Finally a beach

After only a  few days in Brazil I can already tell that it is my favorite.  I was pleased to see that the Brazilian coast delivered the landscapes that I had envisioned of south america  prior to arrival.

Parati is a beautiful colonial  town with eye candy around every corner.   Lush tropical green forests, white sand, aqua  blue waves; paradise.  Roaming the carless cobblestone streets lined with stark white building with bright colorful doorways ate up a fair chunk of my time here.

Parati also gave the tour its first taste of crime.   Two people had their hand bags  stolen out of their tents at night while they were sleeping.  This was a bit of an eye opener for several people.  This made us a little more aware of the potential dangers as we would soon be in the notoriously crime ridden Rio de Janeiro.

The main  group activity here was a day boat trip to a few of the hundreds of islands that were just off the coast.  We had a beautiful sunny sky to bake our sun deprived bodies all day long.  We stopped at four islands to snorkel, dive, swim, suntan, and frisbee the day away.

There was not much of a nightlife here so we spent out nights listening to ipod  playlists blaring out of the truck and sitting around the campfire.

One thing that I don't like about Brazil is their billing methods.   Anywhere you can get food or drinks including large convenience  stores uses the  same method.  They give you a card,  usually electronic and then they scan every item you purchase onto the card.   Then you have to  stand in a second line to pay your bill.  In the bars they either use punch  cards or you   have to prebuy drink tickets similar to a uni party.  I find the whole deal pretty annoying.