In the previous Day 1 post, I left you wondering just how much crazier a second day in Paraty could be. After all, we barely survived Day 1, so would Day 2 be more or less? To the very pleasing ears of my future wife, Day 2 was not nearly as insane and I had many less near-death experiences 🙂

9:00am – Wake in the Hostel room after a decent 7 hours of sleep. We watched the first half of the Packer/49er game at the Centro the previous night but were kicked out around 2pm when the bar closed and never saw the outcome (sorry Pack fans, but I was thrilled to see the next day’s results). We walked home in a torrential downpour, and sleeping outside in a hammock in the rain was not going to happen. I’m adventurous, but not quite enough for that … yet.

10:00am – Team Bad-a** hit the road for the beach. After yesterday’s excursion, we were looking to relax a bit more. But, don’t be fooled, we were not going to lay down a towel and relax … in fact, the word relax has no meaning to Team Bad-a**. We immediately walked to the pier to hire a boat and tour the surrounding islands. Most available boats looked like century old tugboats with far too much use, and far too little adventure. But there was one boat that stood out like a diamond in the rough. We walked straight to the speed boat with a 150 hp motor and said “how much?” A little negotiating and the aptly named XS-FUN was ours for the day at US$50 per person.

11:00pm – We spent the next 4 hours touring a dozen private beaches, lagoons, waterways and coves. I was in Thailand last year touring the Phi Phi Islands, and I must admit … they have NOTHING on Paraty. These were far more beautiful, pristine, and picturesque than the island from The Beach. We swam with turtles and tropical fish, visited islands of ospreys and monkeys, dove into the bluest waters and lived a life of luxury for the afternoon. A couple pictures here do it no justice, but trust me, you should be jealous. The only dangerous part was the complete void of safety. No life-jackets given, no slowing down for passing boats or wakes, and only a slight fear of shark infested waters.

5:00pm – Our driver, Francisco, dropped us back at the pier and we made our way to the Hostel to pick up our stuff and go. Our bus driver, the prima-donna diva that he was, refused to bring the bus to us, so we had to walk a few blocks to him. We were late leaving the hostel and lost the group, which meant another 30 minutes of wandering the town trying to find our bus … and prepare emotionally for being stranded. Finally someone else found us and we jumped on the bus for the loooooooong trip home. To pass the time, I watched Pitch Perfect … twice.

1:30am – After a grueling 8.5 hour bus ride, we were finally home. At least this time we were able to make bathroom breaks more often … though out of spite for our prissy driver, I chose to relieve myself on the back of the bus instead of the gas station facilities. Take that Mr. Anderson. But the trip was done and we had just enough energy left to lay out our wet clothes, do a quick check in the mirror, and pass out until morning.

I don’t know if I will ever make it back to Brazil, but if I do, I will have to find a more efficient way to visit Paraty again. If you are every anywhere in South America, find a way to make the trek. You will not be disappointed and will surely have your own Teva Excursion.