Ilha
(island in Portuguese) and Grande = Big Island, Brazil. We woke to look out our
balcony to this small island (75 square miles) off the coast of Rio de Janeiro
state. We took our time getting off the ship today. I had a lazy morning and
Ronnie exercised and did some other things. The high here was 95 degrees but I
won’t complain since most of my friends and family are enduring below freezing
temps as I write this!
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| approaching island from tender |
This
island was originally used as a leper colony and later a top security prison
housing some of the most dangerous prisoners within the Brazilian penal system
until 1994. When the infamous penitentiary was destroyed, tourism started and the beautiful island is now home to guesthouses and restaurants. As far we could tell, there
are no cars on the island (except an ambulance). Goods are moved around on hand
drawn carts.
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| hammocks for sale |
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| cart carrying vacationers luggage |
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| taxi boats carry locals and visitors to various parts of the island |
People go from island to island by water taxi or private boat.
There are a number of beaches on the island but we only walked around the
main commercial area. We both accidentally left our credit cards behind, and merchants
don’t take US money, so we only bought one piece (read: one bite) of candy for
$1US.
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| homemade candy wrapped in corn husk |
The
village has a few dirt roads and people get around on foot or on bicycle. There
must be a ratio of at least 1 dog to every 5 persons. Dogs are everywhere, and
none are on leashes. You can tell they are used to visitors because you see
them sleeping on sidewalks, storefronts or even in the middle of the street.
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| beautiful bird singing overhead |
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| Oceania Vista in background |
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| beach volleyball |
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| buy me? |
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| fresh coconut water |
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| fruit and veggies |
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| typical street scene |
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| Ilha Grand island life |
We basically just walked around and browsed in a shop or two, so nothing real exciting. We were both hot and hungry by the time we got back to the dock to catch the tender back to the ship. It is so nice to be greeted by Oceania staff at the tender point with ice cold water and scented, cold wet cloths to refresh ourselves with before boarding the tender. Not being a beach person myself, I wouldn't necessarily recommend Ilha Grande as a destination, but it does have some beautiful beaches. Hopefully the photos offer some idea of what the island is like today.
It looks delightful, but I am always worried about Brazil beaches and sanitation-at least the ones near big cities and in the heat. That little bird looks so lovely up on that that Fiddle Leaf Fig tree...at least that appears to be one. I know they had enormous ones there (but Texas house plants). The dogs must be community dogs. Bummer that neither of you could buy anything. Did you try the corn husk candy?
ReplyDeleteI didn't know the name of the tree, but it definitely resembles fig leaves! He reminded me of our sweet Tweetie Pie (yellow canary) with his beautiful song. Yes, that was the $1 I spent on one bite of candy - but it was delicious! ;-)
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