30 pm so we just wanted to settle

this guy was like where's waldo, always popping up. always by himself, and most importantly; always up to party

they had the drums, the strings and the singing on the go outside

in the morning it rained hard. we were depressed. it was supposed to be our magical last weekend in paradise. but it all cleared off and the smiles recovered. the thumbs up is a very brasilian gesture. constantly being thrown around. it was an ongoing joke with us.

the boats that take you around to the various islands and lagoons

surfer girl

so much darker than her!

all i gotta say about this pic is: when in rome. i didnt pull the speedo but down to my boxers, doing the polo sport pose was a good start

some kind of festival

we had no idea

vancouver: who cares

even the mannequins got booty. u can see the tasty little cuts on the bikini bottoms. this was as big as they got. even on older ladies. boobs falling out everywhere

some say patrick swayze died of cancer. the truth is that during the 15 yr reunion party of the movie point break, keanu reeves drank him under the table. after going on a hunger strike to protest the possibility of that even happening, he died on a beach down here. but put on the george bush dead presidents mask first for effect. (i may have lost you all there)

street bars. 3 bucks will get you 5 oz drinks. sugar was heaped into every drink. i even had one that was blended with peanuts and chocolate powder, we got destroyed

rio football club won the brazilian league on the last day of the season, the weak before we came. 4 teams coulda won it on the last day and they had not won in 25 yrs. we missed the party in rio but the fans broke out into singing at night. it was awesome. the music stopped and i almost got beat up when i threw my arms into a V and started singing, villa, villa, VILLA!