Brazil 10

I have gotten way behind again. As I sit here working on this page it is the 22nd of May. The first post below is from 16 days ago, but as I sort the pictures they all look new to me. It already seems like a long time ago. From another trip. When you travel on an extended trip like this the scenic overload is a constant thing. It also makes the posting a fun activity, because you get to relive the experiences that disappear from the mind so quickly. I have been traveling since February 5, 2007 (this portion of the trip). It is already like taking 8 "two week" vacations. I can remember when it took 8 years to squeeze in that many "two week" vacations, again reminding us how fortunate we are!

On Sunday, the 6th of May, we are still relaxing at Dov Koren's beach home in Juquehy. Went for a short bike ride around the hill just northwest of Juquehy. Spent time Skypeing a few friends and family members. Took a long walk on beach, with a swim. On the beach are carts which serve drinks so I had 2 Mojito.

May 7th...is a ditto day of 6th! Could live here in Juquehy!
This is a wood bridge which crosses a small river, which flows through the village of Juquehy. Could be tough on a motorcycle during the night, if you did not know what to expect!
This is the same river, which the wood bridge crosses in the picture above.
May 8th was just another relaxing day in paradise. Tuesday is "street fair" day in Juquehy, so the goal for the day was to eat right! We did.....
A couple more days of this and then we have to head north towards Rio de Janeiro. It will be tough to leave.....
But..... On the 11th of May we load up the old bike and hit the road.... Thanks again Dov!

As we head northeast you see small villages like this. Notice the number of Satellite Antennas!

The MOST dangerous part of traveling in Brazil, is not letting the beautiful scenery distract you as you are riding!
The coast of Brazil has been so fun to ride....
Sailing is a big sport along the coast in this area....
Another feeding...

I always thought "Paradise" was one spot on earth.

I am learning that there are many "Paradises", and Brazil got more than it's fair share!

And "Paraty, Brazil" is another Paradise.

Paraty is an old shipping port where the valuable mining products would ship.
It is another "must see" in Brazil. Hey... we rode 111 miles to get here from Juquehy. I think that deserves a 3 night stay!
There is not one spot in Paraty which is not a "Photo".
I believe that there used to be 7 forts in Paraty to protect the gold, so you see the old canons aimed towards the water, all over the village.
Starting to miss home a bit........ not............
Sandy and I ate here, and (again) enjoyed Bossa Nova's. This is just one fantastic dream!

On the 12th of May, I get up, trying to beat the sun to the church in Paraty.

At this time in the morning the colorful boats are black and the sky hogs all the colors!

And more colorful.

I am trying to take pictures the best I can, and I know I have a lot to learn. I thought that some of you may find this a little interesting. This will also show how tough it is to pick one picture out of 50.

This is "pre-sunrise", and pretty colorless. But you can see the church is a pure white color.
Then, about 3 minutes later, 1/2 of the sun sticks it's head over the island in the bay. Now the whites turn pinkish orange, and shadows make things more interesting.
To prove how low the the sun is, I am standing almost 150 feet from the church (using telephoto), and take a self portrait.
I return midday to take another picture when the blue doors photograph well, and the clouds add to the picture.
Or do I try an artsy 'Black and White".

Or do I return tomorrow and try all the same things from this angle?

And you thought we were living the easy life? Decisions, decisions, decisions.........

I did returned........

Parati's historic section is completed closed to cars....

You have to "Walk" the town....

But you never get bored looking at all the neat homes....

And the bright colors keep you awake....

Brazil has been so much more than I had anticipated, and we have seen so little, so far!

After walking around Parati for almost 2 hours, I return to our room and breakfast....

This is our breakfast table, and that is the door to our room....

At first I was confused at the trumpets sticking out from the balconies....

Then it hit me....

It is for the rain to flow through, so that the water does not run down the walls.....

The streets have "Portuguese Cobblestones". The way you tell the difference between Spanish and Portuguese Cobblestone is easy. Portuguese roads run the water to the center of the street and the Spanish crown the road to drain to the curb area.

The colors are cheerful.....
The streets are closed to motored vehicles.... This is the trash truck.... He rides from house to house and picks up the bags of trash....
Another church in Parati....
We rode about 20 miles south to the beach in Trindade.... It was a great GS ride....
Where the road hits the beach, we stumbled on many surfers....

So far, Trindade gets our vote for the best beach in Brazil.........

A few pictures of the surfers. There was a storm offshore, so the waves were large!

The water appears very clean....

1/2 second prior to submersion....

This is how I picture paradise.....

The perfect beach....

I am 110% satisfied with this place.... The views were fantastic....
The Canon with "12 to 1" Zoom was the perfect tool for photographs today!
I was going to tell her how much she was damaging her skin.... Then it hit me -- I can't speak Portuguese...... I guess somebody else will have to notify her of the dangers of what she is doing....
One last photograph... Here I was just practicing my long distance focusing skills....
Sandy was there to keep me in line.... Even our meals in Brazil are colorful....

We stopped for one last drink, at a small restaurant located across this swinging bridge.

And we finished another day with more Bossa Nova's....

Boy, this is just one fantastic dream....

A nice smile and another colorful meal....

Sunday, May 13th, is Mother's Day, so I ask Sandy what she would like to do on her day! I really did not think "A motorcycle ride" would be what she would suggest! And she did not ask to go riding on the bike. She wanted to rent a boat and spend the day floating along the shores of southern Brazil. How could I say no?

Paraty, in the lower left corner, is where we started... And we traveled around the peninsula (which, on the map, stick out about 4 inches to the northeast of Paraty.... And we circled most of the small islands which can been seen on this map....
And this map shows Paraty, which is only 110 miles from Rio.....
So we walked to the marina to find a boat....
We ran across the "Trash Truck" again....
The driver took back off, after refueling....
We found a bright pink boat named "Cleopatra", which seemed appropriate for Mother's Day!

Yep... the same church. And if the water levels were to rise 1 meter, there would be no more Paraty.

Sandy's idea for a boat ride was perfect....
I know she would have liked to be home with the family on Mother's Day, but she adjusted well.

It is so peaceful in this section of Brazil It truly is paradise on earth

Sandy did enjoy her Mother's Day (I think). At least she was smiling!

Notice the shoreline.... Almost looks like a lake....
The boat we were in had a 2 cylinder diesel BMW marine engine which sounded like it was running at about 300 rpm.
The homes here are all powered by generators or solar panels, due to their remoteness.
Very tranquil life here on the shores of Brazil.
Beautiful boats....
This was a very small island restaurant... What you can see here is about 30% of the entire island...
Very nice....