Beaches around Lagoa da Conceicao

LAGOA DA CONCEICAO

I consider Lagoa Da Conceicao as the go to place when you need something during your stay in Barra da Lagoa. It has larger supermarkets, more shopping (in case you didn't purchase your Haviannas before), bars and discos - not to mention it is the town that holds the "Green GO" party which is a party that is offered to a lot of the hostels in the surrounding areas. 

Lagoa Da Conceicao is located near a lake/lagoon which offers calmer water so you can try stand up paddle boarding, paddle boats and other water activities.

PRAIA DA JOAQUINA

Nico and I decided to take a hike to Praia da Joaquina which was about a 30 minute walk from the bottom of the hill in the small town of Lagoa da Conceicao. To get to the bottom of the hill from our hostel, you get on at the same bus stop as you came in on and head towards Mole Praia and Lagoa da Conceicao. Once you get to the bottom of the hill about 30 minutes get off the bus and head towards Joaquina.

Along the way you will pass an area to try sand boarding! It was not a good day for sand boarding when Nico and I went - due to scattered rain showers. But you can rent a sand-board for R$20 for 30 minutes.

First view of Praia da Joaquina

Example of the restaurants where you can cool down with a nice beverage

PRAIA MOLE

Praia Mole  is known as the surfer beach, its a great beach with restaurants and waves! If you would like to go to Mole, let the bus driver know and he will (hopefully) call out when you are there so you can get off and enjoy the views. If you get to the town of Lagoa da Conceicao you have passed Praia Mole.

Backpacker Share House Hostel

BACKPACKER SHARE HOUSE  -

Is set up at such a pretty location in Barra Da Lagoa. Once you arrive at the bus stop you get off the bus and head to the right to a blue footbridge once you walk across the bridge you will take a left and go up the hill about  10 meters. You will see a sign “SHARE HOUSE” above the entrance. Walk in and check in . There are computers to use and 2 different wi-fi names just in case one is acting up.  

There is so many benefits to staying at the hostel. Most importantly the Caipirinha Hour, where you get a free Caipirinha between 7:30PM to 8:30PM. You can rent out any of their water toys such as surfboards, body boards, paddles to play that paddle and ball game I can’t think of the real name and a lot more. They have a weekly activity board to see what things are going on throughout the week such as bike riding, the popular “Green Go” party, or drunken beach games. The board is changed every week.

I loved this hostel because it really encourages everyone in the hostel to hang out with one another. Every night they have group dinners if you are interested and the staff cooks some delicious meals! The first night we stayed there we had a Brazilian dinner with Rice, Black Beans, Salad and Beef. All this was all you can eat for R$18.

The second night was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! They called it a Hawaiian Sweet and Sour Chicken. This meal was beautiful!  They had cut a pineapple in half dug out the insides and filled it with a little bit of rice and then the sweet and sour sauce! It had Chicken, pineapple, broccoli, cauliflower and other veggies! I went back for seconds and a partial third! The total for this meal was R$20, also all you can eat.

FLORIPA - Barra Da Lagoa

Arrived in Floripa a little after 10 AM. The total bus time was 10 hours and 43 minutes. I felt like we stopped a lot during the middle of the night for food breaks or to get out and stretch. Which seemed silly to me because everyone was sleeping.

Once we got to the bus station in Floripa – I followed my hop instructions which led me out the exit doors to my right up diagonally towards the street and stayed on the sidewalk going right for about 5 minutes to get to the bus terminal – You can’t miss it. The tickets were R$2.90 a person. We needed to get to The Back Packer Sharehouse Hostel in Barra Da Lagoa. In order to get to Barra Da Lagoa you will need to take 2 different busses. The first bus you take is towards Lagoa Da Conceicao. This ride takes about 40 minutes and is crowded with people so try your best to get on first with a good spot for your luggage. (The busses around Floripa seem to pass every 15-25 minutes.) You will pass two major stops before you actually get to Lagoa Da Conceicao. The second bus takes about 40 minutes as well, you will get off at the last stop. Once you get off the bus you will turn to your right and see a blue footbridge on the left. A lot of hostels in this area are located across the footbridge.

View from a Rock Evening Setting

WALKING AROUND FLORIPA

After getting settled in to our hostel I decided I wanted to go out and explore this little beach town of Barra Da Lagoa. It is definitely a beach town where your restaurants and bars are located in front of the beach (or behind depends on where your standing) Walking by the restaurants I saw delicious shrimp scampi, fried shrimp, French fries and lots of beer. All looked very appetizing after a long overnight bus travel, especially the brew-ski!

View from a Rock Day Setting

There are plenty of little shops around the area the biggest mini market is located on the street in front of the bus stop. Also on this street at night there is a little stand outside of a small restaurant that makes great crepes on a stick. You can get fruity crepes or salty and savory such as chicken and bacon or ham and cheese. Only downfall for the picante lovers, they do not have pimento!

A hidden hideaway

Quick stop - Sao Paulo

Nico and I took the Paraty Tours transfer from Paraty to Sao Paulo to get to Sao Paulo.

Paraty Tours picked us up a little after 8:30AM there was 9 seats in the back with 8 of us passengers. This driver was very pleasant.

We had a bathroom break 2 hours in. The break was about 35 – 40 minutes long. Back in the van we continued on our way to Sao Paulo. The first stop was the Airport. We arrived at the airport a little after 13:00. The second stop about an hour later was the Blue Tree Tower Paulista, which is located in the center of Sao Paulo. We (I mean Nico) took some pictures of the Blue Tree Tower Paulista and we figured out how to explain where to get on the Metro.

We headed to the Tiete Bus Terminal via metro to store our luggage and to pick up our tickets for the next bus. For my backpack, duffle bag and Nico's HUGE bag the price to hold our luggage was R$15.

The internet café costs R$4.00 for 24 minutes, R$5.00 for 30 minutes, R$6 .00 for 45 minutes. There are free bathrooms in the terminal but there are also bathrooms that costs R$ 1 or 2. 

The Tiete bus terminal is a really nice and user friendly terminal. After we picked up our tickets to Floripa with Catarinense Bus Company we headed to the tourist information kiosk. The tourist information kiosk is a little tricky to find. There are two kiosks that say information and are located in different locations. The first one you will most likely run into is the normal Tiete Terminal information. If you walk past that desk you will come to another escalator going down in the middle of the terminal. Take the escalator down and at one end of the terminals you will run into  the tourist information desk. I must say the two employees working today were great! They could speak English and were more then happy to help with all my questions. How to get around, where is a good place to eat and all of the above, with maps!

We had time to spare before our next bus so we decided to return to the Paulista area. Once we got to Paulista we were starving it was around 5:00 PM so we started looking for the recommended areas that our good friend Claudio mentioned. However we didn’t find them. We did come across an excellent cheap find though! “Balaios; on Rua Luiz Coelho 190. We were able to get A LOT of food for a great price. I got two pieces of chicken breast, beans, rice and fries for R$14. Nico got Picadinho, which is cubes of beef, vegtables some type of sauce, rice and beans for R$13. To top off the meal we got a Big 600 mL Heineken for R$8. The food was great and the service was friendly and quick. Definitely would go there again.

Now, currently we are sitting in the bus terminal waiting for our 11:30PM overnight bus to Florianopolis!

Jeep Tour

Good MORNING day after birthday with a slight hangover but not to bad. 

In front of Geko Hostel and Misti Chill hostel is the beach bar (as I mentioned we were at yesterday) They also hold breakfast here from 8:00AM - 10:00AM. I had a super delicious breakfast with  coffee, juice, bread  rolls, cheese, ham, fruit and a Panini maker!!! I seriously think that’s why the sandwich was as good as it was! Not to mention I ate about 5 sandwiches!

On the Agenda for today Nico and I are going on a Jeep Tour with Paraty Tours.

^^^The Jeeps look a little like this ^^^

The Jeep picked us up around 10:20 AM – in front of our hostel. There was 5 of us all together; 1 Brazilian, 2 Canadians and Nico and I. We first stopped at a botanical garden,  Exhibition of Bromeliads.

There were 3 jeeps including ours on our tour.

^^^And this ^^^

After the botanical garden we got back into the Jeeps and headed to the 2nd stop the  Tobogã waterfall I like to refer to it as Slide rock

Yes I was scared!

At the stop up from the Tobogã waterfall was the Tarzã waterfall located up from the slide rock. Here we cooled down by swimming in the chilly water, but because the day was so hot it was the perfect temperature!

After cooling down in the Tarza waterfall water we walked across the way to our first cachaça, distillery; Engenho D'ouro. Here you can try various different types and ages of cachaca!

After "relaxing with cachaca" we made our way to the lunch stop. We decided to save money and brought our own lunch. If you want to buy a lunch it runs between R$15 for a side dish to R$70. They offer pasta, chicken and other dishes. It looked delicious. 

After lunch we went to another cachaca distillery; 1 shot 2 shots 3 shots MORE!!

Well if I have to

Followed by the second cachaca stop we headed to a waterfall and swimming area. It was a great spot to cool down and have one a little bit more down time next to waterfalls.

·   

My Birthday Boat Bash in Paraty

GOOD MORNING!!! IT"S MY BIRTHDAY!!!

Nico and I made our way into town. We went to Geko Hostel to see if I could stay the night there due to the fact it's my birthday and I didn't want to stumble 5 km to get to a bed! Success I had a bed available for the evening.

Afterwards we made our way to the pier.

We arrived to Paraty Tours boat - The Neptuno II.

We told them our names and they handed us a laminated card with a number for when you buy drinks or food. It goes on your account and you pay at the end. There we tables you could sit at or you can head up the stairs to catch some sun on the reclining chairs. 

• Food was offered on the boat, food prices ranged from R$25 – R$50. Beer – R$4, Capirhinas R$12 Smoothie type adult beverage R$15

• Took 40 minutes to get from the dock to the first island. And 40 minutes to get from the last stop to the dock

• There are bathrooms for male and females, I thought it was cool cause you had to do this pumping thing to flush the toilet

• The trip lasted for the whole day. We stopped at 2 islands and two beaches.

• We left all of our things on the boat while we jumped in the water hoping that everything would be secured - nothing appeared to be tampered with so that was a good feeling.

• The trip in total was about 5 hours.

After the Boat Tour

We drank a few beers at the Geko Hostel Bar and got our got our hunger on to prepare for some DELICIOUS thai food. We went to a German owned Thai restaurant named "Thai Brasil" – SUPER SUPER GOOD

o   Pad Thai – R$38

o   Red Jumbo Shrimp Curry – R$58 – so so so so so good and prepared beautifully.

o   Other dishes were between R$38 – R$58

After dinner we walked back to have moredrinks at the Geko hostel bar – They shut us down early at 1:00 AM which is unheard of in Brazil.

Spent the night in Geko Hostel in a 6 bedroom dorm with air conditioning. The air conditioning was AMAZING

Transfer from Ilha Grande - Paraty

We waited by the Aquario Hostel dock for our boat pick up at 13:00. The Aquario Hostel was the first stop so it allowed Nico and I to have great seats in the middle sector of the boat. A worker from the Hostel was on the boat with us checking us in, verifying that we had a transfer either to Rio or on to Paraty.

Randomly we were sitting next to a Green Toad Bus passenger. It was great being able to talk to him face to face instead of through email. Plus he was a fellow American, must say I sometimes miss my own breed. (haha) We all ended up spending a lot of time together in Paraty.

After everyone was on the boat from the Aqurios dock, the boat headed over to the Abraao dock to make the second pick up. We had been on the boat for about 30 minutes before everyone was on the boat and we set sail. The boat reached Conceicao de Jacarei a little bit before 14:30.

There were 2 vans going to Paraty and 3 or 4 vans heading to Rio.

The van stopped for a quick comfort stop about half way through the journey. We got into Paraty a little after 6.

The first night we stayed at Nico's friends place a little outside of the main town.

Ilha Grande 101

Here is a little bit of Ilha Grande 101; laundry, transfers, restaurants, etc

TRANSFERS FROM RIO to ILHA GRANDE
The Green Toad Bus offers door to island transfers daily departing between 10:30 and Noon. Arriving to the  island around 15:00.


-TRANSFER Times to Lopes Mendes- 

Lopes Mendes departures with “Navegantes” are 9:30, 10:30, 11:30, 12:30. Returns at 14:00, 15:00, 16:00, 17:00, 18:00 and 19:00.

-LAUNDRY-

I also was able to find a laundry service in town. It’s a 2 hour service that is on Rua Getulio Vargas (the back road parallel to the beach) It is on the Abraao dock side. For 1 Kg – R$10, 3KG – R$25, Basket R$30, 1.5 Basket – R$25, 2 Baskets – R$55.

-WAXING-

I was asked/told by 2 girls in my dorm room that knowing where a good place to get a bikini wax (depilacao) would be a great addition of information – So here is what I found, a shop named “Pit Stop” apparently ask for an Angela. As much as I would have loved to purchase Angela’s services I simply had no time.

-RANDOMNESS-

There are a few shops scattered around town to pick up food. I would recommend buying things away from the hostels. I found the hostel prices to be really expensive, convenient but expensive. There is also a pharmacy on the beach path near to Abraao dock, I took a sneak-peek and looked like the typical Brazilian pharmacy

Make sure to try the Acai!! It is very refreshing on those hot days

The day was burning hot so I treated myself to an amazing Acai with honey and granola and headed back to the hostel. Small R$3.50

Tips for Lopes Mendes

Things to know if you want to do Lopez Mendez.

The boats waiting to take people back to Abraao

• There is a transfer boat that departs different times of the day – 
• Departs from Abraao: 9:30, 10:30, 11:30, 12:30
• Departs from Lopes Mendes (posto): 14:00, 15:00, 16:00, 17:00, 18:00, 19:00
• I paid R$15 for one way

On the Boat

• The boat transfer to the beach takes about 1 hour one way. The boat I took was similar to the transfer boat from the main island to Ilha Grande.

View from the boat

• Important to note, you DON’T get dropped off directly at Lopez Mendez. You will get dropped off about 20 min away and have a small jungle hike to walk through. It is not flat but not difficult, plus you have the opportunity to spot some monkeys!

•  If you decide to take the hike make sure to wear either hiking sandals with straps to hold your feet in: chacos, tevas etc. I saw many people along the trail in normal thong flip flops they seemed to struggle a bit on the slick up hill and down hill as well as the few boulder climbing spots.

• There is snack food along the way and once you get there. I would recommend bringing your own food because the 2 hour hike will make you hungry. You can buy sandwiches – R$10 they come with three pieces of bread and you can choose between chicken, cheese, ham and turkey I believe. Different kinds of chips R$5, water and soft drinks R$5 and beer. I was having an alcohol free day SOO I don’t know the price of the beer.

Ilha Grande: Lopes Mendes

Today woke up grudgingly after the great bonfire last night! Who would have thought my first beach bonfire would be in Brazil on Ilha Grande? We had live music and a fire blazing. Had a great time trying to speak Portuguese but failing miserably!

Had a decent breakfast at the hostel. To drink I had the option of coffee, juice or hot water with tea. To eat there was watermelon slices, melon cubes, cheese, sweet rolls and delicious bread rolls! (I had three !!) 

After breakfast the sun came out so I decided it was the opportune time to catch up on the past days activities in this blog as well as some rays! Let’s be honest I was really just trying to catch some rays.

Nico decided he wanted to climb up a huge mountain (Papagio) to take shots (photo shots of course not alcohol shots!)  from high above, I was definitely not feeling a 5 hour hike upwards. 

Around 11:00 AM, Siobhan, Lamar, a random guy Elliot and I started out on our hike to the famous Lopes Mendes Beach. 

Apparently this beach is one of the best in all Brazil!

After 1 hour and 40 minutes of hauling ass and sweating out all of last nights alcohol plus some extra  we had arrived to the beach!!! DA DA DA DAAAA!! 

The sand is so soft it squeaks when you walk on it. Kind of like walking on snow. The water is a beautiful clear blue and is similar to a pool because you have to walk far to actually get deep in the water. Watch the surfers try to catch a wave or simply relax after your long well deserved journey.

*Look on my next post for tips about going to Lopes Mendes!!!

Villa de Abraao

From what I saw there are 3 docks in the town of Abraao. The boat drops off at two of them. The first drop off location was at Hostel Aquario. Hostel Aquario is located on the far left of Abraao when looking from the ocean. The 2^nd dock is the Abraao dock. The Abraao dock is located more central of the town. A woman on the boat who yelled out the different hostels and which dock to get off in order to be closer to your hostel. 

Checked into the hostel trying to act like a complete gringo with no knowledge of any language except English. It worked out ok, thankfully the receptionist who was from Argentina could speak English. However when I tried to tell her that I needed to talk to Fred the manager about work things, confusion took place.

Hostel Aquario

Nico went to the second dock so I waited for him at Aquario Hostel. Once he arrived we had an “WE MADE IT BEER”

After we took a few minutes to cool down we walked around the village of Abraao.

An example of what the streets look like

Yellow Church - located towards the center of Abraao.

Conceciao de Jacarei

The Boat Ride

After another hour of driving we arrived at the coastal town of Conceciao de Jacarei   A bit of a traffic cluster took place trying to move along a one way road with cars and vans trying to get from one side to the next. After about 10 minutes we were able to move along through. Right ahead of us was the dock. 

The walk on the dock to the boat wasn’t long at all but because my bag was heavy it felt like forever! At the end when we arrived to the line to board the boat I had what felt like I had a life or death experience! I set down one of my bags to take some photos and then set my new unopened 2 liter bottle of water down and it started rolling! Rolling towards the edges of the dock I yelped and saved it before it went over the edge. I’m pretty sure everyone enjoyed the show!

*pictures taken AFTER I almost lost my precious water bottle!

The boat was definitely not what I expected, I’m not sure what I expected the boat to look like but it wasn’t what I pictured. The boat I boarded was named ABRAAO a huge boat that fit around 80 people plus their bags. It was a good size boat. Everyone sits on the edges or in the middle, no real seats just areas that you can sit. There was a large shady area that covers most the boat, the front however does not have shade. The bags were placed in the front of the boat. The ride over was a slow 30 – 40 minute ride.

I don’t get sea sickness but the boat did rock and I would recommend that if you are prone to seasickness then you should think of taking medicine before boarding the boat.

A paper was passed around to sign your name and other information, it was however in Portuguese so a few people had the answers in the wrong spot. The main idea is your name and hostel, that way they can advise you what dock to get off at.

Ilha Grande Transfer

Rio to Ilha Grande Transfer

We got picked up in the transfer at 11:30 AM. The driver rang the apartment number and when I picked up he said “Ilha Grande?” Nico my lovely assistant and I sat in the front seat then picked up the last two passengers what I think was in Estacio. We stopped to fill up with gas before we headed out of town.

After about an hour of driving we stopped for a 20 minute lunch break at a typical bus stop gas station. It had one side where you could sit down and take your time, the other side was the typical Brazilian fast food; Kibe, empanadas, frango(chicken) on a stick, choxina ( no idea how to spell that) For a single item such as an empanada was R$3.20, make sure you ask for  “pimento” to spice up your food!! Sooo good being a New Mexican I miss my spicy food. I also purchased a bag of chips that was R$3.30. 

The chips I got where called “cebolitos” holy cow! Pretty sure each chip was a teaspoon of sodium! But I ate them anyways! The lunch stopped had decent free bathrooms with toilet paper AND paper towels.

Loaded back into the van after the realization we had two passengers who were traveling with Green Toad Bus from Germany. They had booked two weeks in advance and said everything went smoothly. They enjoyed the fact that they didn't have to worry about getting to a bus terminal because they could be picked up at their hostel!

The remainder of the drive was just beautiful, as tempting as it might be to get some shut eye I definitely recommend taking in all Brazil has to offer. I was amazed to see the mountains in the distance.

Business with Pleasure

The best part of my job I didn't even realize was part of my job. After carnival I have a "company business trip" I must go on. What this means exactly is I have to take our transfers and bus passes that we sell to our customers, check out the hostels, and see what people like you and me are doing while they are traveling.

My lovely assistant Nico --> Will be photographing/go-proing everything along the way!

KELL!!! aka me! (in Ilha Grande)

NICO!!!!! (in Ilha Grande)

Here is what our route looks like:

The Beleza Beach Hop

Rio --transfer van/boat--Ilha Grande

Ilha Grande --transfer boat/van--Paraty

Paraty --bus (we changed to transfer van) -- Sao Paulo

Sao Paulo --bus--Florinapolis

Florinapolis --bus-- Foz do Iguacu (home base)

Favela Tour

We decided today would be a perfect day for the Be a Local - Favela Tour. Nico and I made our way to Che Lagarto in Copacabana to be picked up for the afternoon tour which started at noon.

The Favela Tour departs twice daily however during different times of the year the schedule of departures changes. The transfer van makes its way around Copacobana, Ipanema and Leblon for pick ups, the transfer van is an air conditioned, 10 - 12 passenger van. The tour takes about 3 hours depending on traffic.

A "favela" can also be referred to as a "shanty town". The majority of Favelas around Rio de Janeiro began in the 70's when hundreds of people came to Rio in search of a new beginning. They could not find homes in the city which forced them to live in the Favelas.

We went to the Rochina Favela, considered to be the largest Favela in Rio. It is a home to over 150 thousand inhabitants crammed into 0.80 square miles of land.

We were taken up the favela in the transfer van with our guide, it was amazing to see all the wires tangled up together (HELLO FIRE CODE VIOLATION). We started our walk with our tour guide on Street #1, here we were told that some areas you could take pictures and other areas you needed to put your camera away.

We saw the way people live in the favela, men carrying heavy packages up narrow alley ways and kids playing music in the street. We stopped at an art gallery where you can buy paintings in memory of your time at the favela. (R$20-R$300). The last stop was at a nursery (some of your money that you pay to go on the tour goes to this nursery).

The nursery by far had the best view of the Favela!!

View from the Favela Nursery

Christ the Redeemer

Today Jo and I decided we MUST go up to see Jesus! We see him every other day during our runs now it was time to really see him.

We caught a van up to the entrance on top of Corcovado Mountain , which led to a line to buy our tickets (R$26.53), which led to another line that had us wait to get into a van that shuttled us up to Cristo o Rendentor.

Once we got out of the van we saw the back of the statue, to get to the statue we had to walk up a good handful of stairs but made sure to take pictures along the way! The view from top of the mountain was amazing! I could finally get an idea of exactly how big and beautiful Rio is!

Jo and I at the top with the view of Rio behind

Once your at the top make sure you do the famous picture of your hands spread out wide like you are the statue! Also because there is so many people all the time wanting to take their picture with Jesus, try taking a picture of you looking up at Jesus with his image in your glasses! That way you can get all of Jesus and you in the picture!

Like this!

Santa Teresa

Myself and the rest of the Green Toad Bus team were lucky and cursed to have an apartment located in the neighborhood of Santa Teresa. Any day of the year Santa Teresa is a great location to live, during the festivities of Carnival however you should feel lucky if you can get down or up the hill.

The spectacular view from our apartment!!

Tudo Bem RIO?!

It's about that time of the year where one of the largest parties take place-- DRUM ROLL PLEASE...bum dum dum dum DAAAA......CARNIVAL IN RIO DE JANEIRO!!! As part of my job I am required to go to Rio for a full month in preparation and celebration of this party of the year event.

This year the Green Toad Bus offered awesome Carnival Packages during the main week of carnival. We sold two shared apartments with internet, located in Copacabana that included sector 12 or 13 Sambadrome tickets. We also sold private rooms in a 3 star hotel in central Lapa, where many of the best bloco parties were located. The hotel offered breakfast, wifi and also included sector 12 or 13 Sambadrome tickets.

Next Stop -- Foz do Iguacu, Brazil

My new home is Foz do Iguacu, Brazil. 

Foz do Iguacu is located on the border of Argentina and Paraguay. It is known as the place where the HUGE waterfalls fall. Iguacu falls contain 3 times the force of Niagara Falls and is located not only along the Brazilian border but the Argentina side as well. 

A main stop for many tourist seeking adventures and breath taking views in the Iguaçu National Park.