Tuesday, September 30, 2025
I learned that the English name of the monkey that wanted to join us for breakfast is a marmasat. Sangui is its Brazilian name.
Here are some lovely flowers growing in our hotel garden.
After breakfast we met up with Rodrigo and walked the dangerous cobbled streets again to the pier, where we met a catamaran that took us to the Sem Pressa, “no rush”, which waited for us at a different pier. The restauranteur, Gisela Schmidt, who provided our lunch, was waiting to tell us about our impending meal and details about the boat ride.
Then she left us in the hands of the captain and 2 staff and we were off. Every appetizer looked delectable and they had our attention before the captain pulled away from shore. We had tasted everything by the time the anchor was dropped in a calm and secluded part of the huge bay, an hour and a half later.
The day was perfect again, and we did get hot enough to go for a swim. The water is slightly warmer than Lake Tahoe, so I was able to get in without a strain. We were in the nearly fresh water for about 20 minutes. The bay is a mix of fresh water from two inbound rivers and salty from the ocean. We were close to the rivers where we swam.
Back in the boat, we were served lunch. There were several mini courses, each one an experience. The first was a perfectly cooked giant prawn served in a spicy coated glass with a lite aioli sauce. The second course was a miniature crab cake served on a tartar sauce. Not my favorite. The third course was a sea bass tartar.
Then came the main course; a perfectly prepared octopus arm accompanied by black rice, a cherry tomato compote, crispy rice-like cassava, a mussel and a grilled lime. The flavors went together beautifully.
After all that, we still had dessert. The staff put out a spread of 4 items and we each took some of each, of course: baked cheese cake; a dense coconut and rice pudding; pistachio flan; and dark chocolate brownies with white chocolate chips. I liked the pistachio flan and Mark liked the brownies.
About an hour after lunch, the captain turned on the engines and headed back to town. It was 5:40 before we reached our room. What a lovely day we had experienced.
Wednesday, October 1, 2025
Rodrigo and our driver for the day, Ivan, met us at 9am and off we went in a Range Rover Defender into the nearby mountains to learn more about Brazilian slaves. When brought to Paraty between 1590 and 1888, they were fattened up and put to work in many places harvesting sugar cane, coffee and gold.
They learned Portuguese and built a stone road up and down the coast to transport gold and other produce. We were shown parts of the road, which was made from huge boulders. Foot bridges were also installed along the way. One bridge, over the Pereque River next to the Bocaina National Park, led us to a black community restaurant called Quelombo. Once across the bridge, we were invited into a private meeting room to visit with 2 leaders and holders of community history, Ana Claudia and Alvaro. We learned that three ladies had banned together in 1888 to establish their dominance over the land that had been abandoned by their slave owner because the sugar industry had collapsed and the slaves had been freed. The land the ladies claimed was close to the river and close to the forest so there was no overgrazed land. They took possession of 290 hectares (716 acres) and the community families grew sugar cane, coffee, cassava, manioc, bananas, mangos and other fruits and vegetable until 1970, when some rich people hired expensive lawyers and tried to take the land away. The community fought for the land and finally received assistance from helpful lawyers who succeeded in securing the property for the community in perpetuity by Government decree. Community members can come and go, but they cannot buy or sell the land. On March 21, 1999, ownership was granted to 760 people, 130 families. Ana and Alvaro were very helpful in explaining the details to us and we had a pleasant time with them. The last thing we learned was that Ana’s great grandfather was related to one of the three original ladies who took possession of the land. His name was Gabrielle Joao.
Afterwords, we went down stairs where our feijoada lunch was ready for us. It tasted delicious, even better than the feijoada we had eaten in the Azores with Dad’s family. The ingredients include black beans, pigs feet and ears, ham hock, sausage, garlic and spices. Cassava, rice and collard greens are served on the side.
After lunch, we stopped at a Cachaca distillery, Brazilian rum, for a look and a taste. More than enough for me and Mark did not like it either. Next stop was in town where we bought a Brazilian flag. Back at our posada, I headed for the pool to be in the sun. Not long after I arrived, the sun was replaced by clouds. But it did not rain and I got caught up on the blog.
Adventures with Julia 
Comments
This sounds like a wonderful trip so far Julia- and you write about it beautifully! I feel like I’ve seen Paraty now from your description and photos. ❤️Jean
Hi Jean, it seems like a good plan to hold off until April. Does that work for you? Glad you are enjoying the blog. We are enjoying the adventure too.