Ilha Grande, full of surprises

So I knew Ilha Grande was going to be a beautiful island. I again didnt realize such a small island could have so much history.

A 2 hour car ride and 1.5 hour boat ride brought us to the island from Rio.

The first day we got there it was raining ...

The second day there it was raining and we were a bit intimidated so we stayed in and I read.

We finally decided we would not let the rain keep us indoors.

In one day (our third day) we hiked to the islands old JAIL and AQUADUCT along side 3 beaches. We then hiked very high and back down to the other side of the island to a great waterfall. The trail was slippery and we actually hiked in the rain. I once slipped and landed on my hand and said *Great now my hand is muddy* 30 seconds later i slipped again and was laughing *okay, now my back and pants are muddy and wet* it wasnt painful so it was funny.

That same night we ran into 2 girls we hung out with in Florianopolis AND a couple we last saw in BOLIVIA. Oh, the gringo trail.

So we arranged with the 2 girls to go to Lopez Mendez a 2 hour hike to a secluded beautiful beach. Thankfully the morning was dry.

We hiked 1.5 hours and ran into a beach which was a part of the hiking trail. Then we found another beach ...again a part of the trail to the final beach.

Once we were 10 minutes away from Lopez Mendez it started to POUR rain. We instantly saw 45 people leave the beach. We werent turning back after 2 hours of hiking.

We found huge wooden board, hid our backpack and camera under it and went swimming for 30 minutes in the rain. Surrounding us was rock, mountain trees and a breathtaking fog coating the corners of the trees. the surfers here were very talented as they were the only ones left on the beach besides the 4 of us and 2 others. Luckily we ran and made it in time for the last boat taxi. The rain made the trails WAY too slippery and dangerous. And as I forgot to mention I slipped on the way to the beach and scraped a good 6 inch line on my side. nice and bruised.

We made it back to Rio and we are waiting for the sun to STAY out.