Having seen Ilhabela from the coastline the week before, I returned to explore the island itself. Unfortunately, it was another cloudy day and most of the island was obscured by the clouds. I took my time wandering through Santa Tereza, had a relaxing afternoon lunch on the beach, and returned to the ferry dock in the early evening. Finally the clouds began to part, and on the ferry ride back to the mainland, I got a nice view of the island in the soft light of the sunset.

On a beautiful summer Saturday, I returned to Ilhabela Island to go swimming and relax on the beach. Curral beach, towards the southern end of the island was a great place to spend the afternoon.

Itatiaia National Park, Brazil’s oldest national park, is located just a couple hours north of Sao Jose dos Campos. The park consists of a high mountainous region to the north, and a lower, densely forested region to the south. For this day excursion, I entered through the southern entrance of the park and explored the many beautiful waterfalls, flowers, and wildlife found in the dense jungle.

The small town of Trindade is located on a beautiful section of coastline just inside the southern edge of Rio de Janeiro state and is known for its laid back, hippie type demeanor. The largest section of beach, Praia do Cochadaco, is accessed by a short trail through the jungle, which gains significant elevation and provides a nice view of the coastline to the north. On the southern end of Praia do Cochadaco, another overland trail leads to a group of rock outcroppings which create natural swimming pools, sheltered by the waves. Though staying in Paraty, a short distance away, I enjoyed spending most of the day on these beaches at Trindade.

The highest city in Brazil, Campos do Jordao is known for its European architecture and relatively cold temperatures. The European-style buildings and surrounding high altitude Atlantic forest with Brazilian Parana Pine set this area apart from the subtropical regions along the coast. It was a great place for a day trip and made me feel like I had somehow wandered into Europe, instead of the mountains of Brazil.

Located on the border between Brazil and Argentina, Iguazu Falls is a large grouping of waterfalls that combine to make one of the most spectacular natural displays in the world. The most impressive section of the falls is an elongated U-shaped gorge called the Devil’s Throat, where water pours in from three sides and falls over 270 feet, generating a column of mist that rises up to 400 feet in the air. On Saturday Mark and I went to the Brazilian side of the falls, hoping to see some nice views. However, it turned out to be a cold, rainy day and between the pouring rain and the mist from the falls, we got completely soaked and left early to go dry out. Sunday I got up and went to the Argentina side of the falls, disappointed that the morning was still cloudy and rainy. However, halfway through the day, the clouds began to part and it turned into a beautiful, sunny afternoon. Just before closing time, I went to the Devil’s Throat overlook and captured a beautiful panorama of the largest section of the falls pouring into the Devil’s Throat gorge in the late afternoon sunlight.

Reluctantly leaving the island on the last Sunday evening ferry back to Angra dos Reis, I got to observe the incredible sunset over the northwest side of Ilha Grande and the mountainous Brazilian mainland. The soft light reflecting off the water and small islands throughout the bay painted a beautiful scene and was a perfect ending to an excellent weekend.